Above: Zurdo Ramirez celebrates his history-making victory over Arsen Goulamirian. (Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions)

Covering fight results to April 13, 2024 

CRUISERWEIGHT: Fighter of the Month Gilberto Ramirez made history again in becoming the first Mexican cruiserweight titleholder – he did the same at super middleweight – by widely outpointing No. 5-rated Arsen Goulamirian. Career-wise, he also erased any doubt that he could control the plot against a natural 200-pounder and get the job done with gusto. The WBA belt now in his possession, Ramirez rose from No. 10 to No. 5, pushing Goulamirian down to No. 6. 

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: Diego Pacheco got a bump from No. 8 to No. 7 after a unanimous decision over Chawn McCalman (unrated).

MIDDLEWEIGHT: Erislandy Lara, now 41 years old but apparently well-rested and still sharp, returned from nearly two years off and finished Michael Zerafa (unrated) with a counter right/straight left combo in the second round. Lara held his position at No. 3.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: Two fights on the same card resulted in a shakeup at 154. First, Serhii Bohachuk (No. 9 going in) overpowered No. 3-rated Brian Mendoza, who can claim bragging rights for just making it to the final bell. Then, in the main event, Tim Tszyu’s strong start against Sebastian Fundora took a turn for the macabre when a combination of forehead gash (Tszyu) and shattered nose (Fundora) resulted in enough blood to wonder why neither man fainted (or feinted, for that matter). Fundora (No. 4 at the time) pulled off the upset by split decision, adding the vacant WBC title to the WBO belt he took from Tszyu, who entered the ring rated No. 1. The changes were as follows: Fundora went to No. 1, knocking Tszyu down to No. 2, and Bohachuk rose to No. 4 while Mendoza slipped to No. 7.

After nearly 11 rounds of back-and-forth slugging, Bakhram Murtazaliev finally won the war of attrition and chopped Jack Culcay down to claim the vacant IBF title. Murtazaliev replaced Culcay at No. 10 as a result.

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT: Just outside the top 10, Dalton Smith’s solar plexus-bruising fifth-round knockout of Jose Zepeda prompted a call for him to replace Sandor Martin at No. 10. The general sentiment was that Martin hasn’t done a lot lately and is on his way out, but in light of his past accomplishments and a questionable loss to Teofimo Lopez in 2022, the ratings panel decided to wait for more intel before pulling the trigger.

LIGHTWEIGHT: No. 4-rated Isaac Cruz moved up to 140, where he put on a hell of a show in stopping Rolly Romero for the WBA title. His departure from the list created a spot for Zaur Abdullaev at No. 10. 

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT: Albert Bell (No. 9) dramatically ended Jonathan Romero with a single blow in Round 1, but the 37-year-old Romero was 11 years past his one-fight tenure as a 122-pound titleholder and didn’t represent a significant enough obstacle for the ratings panel to issue a promotion.

After losses to Shakur Stevenson and Emanuel Navarrete considerably tarnished his rising star, Oscar Valdez gave the believers some hope with a seven-round beatdown of Liam Wilson, which may result in him holding the WBO title if the current owner, Navarrete, vacates ahead of his lightweight clash with Denys Berinchyk. In the meantime, Valdez rose from No. 7 to No. 4. 

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT: Azat Hovhannisyan (No. 7) hasn’t fought since February 2023, so he was removed and the resulting vacancy at No. 10 was filled by once-beaten Texan Ramon Cardenas.

FLYWEIGHT: Julio Cesar Martinez (No. 3) defended his WBC belt with a majority decision over Angelino Cordova on the Tszyu-Fundora undercard and Ricardo Sandoval (No. 8) knocked out Nicaraguan veteran Carlos Buitrago in eight on the Ramirez-Goulamirian card – neither victory resulted in a move on the list.  

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT: Perennial fan-favorite Hekkie Budler retired (read more about that in the World Beat section), thus vacating his No. 4 spot. Everyone moved up and the Philippines’ Christian Araneta moved in at No. 10.

Araneta then got bumped up when Miel Fajardo dropped out of the No. 9 position after losing a unanimous decision to Thanongsak Simsri, who entered at No. 10.

STRAWWEIGHT: The Shigeoka brothers’ historic moment as simultaneous titleholders ended after Yudai (No. 2 going in) lost his IBF belt to Melvin Jerusalem (No. 6 at the time) by split decision. On the same card, No. 3-rated Ginjiro successfully defended his IBF title with a second-round body-shot knockout of Jake Amparo (unrated). As a result – and also due to some very sketchy plans about when or if hitherto No. 1-rated Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, will finally return – Ginjiro Shigeoka is the new No. 1, Oscar Collazo (who beat Jerusalem last year) is No. 2, Jerusalem is No. 3, Freshmart is No. 4 and Yudai is No. 5.

No. 8-rated Erick Rosa moved up a division, which made room for undefeated Mexican Luis Castillo at No. 10.