Kenshiro Teraji is The Ring’s Fighter of the Week for Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2022.
November started with three stellar performances in elite-level matchups:
First, Kenshiro Teraji gained The Ring junior flyweight championship and unified WBA and WBC titles with an exhilarating seventh-round stoppage of Hiroto Kyoguchi on Nov. 1 in Saitama, Japan.
Then defending Ring 140-pound champion Chantelle Cameron outpointed reigning undisputed welterweight champ Jessica McCaskill over 10 rounds on Nov. 5 in Abu Dhabi, incomes the undisputed junior welterweight championship within the course of.
And at last, The Ring’s No. 1-rated gentle heavyweight Dmitry Bivol defended his WBA title with a 12-round grasp class in opposition to The Ring’s No. 3 contender, beforehand unbeaten (44-0) Gilberto Ramirez, within the Nov. 5 headliner in Abu Dhabi.
Dmitry Bivol nails Gilberto Ramirez with a proper cross throughout their WBA gentle heavyweight title bout in Abu Dhabi on November 5, 2022. Photograph by RYAN LIM/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
You may examine Cameron-McCaskill in the most recent Ladies’s Rankings Replace compiled by Diego Morilla. However Bivol’s and Teraji’s performances had been thought of pound-for-pound worthy by the boys’s Rankings Panel. Bivol earned a top-10 score (No. 7) after outpointing then-No. 1-rated Canelo Alvarez in Might. Teraji had been knocking on the door previous to his shock upset loss to Masamichi Yabuki final September, a stoppage setback that he avenged with a third-round KO in March.
“Dmitry Bivol dominated Gilberto Ramirez, he ought to transfer up one place and I’ve no downside if he additionally goes above (No. 5-rated) Canelo,” stated Anson Wainwright. “Kenshiro Teraji deserves a point out to crack our pound-for-pound high 10. I’d like to see him enter the highest 10 however we at present have a log-jam. Different fighters like Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Kazuto Ioka even have worthy claims.”
Adam Abramowitz forged a vote to advance Bivol into Alvarez’s No. 5 spot, however fellow panelists Morilla and Martin Mulcahey believed a one-spot bounce was sufficient for now.
“I believed extremely sufficient of Zurdo to select him to edge Bivol (ha ha), so sure I might second a transfer up one spot as he’s on a roll,” stated Mulcahey. “Above Canelo? I actually would love that (particularly since I believe Canelo benefited from PEDs in his system a technique or one other) given Bivol’s head-to-head win, however Canelo’s total resume is simply too sturdy for now. Any efficiency drop by Canelo, or a Bivol win over (Artur) Beterbiev and the choice to raise Bivol is straightforward. I actually like Kenshiro Teraji as effectively, however can’t justify him on condition that one setback to a hot-n-cold foe (Masamichi Yabuki) the place different equally gifted boxers have but to lose and usually are not P4P.”
Kenshiro Teraji scored the largest win of his achieved profession by stopping Hiroto Kyoguchi for the Ring/WBC/WBA 108-pound championship. Photograph by Naoki Fukuda
Teraji (20-1, 12 KOs), a two-time WBC titleholder who has defended that belt 9 occasions relationship again to 2017, didn’t crack the Ring’s legendary rankings however he was chosen because the Fighter of the Week by the Editorial Board. The 30-year-old native of Kyoto overcame a slight-odds favourite in beating countryman Kyoguchi, a fearsome two-division champ, and he did so in dominating and thrilling vogue. Teraji was thought of the higher boxer getting into, and he proved to be, however after three rounds of jousting, “The Superb Boy” took it to Kyoguchi, who had made 4 defenses of The Ring/WBA championship (in Japan, the U.S. and Mexico).
The wild Spherical 5, which noticed Teraji drop and harm Kyoguchi solely to be critically shocked himself 30 seconds earlier than the bell, is a candidate for Spherical of the 12 months.
RING RATINGS UPDATE (as of November 5):
Pound-for-pound — Dmitry Bivol advances to No. 6.
“I believe Teraji is worthy of a spot, however so are all the opposite guys that Anson talked about. Powerful one,” famous Tom Grey.
Cruiserweight – Alexsei Papin stays at No. 6 after stopping unbeaten however unrated Damir Beljo in two rounds. Mateusz Masternak advances to No. 7 after a powerful unanimous choice over Australian up-and-comer Jason Whateley.
Gentle heavyweight – Bivol stays No. 1. Ramirez drops to No. 4.
“Bivol boxed expertly and pulled away within the later levels in opposition to Ramirez,” Wainwright stated. “He maintains his No. 1 place and Ramirez drops to No. 4. I can’t see Ramirez dropping decrease as the blokes behind him aren’t pulling up any bushes. There’s a big drop off after the highest guys when it comes to expertise.”
Added Mulcahey: “I’m with Anson right here, Ramirez to drop to No. 4 whereas Bivol holds the No. 1 place with (the Artur) Beterbiev showdown crowning the following Ring champ.”
Tremendous middleweight – David Morrell advances to No. 4 after one-sided (and unnecessarily prolonged) beating of unbeaten-but-unrated Aidos Yerbussynuly, who was brutally stopped within the twelfth spherical (as is reportedly nonetheless in a medically induced coma on the time of this writing).
“I’ve been hyping Morrell from the start,” stated Mulcahey. “I’d have him transfer to No. 3 however I’m unsure how the extreme Yerbossynuly harm will have an effect on (Morrell) mentally, in any other case he has each software in his arsenal.”
Light-weight – Vasiliy Lomachenko stays at No. 1 after a hard-earned unanimous choice over unrated-but-formidable Jamaine Ortiz. William Zepeda advances to No. 6 after a powerful unanimous choice over fellow contender Joseph Diaz Jr., who drops to No. 10.
“No downside maintaining Loma at No. 1… (however) I believe we must always give some consideration to bringing Jamaine Ortiz in at No. 10 as effectively,” stated Mulcahey. “He did beat (Jamel) Herring and took every part from Loma (who barely) edged him in 12. Plus, we kinda struggled to offer (Gustavo) Lemos (as a lot I like his upside) the No. 10 spot. I might even drop Jo Jo Diaz out to carry Ortiz in.”
Junior light-weight – Shavkatzhon Rakhimov stays at No. 3 following a ninth-round TKO of unrated Zelfa Barrett.
Rakhimov (proper) began gradual however ultimately overwhelmed Barrett and compelled his nook to throw within the towel. (Photograph by Francois Nel/Getty Pictures)
“Rakhimov struggled early and needed to get off the canvas, overcome the scorecard deficit and cease Zelfa Barrett in 9 rounds to win the vacant IBF title,” famous Wainwright. “It’s a tricky one. We may depart Rakhimov at No. 3 as a result of he had some struggles or transfer him up one place. I’d go for the later as he discovered a option to get the win.”
Added Abramowitz: “I wouldn’t transfer Rakhimov up. Hold him the place he’s.”
Aded Mulcahey: “Rakhimov will most likely wrestle in each struggle from Rounds 1 by means of 4, then come alive and steamroll any opponent who can’t keep out of his approach. I’d preserve Hector Garcia above him for now. It’s a tricky name since Rakhimov has a greater total resume IMO however nothing Rakhimov has achieved just lately equals Garcia’s dominance of Chris Colbert. It’s most likely recency bias, I trip, so I’m good with the bulk vote.”
Added Grey: “I believed Rakhimov fought an excellent struggle, even when that title ought to by no means have been on the road. I’d preserve him at No. 3.”
Featherweight – Kiko Martinez advances to No. 7 after a fourth-round stoppage of unrated Jordan Gill. Robeisy Ramirez advances to No. 8 following a ninth-round stoppage of unrated Jose Matias Romero.
Martinez takes it to Gill. Photograph By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile by way of Getty Pictures
“Kiko Martinez stopped Jordan Gill in 4 rounds to assert the European title,” stated Wainwright. “Classic Kiko, bass ass little murderer who’ll struggle anybody. I actually fee Ramirez, who is perhaps one of the best 126 pounder on the planet. He’ll possible get his probability to show that subsequent 12 months.
“(Prompt featherweight rankings:) 1. Navarrete 2. Vargas 3. Magsayo 4. Lara 5. Warrington 6. Robeisy Ramirez 7. Wooden 8. Russell 9. Kiko Martinez 10. Conlan
“Kiko seemed nice however I can’t see him over Gary Russell given the character of how he misplaced to Russell. I do know Russell may be very inactive and recovering from an harm. It doesn’t look proper that Kiko drops however I can’t see a approach round it as Ramirez has to maneuver up on his win.”
Grey’s retort: “I is perhaps within the minority (I’m used to that), however I believe a three-spot bounce for Ramirez is big, given who he beat. Nova is a prospect whose finest wins have come in opposition to different prospects. I can’t take him over Leigh Wooden, who has scored back-to-back knockouts over Xu Can and Michael Conlan, each as underdog. I agree with Anson in that the uber-talented Ramirez is the long run at featherweight, however there’s no have to rush this. Let’s see the outcomes first.
“Backside half: 6. Wooden 7. Martinez 8. Ramirez 9. Russell Jr. 10. Conlan
“The issue now we have with Russell is self-inflicted. I don’t know why he ever got here again on within the first place – the man hasn’t gained a struggle in two-and-a-half years. And it’s been even longer since he beat somebody important. I get that he was injured – and he was intelligent and courageous in opposition to Magsayo – however one onerous coaching camp a 12 months for SEVEN YEARS possible put him at the next threat of harm than his extra lively counterparts.”
Bantamweight – Alejandro Santiago stays at No. 8 following a seventh-round stoppage of unrated veteran Antonio Nieves.
Junior bantamweight – Former flyweight titleholder Junto Nakatani enters at No. 7 following a aggressive unanimous choice over veteran contender Francisco Rodriguez Jr., who drops to No. 10.
“Junto Nakatani made his debut at 115 with a workmanlike efficiency to beat Francisco Rodriguez Jr. A extremely good studying curve,” stated Wainwright.
Flyweight – Nakatani exits the rankings. Japanese nationwide champ Seigo Yuri Akui (17-2-1, 11 KOs) enters at No. 10.
“Taku Kuwahara scored a powerful 12-round unanimous choice over Giemel Magramo,” famous Wainwright. “This win places Kuwahara within the 11-15 vary.”
Junior flyweight – Teraji is the brand new Ring champion. Kyoguchi drops to No. 2. Jonathan Gonzalez advances to No. 1 following a unanimous choice over Shokichi Iwata, who stays at No. 10.
“Gonzalez impressively retained his WBO title in opposition to Iwata,” famous Wainwright. “Gonzalez to No. 1 and Iwata to remain at No. 10 after a strong effort.
Strawweight – Wilfredo Mendez stays at No. 5 following a 10-round choice over unrated Moises Caro.
