Boxing
Women’s boxing rankings per pound: Two fighters debut in the top 10
After a weekend packed with action in women’s boxing, several top fighters made a robust case to either keep their spots or break into the top 10 of the pound-for-pound rankings – and that’s exactly what two up-to-date fighters did.
Ellie Scotney, 28, became the youngest undisputed champion in British boxing history after a unanimous decision victory over Mayelli Flores on Sunday in London, unifying all four major junior featherweight world titles. The victory puts Scotney in 9th place in the rankings.
In the main event, Caroline Dubois eliminated Terri Harper in round 6 en route to winning a unanimous decision and unifying the two lightweight titles. Dubois’ blend of speed, power and precision continues to stand out, and her performances saw her debut in the rankings in 10th place.
Chantelle Cameron also delivered a composed performance in a tight battle with Michaela Kotaskova, winning convincingly on the scorecards and remaining in fifth place.
A day earlier in Cardiff, Wales, unified welterweight champion Lauren Price overcame adversity – including cuts to her mouth and above her right eye – to earn a unanimous decision victory over Stephanie Pineiro and successfully defend her WBA, WBC and IBF titles.
Here are the current top 10.
1. CLARESSA TRICKS
RECORD: 18-0, 3 KOs
DEPARTMENT: The undisputed heavyweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Franchon Crews-Dezurn, February 22
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Shields’ historic career continued in February with a major unanimous decision victory in his rematch with Franchon Crews-Dezurn to retain the undisputed heavyweight title. Shields, the undisputed champion of an unprecedented three weight divisions and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, remains the most decorated fighter in men’s and women’s boxing. She has yet to face her rival in the ring and could challenge herself by cutting down in weight to face current unified junior middleweight champion Mikaela Mayer or unified super middleweight champion Shadasia Green.
2. KATIE TAYLOR
RECORD: 25-1, 6 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Unified junior welterweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (MD10) Amanda Serrano, July 11, 2025
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Taylor made a tactical performance to defeat Amanda Serrano by majority decision last July for a 3-0 trilogy win. The undisputed two-division champion said she has one fight left in her career and hopes to fight at home in Dublin, Ireland. No opponent has been announced for this latest fight, but she could be trying to reclaim the WBC title held by Sandy Ryan, who won the belt in February after vacating Taylor last September. Taylor could also move up to 147 pounds to face unified welterweight champion Lauren Price or book a rubber match with the only woman to defeat her, Chantelle Cameron.
3. GABRIELA FUNDORA
RECORD: 18-0, 10 KOs
DEPARTMENT: The undisputed flyweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (KO6) Viviana Ruiz Corredor, March 14
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Fundora continued to torment the lighter weight classes, earning her fourth straight stoppage victory in a one-sided beating of Ruiz Corredora on March 14. Her skill, 5’1″ height and 69″ reach were showcased in her dominance in every fight. What makes her performance even more scary for the competition is that she was being considered in a weight class to challenge unified junior flyweight champion Evelyn Bermudez. Fundora has shown marked improvement each time and is nearing the top of this list.
4. AMANDA SERRANO
RECORD: 48-4-1, 31 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Unified featherweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Reina Tellez, January 3
NEXT FIGHT: May 30 vs. Cheyenne Hanson
Serrano bounced back from her trilogy loss to Katie Taylor with a one-sided win over Reina Tellez in Puerto Rico to start 2026. Although she lost to Taylor 0-3 in close decisions, seven-division champion Serrano can take solace in the knowledge that she helped change women’s boxing with those incredible fights. Serrano has hinted that 2026 could be her last year in boxing, and the unified featherweight champion announced on April 7 that she would defend her belts against Cheyenne Hanson on May 30 in Texas.
5. CHANTELLE CAMERON
RECORD: 22-1, 8 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Junior middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Michael Kotaskov, April 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Cameron couldn’t beat Katie Taylor and decided to move up two divisions to junior middleweight, where she became a two-division champion, defeating Kotaskova for the vacant WBO title. Cameron, the former undisputed junior welterweight champion, remains the only fighter to beat Taylor in the professional ranks, but she may not be able to make a third fight before the Irishwoman retires. However, as the 154-pound titleholder, she could choose to unify the belts with fellow champions Oshae Jones and Mikaela Mayer.
6. MIKAELA MAYER
RECORD: 22-2, 5 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Welterweight champion; junior middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Mary Spencer, October 30, 2025
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Mayer performed admirably in dismantling Mary Spencer in October, and after signing with Most Valuable Promotions in March, he has plenty of options for his next move. With the world titles at welterweight and junior middleweight, Mayer could gain undisputed status in both weight classes by fighting Lauren Price or Oshae Jones, respectively, but a possible clash with Claressa Shields – if they can agree on weight – would be one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing.
7. ALICE BAUMGARDNER
RECORD: 17-1, 7 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Unified junior lightweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD12) Leila Beaudoin, December 19, 2025
NEXT FIGHT: April 17 vs. Bo Mi Re Shin
Baumgardner gave up her undisputed status to compete in championship fights lasting 12 rounds, 3 minutes per round, and handled the workload with ease, turning over Leila Beaudoin in December. Baumgardner has been considered the future face of Most Valuable Promotions women’s boxing and will be looking to make an impression when she headlines Bo Mi Re Shin on April 17 in Modern York.
8. LAUREN PRICE
RECORD: 10-0, 2 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Unified welterweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Stephanie Pineiro, April 4
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Price won a bloody affair with Pineiro and defended her WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight titles. In just 10 professional fights, the Welsh boxer has already defeated top fighters such as Natasha Jonas, Jessica McCaskill and Pineiro. While she initially appeared to be on a collision course with Mikaela Mayer to crown the undisputed champion, her victory on Saturday saw her come face to face with Claressa Shields. Price seems to have plenty of room to climb up the P4P list.
9. ELLIE SCOTNEY
Previous ranking: NO
RECORD: 12-0, 0 KOs
DEPARTMENT: The undisputed junior featherweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Mayella Flores, April 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Scotney became the youngest undisputed women’s champion in British history with a hugely entertaining unanimous decision victory over Flores. Scotney, 28, has impressed since her professional debut in 2020, scoring victories over current undisputed bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson and former WBC junior featherweight champion Yamileth Mercado. She could hold the fort in her division against opponents like Skye Nicolson and Erika Cruz, or move up to featherweight where Amanda Serrano, Dina Thorslund and Tiara Brown would pose a sedate challenge.
10. KAROLINA DUBOISPrevious ranking: NO
RECORD: 13-0-1, 5 KOs
DEPARTMENT: Unified lightweight champion
LAST FIGHT: In (UD10) Terri Harper, April 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Dubois made an excellent pick for Harper at the inaugural MVPW gala in London. After working Harper out, Dubois knocked her down with a left hand in round 6 and dominated the rest of the fight. 21-year-old Dubois is strongly preparing to fight Alycia Baumgardner – who is a weight class lower than her – but a unification fight with the winner of Stephanie Han vs. seems more likely. Holly Holm 2. Dubois is extremely talented and could be knocking on the door at the top of the list in a year or two.
Formula
The rankings are based on a descending points system, where a first-place vote receives 10 points, a second-place vote receives 9 points, and so on.
Others who received votes: Yokasta Valle (4), Shadasia Green (4), Cherneka Johnson (3), Hyun Choi (1).
How our experts voted
Andreas Hale: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Mayer, 8. Price, 9. Scotney, 10. Green
Nick Parkinson: 1. Shields, 2. Fundora, 3. Taylor, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Mayer, 7. Price, 8. Dubois, 9. Scotney, 10. Baumgardner
Salvador Rodriguez: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Fundora, 5. Mayer, 6. Price, 7. Baumgardner, 8. Johnson, 9. Scotney, 10. Valley
James Regan: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Cameron, 5. Serrano, 6. Mayer, 7. Baumgardner, 8. Scotney, 9. Price, 10. Dubois
Bernardo Pilate: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Cameron, 4. Fundora, 5. Price, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Serrano, 8. Mayer, 9. Scotney, 10. Dubois
Andres Ferrari: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Mayer, 8. Scotney, 9. Price, 10. Dubois
Charlie Moynihan: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Fundora, 5. Cameron, 6. Mayer, 7. Baumgardner, 8. Valley, 9. Price, 10. Choi
Damian Delgado Averhoff: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Cameron, 4. Serrano, 5. Fundora, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Mayer, 8. Green, 9. Scotney, 10. Dubois
ESPN expert poll
First place: Shields (8)
Second place: Taylor (7), Fundora (1)
Third place: Fundora (3), Serrano (2), Cameron (2), Taylor (1)
Fourth place: Serrano (4), Fundora (3), Cameron (1)
Fifth place: Cameron (4), Fundora (1), Serrano (1), Mayer (1), Price (1)
Sixth place: Baumgardner (4), Mayer (3), Price (1)
Seventh place: Mayer (3), Baumgardner (3), Serrano (1), Price (1)
Eighth place: Scotney (2), Mayer (1), Price (1), Dubois (1), Valle (1), Johnson (1), Green (1)
Ninth place: Scotney (5), Price (3)
10th place: Dubois (4), Baumgardner (1), Valle (1), Green (1), Choi (1)
Liam Smith believes Ben Whittaker’s talent could take him to a world title, but questions how his style holds up against an opponent who keeps pressing after the early rounds. Ahead of the Conor Wallace fight, that remains an unanswered question about the 29-year-old.
Whittaker has been matched cautiously for someone with an Olympic silver medal and extensive amateur experience. His professional opposition has given him opportunities to display his reflexes, but little evidence of how those skills survive sustained pressure from a world-class light heavyweight.
“It’s difficult to win a round against Ben Whittaker fresh and sharp,” said Liam Smith during the panel discussion. “But a 12-round fight, they’re not the same fighters in the back half, the back six. To kind of get to fighters like that, you’ve got to be able to still have the mindset, ‘I’m going to be down after four or five rounds, but then it’s my type of fight.’”
The first Liam Cameron fight gave those concerns substance. Whittaker was having difficulty before both fighters went over the ropes and he could not continue. To this writer, the ending invited the argument that he wanted out as Cameron’s pressure became harder to manage. That interpretation remains debatable, and his impressive rematch victory deserves recognition.
His Olympic experience also deserves a fair reading. Whittaker beat Russia’s Imam Khataev 4–1 before losing to Cuba’s Arlen Lopez in the final. Those results hardly suggest he cannot compete with elite amateurs, but three rounds cannot answer Smith’s question about the later stages of a professional fight.
The matchmaking is harder to explain. Across two promoters, Whittaker has received the sort of gradual development usually reserved for fighters with considerably less amateur experience. At 29, he still needs a world-class professional opponent.
That does not prove his handlers doubt him, but it gives reason to question what they are waiting to see. Wallace can help answer Smith’s concerns if he keeps Whittaker working beyond the comfortable early rounds.
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