March 2021 Men’s Amateur Boxing International Rankings
Photo by Alex Nicodim/Sportsfile via Getty Images
From this month onwards, I’ll be doing monthly men’s amateur boxing rankings ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, in order keep fans up to date if they don’t have the time (or patience) to follow the latest results. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out my previous articles covering the 2019 AIBA World Championships for a better idea of the current landscape, as well as keeping up to date with the ‘Taylor Talks Boxing’ podcast for more insight and analysis.
Before we kick things off, let me briefly explain how this works - because these articles will be published on a monthly basis, the rankings themselves will be highly sensitive to recent results. Previous performances at major tournaments within the last three years will be taken into account of course, but if a fighter’s form has dipped that will be reflected in their position. Inactivity will also be penalised, and if a fighter has benefitted from a clear and obvious robbery (all too common in amateur boxing) I’ll be adjusting the rankings to reflect how the fight should have been scored.
Following the first three major tournaments of the 2021 season - the Strandja memorial, Boxam tournament and Cologne World Cup - there’s been some considerable changes to the rankings of late. Read on for breakdowns of how each division is shaping up heading into April, with the Olympics set to begin in just under four months.
52kg (Flyweight)
The fly rankings have had a real shakeup in the past month, with some new faces at the top-end of the division. 19 year-old Makhmud Sabyrkhan (KAZ) jumped to #2 in the division with wins over World Championship bronze medallist Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) and European champion Gabriel Escobar (ESP), whereas Escobar himself rose to #3 with a narrow victory over World Championship silver medallist Amit Panghal (IND). Amit drops to #6 in the division as a result.
Previously unranked Deepak Kumar (IND) skyrocketed to #4 in the rankings with an impressive showing at the Strandja tournament, decisioning reigning Olympic/World Champion Shakhobidin Zoirov (UZB) and missing out on a deserved win against home fighter Daniel Asenov (BUL) in the final. Zoirov, who has suffered a disappointing year with clear losses to #5 Thitisan Panmot (THA) and Deepak Kumar, falls to #7 in the rankings.
Yosvany Veitía (CUB) endured a torrid 2019 with a shock exit at the AIBA World Championships, and disciplinary issues saw him suspended from the Cuban national squad for most of 2020. However the 2017 light-flyweight world champion finds himself back in the 52kg rankings at #11 after a pair of impressive wins over domestic rival Damian Arce (CUB) at the end of last year, and hopefully he can continue to find his best form in time for Tokyo.
Billal Bennama (FRA) leapfrogged Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) to take the #8 spot after claiming a points win over the Kazakh in the light-flyweight final of the Boxam tournament earlier this month. Given Zoirov’s win over Bennama in the semi-finals of the 2019 AIBA World Championships I’m not quite going to rank the Frenchman ahead of him, but Bennama is certainly a contender to medal at the Olympics.
Finally, Azat Usenaliev (KGZ) climbs to #14 after coming out on top at the Istanbul Bosphorus tournament in Turkey, with Rodrigo Marte (DOM) going down a spot due to inactivity.
57kg (Featherweight)
Featherweight is probably the toughest division to rank right now as a number of fighters have split wins amongst one another, and I’ve changed my mind more than a few times this past week. Reigning world champion Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov (UZB) lost to Javier Ibanez (BUL) via a controversial decision at the Strandja tournament, but given that I thought Mirzakhalilov deserved the win I’ve decided not to penalise him and he keeps the #1 spot. Ibanez would probably have been ranked higher if not for the fact that he got the benefit of an even clearer gift decision against Luiz Oliveira (BRA), who climbs to #8 with Ibanez just behind at #9.
Oliveira himself lost to #14 Hamsat Shadalov (DEU) in the first round of the Cologne World Cup, however I thought the Brazilian deserved the nod in Germany so I won’t be holding that against him. Shadalov would later drop a points decision against Samuel Kistohurry (FRA) in the semi-finals, who rises to #11 after a string of impressive results against solid competition, including #20 Orazbek Asylkulov (KAZ).
3x former world champion Lazaro Álvarez (CUB) stays put at #2, with two wins over rival Osvey Caballero (CUB) as well as a unanimous decision over #14 Hamsat Shadalov.
2018 AIBA Youth World Championship silver-medallist Jan Paul Rivera (PRI) notched a quality win at the Boxams in Spain, beating Serik Temirzhanov (KAZ) in the semi-finals en route to taking gold in the 57kg field. Whilst Rivera’s impressive result elevates him to #15, he simply hasn’t got enough quality wins at this weight (having moved up from fly in 2019) for me to rank him any higher. Temirzhanov drops to #18, which seems a tad unfair given his brave effort against #1 Mirzakhalilov back in the Olympic qualifiers last year, but this is a very competitive and unforgiving weight class after all.
In our final change, I’ve decided to drop Peter McGrail (GBR) down a spot due to his recent inactivity - having had only one fight since the World Championships back in September 2019 - and have moved Abdumalik Khalakov (UZB) up to #4. The 20 year-old Youth Olympic champion has been on a hot streak since 2020, boasting wins over #7 Vsevolod Shumkov (RUS) and 2017 bantamweight world champion Kairat Yeraliyev (KAZ). Whilst Khalakov did suffer a stoppage loss to #13 Ceiber Ávila (COL) in February 2020, it was in absolutely bullshit circumstances so I won’t knock him for terrible refereeing.
63kg (Light-welterweight)
Following the departure of Keyshawn Davis to the pro’s, there’s been a shift at the top order of 63kg. 2017 lightweight world champion Sofiane Oumiha (FRA) fills in the vacant #2 spot after soundly beating #3 Dzmitry Asanau (BLR) in November of last year, only to be robbed on the cards. Gabil Mamedov (RUS) moves up to #4 after coming out on top of a deep 63kg field at Russian nationals, whilst Manish Kaushik (IND) narrowly takes the #5 spot after a strong display at the Boxams which saw him decision #6 Zakir Safiullin (KAZ) and #14 Nikolai Terteryan (DNK), the latter of whom debuts in the rankings off the back of his own impressive run in the tournament.
Ilya Popov (RUS) falls to #8 in the rankings, as despite claiming gold at the Strandja tournament last month with a tight win over #10 Alexandru Paraschiv (MDA), the Russian exited to compatriot Ilya Shakirov (RUS), now ranked #7, in the semi-finals of nationals back in December.
Elsewhere, Wanderson Oliveira (BRA) turned a few heads with some fantastic performances at the Cologne World Cup earlier this month and rises to #12 in the rankings. However, the Brazilian doesn’t quite break into the top 10 this time having suffered a loss to #11 Asadkhudja Muydinkhudjaev (UZB) at the Strandja tournament in February.
69kg (Welterweight)
The past year has seen Andrey Zamkovoy (RUS) strengthen his grip on the #1 spot at 69kg, with a narrow win over #6 Shakhabas Makhmudov (RUS) in the Russian nationals final as well as victory over Youba Sissokho (ESP) at the European Olympic qualifiers. Whilst Sissokho beat #4 Vikas Krishan (IND) in the Boxams final a few weeks ago, I felt that the contest was wrongfully decided and as a result I’ve only moved him up as high as #10.
World Championship bronze-medallist Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) stays at #5, as despite beating domestic rival and #11 ranked Aslanbek Shymbergenov (KAZ) at the national championships, he has now fallen short twice against India’s Krishan in the past year - both by way of split decision - which prevents him from placing higher.
Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB) won gold at the Strandja tournament last month to underline why he’s currently ranked #3, out-hustling #9 Yevhenii Barabanov (UKR) in the final. Despite a loss to #18 Zeyad Eshaish (JOR) at the Olympic qualifying tournament, Eshaish benefitted from some fortunate judging in his home country which is why I haven’t knocked Baturov in the rankings.
Whilst World Championship silver medallist Pat McCormack (GBR) hasn’t fought since 2019, I’ve decided to keep him at #2 despite recent inactivity as his wins over Baturov and #8 Okazawa put him ahead of his rivals. Veteran Roniel Iglesias (CUB) appears at #6 after a pair of split-decision victories over #17 Kevin Hayler Brown (CUB) in domestic tournaments.
Last but not least, Wahid Hambli (FRA) also moves up a couple of spots to #14 after picking up some good wins in his successful Cologne World Cup run a few weeks ago.
75kg (Middleweight)
A dominant showing at the Strandja tournament in February put an exclamation mark on why Oleksandr Khyzhniak (UKR) is #1 at 75kg, as the Ukrainian stopped Andrei Vreme (MDA) and dominated #19 Serhat Guler (TUR) to kick off his 2021 campaign. Despite having not fought any of the division’s elite in the past year, Khyzhniak retains the top spot with his victories over world champion Gleb Bakshi (RUS) and World Championship silver medallist Eumir Marcial (PHL) back in 2019.
Marcial himself advances to #2 in the rankings by virtue of his outstanding win over #5 Abilkhan Amankul (KAZ) in the final of the 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament. 20 year-old Dzhambulat Bizhamov (RUS) makes his debut in the rankings at #4 after prevailing in a deep 75kg field at the Russian national championships, with many of his opponents being ranked in and around the middleweight top 10.
The Cologne World Cup saw Kevin Schumann (DEU) come out on top at middleweight, elevating the German to #7 in the rankings with wins over #15 Hebert Sousa (BRA) and emerging young talent Gradus Kraus (NLD). Whilst some of the decisions were contentious, the bouts were all close enough for me to count them as legitimate victories for Schumann.
2016 Olympic middleweight champion Arlen López (CUB) moved up to 81kg in 2020, which is why he is absent from the rankings. Yoenlis Hernández (CUB) established himself as his country’s representative at the national selection tournament in December 2020, however the young Cuban doesn’t have enough quality wins for me to rank him yet considering how shallow the middleweight division is in Cuba at present.
81kg (Light-heavyweight)
The departure of reigning Olympic champion Julio César La Cruz to heavyweight has opened up the 81kg field, and whilst World Champion Bekzad Nurdauletov (KAZ) lost to Simone Fiori (ITA) at the Boxams in a close contest, I personally felt the Kazakh deserved the win and have kept him in the #1 spot. Off the back of his strong performance against Nurdauletov, Fiori rises to #4 in the rankings.
Imam Khataev (RUS) deservedly takes the #2 spot in the division, having conquered a number of top-tier opponents in the last two years including #7 Georgy Kushitashvili (GEO) and, more recently, #9 Sharaputdin Ataev (RUS) and #11 Ruslan Kolesnikov (RUS) at Russian nationals.
World Championship silver-medallist Dilshodbek Ruzmetov (UZB) has worked his way back up the rankings to land at #3, following a shock loss at the Olympic qualifiers to #8 Paulo Aokuso (AUS). The Uzbek rebounded by winning the 81kg crown at the Strandja tournament, beating #11 Ruslan Kolesnikov in the final as well as triumphing over #10 Temurkhon Sobirov (UZB) in the national championships.
Nadir Unal (TUR) makes a surprise appearance at #17 in the rankings after stopping reigning European champion Loren Alfonso Dominguez (AZE) in the semi-finals of the Bosphorus tournament last week. Whilst the win appears impressive on paper, it’s worth remembering that Dominguez hadn’t fought in nearly two years and a handful of losses to unranked opposition prevents Unal from climbing higher.
Arlen López (CUB) misses out on being ranked at present, having not fought anyone of note at the new weight.
91kg (Heavyweight)
There’s been a lot of movement at 91kg in recent months, with the division looking very different than it did this time last year. World champion Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) won the Russian national championships in December, beating #18 Alexey Zobnin (RUS) in the final to keep hold of the #1 spot.
20 year-old Aybek Oralbay (KAZ) isn’t far behind at #2, as despite losing to compatriot Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) back in mid-2019 the young Kazakh has gone on to claim a number of valuable scalps at the weight including #6 Abner Junior (BRA), #9 Ammar Abduljabbar (DEU), #10 Sagyndyk Togambay (KAZ), #11 Wilfried Florentin (FRA) and most impressively #3 Emmanuel Reyes (ESP) at the Bocskai tournament in Hungary last year.
Reyes himself earned a huge win over Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Levit last month at the Boxams, which saw the Cuban-born Spaniard jump to #3 whilst Levit fell to #4. Reyes has now cemented himself as one of the top contenders at heavyweight, and will be aiming to medal in Tokyo.
Whilst Narek Manasyan (ARM) isn’t quite in the same class as the truly elite at 91kg, he proved himself as the ‘best of the rest’ at the Strandja tournament after beating #6 Abner Junior and deserving the win over #7 Radoslav Pantaleev (BUL) in the final (only to be predictably screwed over on the cards). As a result, the Armenian currently sits at #5.
Wilfried Florentin (FRA) appeared on course to leap up the rankings after an encouraging display at the Strandja tournament, where he was on the losing end of a questionable decision in the semi’s that favoured home fighter #7 Radoslav Pantaleev. But Florentin stuttered against #9 Ammar Abduljabbar in the opening bout of the Cologne World Cup, dropping a decision to the German which leaves Florentin at #11.
Despite being new to the weight, former 4x world champion Julio César La Cruz (CUB) also warrants inclusion at #8, having beaten #9 Abduljabbar back in early 2020. World Championship silver-medallist Julio Castillo (COL) falls to #13 in the rankings, having not fought since September 2019.
91+kg (Super-heavyweight)
In the land of the giants, world champion and #1 ranked Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) still reigns supreme over 91+kg having beaten #8 Justis Huni (AUS) in the final of the 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament. The towering Uzbek returned to action at the Strandja tournament last month, and despite competing with an injury claimed wins over #12 Tsotne Rogava (UKR), #13 Gurgen Hovhannisyan (ARM) and #14 Mourad Aliev (FRA).
Why have I ranked Huni as low as #8? Despite being one of the best fighters in the division, my rankings are based on wins rather than the eye test, and the young Aussie’s résumé is fairly light in terms of quality competition. This may seem unfair, but hey, I’d rather be consistent with my criteria.
Elsewhere, Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ) returned to the #2 spot after triumphing at the Cologne World Cup in March, beating #14 Mourad Aliev in the final. Aliev himself went up a few places after getting a win over Nelvie Tiafack (DEU), who drops to #15 as a result.
Courtesy of his victory at Russian nationals, Yaroslav Doronichev (RUS) storms to #3 in the rankings whilst World Championship bronze medallist Maxim Babanin (RUS), who suffered an early exit at the national championships in December, plummets to #11. Rogava and Hovhannisyan are just behind the Russian, with both gaining ground following solid runs at the Strandja tournament.
Dainier Peró (CUB) has impressed recently, taking clear-cut wins over Carlos Castillo (CUB) and #15 Nelvie Tiafack, and his recent results have been enough to see him sneak past Richard Torrez (USA) as the new #4.
Meanwhile, Frazer Clarke (GBR) stays in contention at #6 after grinding out wins against #14 Aliev and Berat Acar (TUR) back in February. Acar’s recent triumph at the Bosphorus tournament - where he beat #20 Mahammad Abdullayev (AZE) and Danis Latypov (BHR) en route to gold - sees the Turkish big man feature in the rankings for the first time at #17.
Pound-for-pound
Andy Cruz (CUB) and Oleksandr Khyzhniak (UKR) remain the consensus 1)a and 1)b pound-for-pound, whilst Jianguan Hu (CHN) comes in at #3 with wins over Amit Panghal (IND), Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) and a bizarre stoppage of Thitisan Panmot (THA).
Welterweight kingpin Andrey Zamkovoy (RUS) is #4 P4P by reason of his recent wins over Shakhabas Makhmudov (RUS) and Youba Sissokho (ESP), whilst Bekzad Nurdauletov (KAZ) falls a couple of spots to #5 due a closely contested loss to Simone Fiori (ITA). Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov (UZB) finds himself at #6, having only scored a handful of good wins since his 2019 world championship campaign.
Countryman Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) secures #7 on the P4P table with a decision over Justis Huni (AUS) as well as a couple of wins against the lower-rung of the 91+kg crop. The limited amount of truly elite competition at super-heavyweight prevents Jalolov from pushing the higher places on this list.
Lazaro Álvarez (CUB) and Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) make up #8 and #9 respectively, whilst Aybek Oralbay (KAZ) just makes the cut at #10 courtesy of his wins over Emmanuel Reyes (ESP) and Abner Junior (BRA). Sofiane Oumiha (FRA) has a strong argument for placing ahead of the Kazakh, but I’ve decided to opt for Oralbay’s more impressive body of work over the past year.