Deontay Wilder has reclaimed his place as the top-rated American heavyweight less than a year after his 4,296-day streak at the top of the pack in the United States finally ended.
Last year, Wilder overtook Richard Torrez Jr. after more than a decade as America’s top heavyweight champion, but one win over Derek Chisora put the “Bronze Bomber” back ahead of the undefeated Olympic silver medalist.
The latest WBC list places Wilder in sixth place and Torrez in ninth place, down three spots. This is a real change for Wilder: Torrez moved forward, but the takeover didn’t last long.
WBN first calculated that the period was 4,296 days when Torrez moved over Wilder, making this latest change a direct reversal of the longest American heavyweight reign in the current rankings picture.
Torrez’s rise looked like a possible changing of the guard in the American heavyweight division. Instead, Wilder took the spot before the 26-year-old could properly take up the role.
The same rankings also confirmed Tyson Fury’s return to the top spot after his victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov, with the WBC heavyweight list now filled with British fighters.
Wilder regains his place in the USA
Wilder’s return to America’s top spot comes just months after Torrez became the first American heavyweight to overtake him in the WBC rankings in twelve years.
The former WBC heavyweight champion maintained that position in the country through title reigns, defeats, inactivity and the latter stages of his career. The loss of this award marked Wilder’s first real break from the American heavyweight scene. Taking him away keeps him alive in a division that has started to grow.
This is not a detail that can be overlooked. Wilder’s name is still bigger than any other American name in his area, and his punching power remains the one thing that every challenger and champion in this division must respect.
MF Pro
Stalls along the WBC Belt route
The former WBC champion could face Oleksandr Usyk for the world title later this month as the WBC gave the Ukrainian a voluntary window.
Instead, Wilder stuck to his agreement to fight Chisora, a decision that could ultimately cost him the clearest route back to the WBC belt.
Wilder has another path to the WBC title if the heavyweight fight stalls. Bridgeweight champion Kevin Lerena told World Boxing News he will “100 percent” give Wilder a chance to win the 224-pound crown, while maintaining the possibility that Wilder will retire as a two-weight world champion.
This option gives Wilder a second path to a world title, and his return to heavyweight restored his domestic ranking without giving him back control of the world title fight.
The WBC’s decision earlier this year to create an interim championship line around Agit Kabayel puts Wilder in an odd position. He’s once again above all American heavyweights in the WBC rankings, still unsafe enough to matter, and still waiting for the championship picture to open up.
Currently, the cleanest scenario in the heavyweight division may involve Kabayel finally being elevated to full champion after Usyk faces Rico Verhoeven.
WBC list of British heavyweight fighters
As well as Wilder reclaiming the US number one, the latest rankings also highlight how much the WBC heavyweight picture is currently tilting towards the UK.
Fury remains on top despite two defeats to Usyk, and Itauma’s rapid rise to third place continues to fuel expectations that the youthful contender is being aggressively pushed towards a future title fight.
Joshua also remains at the top of the division despite his inactivity, while Okolie remains in second place despite his drug testing controversy.
The concentration of British names in the rankings gives this list a second Wilder comeback story. America has its top heavyweight champion back, but the wider WBC picture is being cluttered by UK fighters.
But for Wilder, the headline is national. The 4,296-day winning streak ended, Torrez took the lead, and the former WBC champion returned to this position.
Whether this becomes a route to the heavyweight title, a bridgeweight gamble or just a rankings win now depends on what the WBC does next with Usyk, Kabayel, Lerena and the belts floating around the Wilder name.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Ryan Garcia has named the fighter that he believes can put an end to Shakur Stevenson’s 25-fight undefeated record.
Stevenson stepped up in weight to dominate Teofimo Lopez and claim the WBO super-lightweight title back in Januaryfully intending on returning to his natural lightweight division during the aftermath, until those plans were derailed when he was stripped of his 135lb title.
As a result, Stevenson has kept hold of his 140lb marble but has not fought since, despite links to a showdown with Garcia in spring, which collapsed when the Newark southpaw declared that he would not be willing to move up in weight once again.
Now, Garcia is scheduled to face Conor Benn next month, whilst Stevenson has recently signed with Zuffa Boxing and is searching for an opponent for his second outing of 2026.
Speaking to FightHypeGarcia revealed that he would favour IBF lightweight world champion Raymond Muratalla to come out on top if he and Stevenson collide.
“That would be a good a** fight. He [Muratalla] is smart, he is not going to just go in there and just [be reckless].
“I just think that Raymond has a lot of things that would give Shakur problems. It won’t be an easy fight for Shakur, that is for sure.
“[If it was] a three-round fight, I would give it to Shakur, even a six-round fight. A 12-round fight? I am siding with Muratalla.”
Muratalla is set to vacate his IBF crown and move into the super-lightweight division imminently, with the WBO having recently stated that he could be named as Stevenson’s mandatory challenger when he does.
Robert Garcia, the trainer and manager of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, has expressed his annoyance with a lack of communication from Team Nayoa Inoue.
‘The Monster’ made a seventh successful defence of his undisputed crown in May, unanimously outpointing Junto Nakatani in their all-Japanese encounter.
As a result, Inoue is not only considered the super-bantamweight king but, on a pound-for-pound metric, many would also place him at the top of the tree.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, made his bantamweight debut in June, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning WBA champion Antonio Vargas with a sixth-round finish.
While there is much talk surrounding a potential clash between Rodriguez and Inoue, it would seem that no official negotiations have actually taken place.
Or at least, it is far from certain that the pair will square off in March 2027, when Inoue is reportedly looking to stage his next outing. He recently stated that he will not hang around at 122lbs waiting for ‘Bam’, and will move on if the fight does not happen in Q1 of 2027.
On the proposed showdown, coach Garcia has told Ring Magazine that he and ‘Bam’ have no problem with the deadline.
“There’s been talk that Inoue says he’s moving up [to featherweight] sooner than later – that he probably won’t wait [for the Rodriguez fight] past March of next year.
“We’re okay with that, but nobody’s told me that. Nobody from Inoue’s team has approached me saying, ‘Look, Robert. This is what Inoue wants. He wants to know if you guys are interested in the fight’.
“Yeah, we’re interested in the fight. But I’m not trying to change the date. I would love Bam to get one more fight at 118[lbs].”
Garcia went on to name WBO bantamweight champion Christian Medina as the ideal opponent for Rodriguez in November, before he hopefully steps up to 122lbs and challenges Inoue.
Teofimo Lopez has criticised his father for showing a lack of competence during his unanimous decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson.
‘The Takeover’ was handily outboxed and dethroned by Stevenson in January, winning just one round as his opponent became a four-division world champion at 140lbs.
As a result, Lopez is now moving up to 147lbs in an attempt to reinvent himself and become a three-weight world champion against Rolando Romero.
But while he felt a change in weight was most certainly needed, the 29-year-old saw no reason to dismiss his father, Teofimo Sr, as his head coach.
This is in spite of the fact that Lopez Sr was heavily ridiculed for his efforts in the corner at Madison Square Garden, where Stevenson’s route to victory was only made clearer by his bizarre style of coaching.
Rather than offering his son any words of advice, he just simply pointed out his flaws and gave the defending champion no direction on how to improve.
Lopez therefore confronted his father while speaking with Ring Magazinealbeit with no threats of employing a different trainer.
“Every son wants to make their father proud. When you got your father in that moment – when you’re bleeding; when they’re allowing Shakur to do all these extra things … and your trainer is not going you instructions – they’re just talking you down: ‘Where’s your power? Where’s this? You’re gonna hate yourself’ – all roads lead to [defeat].”
As he takes on WBA champion Romero at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, it should be interesting to see how Lopez’s corner shapes up between rounds.
In any event, the American will be under a fair amount of pressure to produce an improved performance.
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago