The Ring’s Women’s Ratings reviewed, part two: Junior featherweight to atomweight

The Ring started its divisional ratings in 1925. And about a century later, after establishing those ratings as the standard of the industry due to their independence of criteria, The Ring gave birth to the female version of those ratings, honoring the trailblazing work of thousands of women who fought inside and outside the ring for equal rights to participate in this sport.

For this purpose, The Ring assembled a Woman’s Ratings Panel comprised of a dozen experts from around the world. Opinions are shared, debates take place, and the final decision on who should be rated is decided democratically every week. It sounds easy, but this can be an arduous and time-consuming process.

Periodically, we will take the time to delve deep into the reasons behind each of our choices, as a guide to those who want to learn more about women’s boxing but also as an explanation to those who wonder about the criteria that we use in rating these fighters.

One of such explanations has to do with the reason why we only rate the top five fighters in each division. The answer is simple: there are many divisions that are simply not deep enough to compile a viable Top 10 that includes fighters with winning records. And yet, we still believe that creating a Top 5 will serve as encouragement for younger generations of female fighters and give them something to aim for.

Here is a quick breakdown of the divisional ratings between junior featherweight and atomweight. Please enjoy the debate and respect other people’s opinions when reviewing these ratings.

Junior featherweight to atomweight: As of Dec. 28, 2023

Junior featherweight – 122 pounds  

Only a handful of Ring magazine championship belts remain vacant in women’s boxing, and this one could have a new owner by the end of 2024. And what an intriguing fight it will be!

“Majestic” Lefebvre has been plying her trade in her native France with great success, defending her WBO belt against a group of respectable foes such as former pound-for-pound entrant Debora Dionicius. But she will need to get out of France eventually to gain further exposure, and that could lead her to Mercado in America or Scotney in the UK. Two very interesting options, indeed. The irruption of Cruz-Hernandez in the Top 5 and the presence of the always dangerous Rivas make this one of the most exciting group of contenders in all of boxing. Let’s hope the fights are made and a new undisputed Ring champ is finally crowned!

The Ring Champion: VACANT

1 –  Segolene Lefebvre

2 – Yamileth Mercado

3 – Ellie Scotney

4 – Erika Cruz-Hernandez

5 –  Mayerlin Rivas

 

Bantamweight – 118 pounds  

With a win over Luna Avila back in September, Thorslund became our latest addition to our championship roster (yes, Dina, your belt is on its way!) and our newest addition to our pound-for-pound ratings, breaking in at No. 8. Being sheltered in Europe won’t do Thorslund’s career any good in the short term, but it won’t be long before she starts either drawing big names to her lair, or maybe traveling to the UK for bigger fights against the likes of Hughes or Bridges.

The division has strong numbers worldwide, but there is a mix of veterans and newcomers that makes it even more interesting. Still, the 118-pound division is a “heavy turnover” weight class, with many fighters either growing into it or moving up at one point or another. Still, it is more than interesting and exciting just as it is now – and it can only get better.

The Ring Champion: Dina Thorslund

1 – Yulihan Luna Avila

2 – Nina Hughes

3 – Miyo Yoshida

4 – Seren Cetin

5 – Ebanie Bridges

Junior bantamweight – 115 pounds  

Lots of young talents are emerging in this division dominated by battle-hardened veterans. Juarez and Garcia are as all-time greats and are still going strong, but Ruiz is exploding at the right time, just when the old masters are looking at the exit door.

And to add more drama, names such as LeAnna Cruz, Shannon Ryan, Mizuki Hiruta, Taylah Robertson and many others are out there carving their own paths to the top, and they are already making the case for this to be the only division in women’s boxing where a Top 10 would be absolutely necessary to do justice to all of them.

Let’s hope that the prospect of becoming the inaugural Ring champion brings the best in all of them and they start cleaning up the division in search for the one queen that will rule them all.

The Ring Champion: VACANT

1 –  Asley Gonzalez

2 –  Lourdes Juarez

3 –  Adelaida Ruiz

4 – Micaela Lujan

5 – Irma Garcia

 

Flyweight – 112 pounds   

Of course, this is where it gets real. Just like it happens in male boxing, the flyweight division is oftentimes the place where the best pure boxing is found in a perfect mix of technique, speed, skills and guts.

Esparza, a legend in her own right, added another line to her stellar resume by becoming The Ring’s inaugural champ, but has struggled to look good or even to win against Seniesa Estrada in a grudge match and later against Argentina’s Alaniz in what is already shaping up as a bad-blood trilogy.

And as soon as Esparza makes a mistake, there are plenty of sharks in the water ready to take her place. Fundora and Alaniz are the future of the division, but Enriquez and future first-ballot Hall of Famer Zamora are not going to make it any easier for them. And with people like Ginny Fucks and Christina Cruz waiting for their chance, it won’t be hard for this division to stay at the very center of the attention in women’s boxing.

The Ring Champion: Marlen Esparza

1 –  Gabriela Alaniz

2 – Kenia Enriquez

3 –  Gabriela Fundora

4 – Arely Muciño

5 – Ibeth Zamora

 

Junior flyweight – 108 pounds  

Just as it happens with her heavier cousin, the junior flyweight division features enough talent to have a Top 10 that could reflect that situation. But it still lacks a Ring champion, and the vastly underrated Nery Plata is the most serious candidate to get it as soon as she faces anyone below her. Bermudez would love to have that chance, and with Clavel in rebuilding mode there’s plenty of time for the extraordinarily talented Enriquez to continue looking awesome and climbing up the ladder.

If they underestimate each other or anyone else, they also run the risk of having another legend such as Yesica Bopp taking advantage of that to reclaim a portion of her glory one day. And with plenty of unbeaten young guns with winning records just below the double-digit mark, this division has more than enough material to steal the spotlight.

The Ring Champion: VACANT

1 –  Jessica Nery Plata

2 – Evelin Bermudez

3 – Kim Clavel

4 – Leonela Yudica

5 – Tania Enriquez

Strawweight – 105 pounds  

This is the home of another pound-for-pound entrant future all-time great, but unless she brings her A-game to her next few fights she could be deprived of that shiny Ring magazine inaugural belt that she wears so proudly.

Estrada is as talented as they come, but she can be “too creative” at times, and start doing things that become either too predictable or too dangerous in the ring. So far, she only had one or two close calls, but in her upcoming mega-bout against fellow pound-for-pound entrant Valle she will have to put all of her resources to work if she wants to hold off the Costa Rican legend’s challenge. Rupprecht and Bormann will be taking notes ringside, with Tina looking forward to get it right in an eventual rematchd and Sarah gathering strength to finally make the trek to the US to have their chance at Estrada at one point or another. In all, not the deepest division in boxing, at all, but certainly one with plenty of exciting matchups to look forward to.

The Ring Champion: Seniesa Estrada

1 – Yokasta Valle

2 – Christina Rupprecht

3 – Sarah Bormann

4 – Anabel Ortiz

5 – Jessica Basulto

 

Atomweight – 102 pounds

Both in terms of raw numbers and overall talent, the lowest weight division in boxing regardless of gender is still “under construction”. It’s a weight class overwhelmingly populated by Japanese and Thai fighters, and that definitely affects the progress of the entire division. But with less than 100 fighters worldwide, there are many other things attempting against the progress of the 102-pound class.

Bytyqi and Alarcón have been around for ages and still can’t get their names out there for anything close to a televised bout, and Kuroki is a veteran who seems to be the most motivated of them all, but she appears to have fought everyone in the division twice, and there’s not much else for her to do other than wait for a clash that could untangle this division and generate a Ring champion once and for all.

The Ring Champion: VACANT

1 – Yuko Kuroki

2 – Fabiana Bytyqi

3 –  Montserrat Alarcón

4 –  Mika Iwakawa

5 –  Sumire Yamanaka

 

The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel:

Diego Morilla (moderator), Mark Jones, Malissa Smith, Thomas Gerbasi, Irene Deserti, Yesica Palmetta, Yuriko Miyata, Christopher Benedict, Lupi Gutierrez-Beagle, Widalys Figueras-Snow, Cynthia Conte, Jeandra LaBeauf

 

RATING PANEL / CHAMPIONSHIP POLICY

Championship vacancies can be filled in the following two ways:

THE RING’s Nos. 1 and 2 contenders fight one another.
If a fight between the Nos. 1 and 2 contenders can not be made and  No. 1 fights No. 3, the winner may be awarded THE RING belt if the Editorial Board deems the No. 3 contender worthy. Here are the seven situations in which a champion can lose his belt:
The Champion loses a fight in the weight class in which he is champion.
The Champion moves to another weight class (for more than one fight).
The Champion does not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months.
The Champion does not schedule a fight at his championship weight for 18 months (even if he fights at another weight).
The Champion does not schedule a fight with a Top-5 contender from any weight class for two years.
The Champion retires.
The Champion tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance and is fined, suspended or otherwise penalized by the proper authority (athletic commission or sanctioning body).

RATINGS POLICY

Results. This is the most objective criterion and takes precedence over all others.
Performance. How a fighter performs in a victory or defeat can be a factor to determine his place in the ratings.
Track record: A fighter’s accomplishments in the recent past can be a factor to determine his place in the ratings. That includes quality of opposition.

THE RING Ratings are compiled by the magazine’s Editorial Board, with the participation of THE RING Ratings Panel of boxing journalists from around the world.

Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.

Follow @MorillaBoxing

 

 

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