Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers – World Rankings

Updating the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxing Rankings after Chris Billam-Smith defeated Richard Riakporhe to retain the WBO Cruiserweight Title

By Sunday Umoh | June 24, 2024

Who is the Best Cruiserweight Boxer right now?

Chris Billam-Smith defeats Richard Riakporhe to take the number 2 spot on our Cruiserweight Boxing Rankings as Jai Opetaia remains king and awaits his next fight. So, here are our updated Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers – World Rankings, but first, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions.

What is a Cruiserweight Boxer?

Cruiserweight is a weight class of boxers that consists of boxers weighing between 175 pounds (79.4 kg) to 200 pounds (90.7 kg).

The following are the Best Cruiserweight Boxers in the World.

Honorable Mention

Alexei Papin
Ryan Rozicki
Ilunga Makabu

Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers

10. Michał Cieślak

Starting off the list, we have Michał Cieślak at the number 10 spot. He is a professional boxer with 25 wins and 2 losses on his record.

Cieślak is the current EBU cruiserweight champion. He has challenged for a world title twice, once against Ilunga Makabu, and once against Lawrence Okolie, but came short both times.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Tommy McCarthy via TKO, and there is no official announcement about his next fight.

9. Arsen Goulamirian

Arsen Goulamirian is an Armenian-Born Boxer fighting out of France, and he has a professional record of 27 wins and 1 loss.

Goulamirian is the current WBA Cruiserweight world champion. He won the interim title in 2018 after defeating Ryad Merhy and was later promoted to the WBA (Super) Cruiserweight world champion. Goulamirian has defended the title three times.

He defended the title three times before losing it to Gilberto Ramírez via Unanimous decision last weekend.

8. Richard Riakporhe

Richard Riakporhe is a professional boxer from Britain, and he has a record of 17 wins and 1 loss.

Riakporhe has held multiple regional titles at cruiserweight. He is the former British Cruiserweight champion and has held the WBA Inter-Continental and WBC silver Cruiserweight world titles as well.

In his most recent fight, he fought Chris Billam-Smith for the WBO cruiserweight title but lost the fight via Unanimous Decision. His next fight has not been announced yet.

7. Alexei Papin

Alexei Papin is a professional boxer and former kickboxer from Russia with 17 wins and 1 loss on his Pro boxing record.

Papin is the former IBF International cruiserweight champion and has also held the EBP cruiserweight title. In his most recent fight, he defeated Isaac Chilemba via 2nd round Knockout, and there is no official announcement about his next fight.

6. Gilberto Ramírez

Title(s):

WBA Cruiserweight Super Champion

Next up in our rankings, we have Gilberto Ramírez. A Mexican professional boxer with a record of 46 wins and only 1 loss.

Ramírez is the current WBA Cruiserweight world champion, and has previously held the super middleweight title as well, which he defended 5 times.

He became the cruiserweight champion recently after defeating Arsen Goulamirian in a decisive fight which ended with a unanimous decision in his favor.

5. Yuniel Dorticos

Yuniel Dorticós is a professional boxer from Cuba, and he has a record of 27 wins and 2 losses.

He is a former two-time world champion at cruiserweight. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF cruiserweight title from 2019 to September 2020.

In his most recent fight, he scored a first-round Knockout win over Alan Campa, and there is no official announcement about his next fight.

4. Mairis Briedis

Mairis Briedis is a Latvian professional boxer with a record of 28 wins and 3 losses.

Briedis is a three-time world champion at cruiserweight. He won the WBC title in 2017, and the WBO title in 2019, and is also the former unified IBF and the Ring cruiserweight world champion.

Recently, Briedis lost the title to Jai Opetaia. He had a slow start, and even though he rallied in the later rounds, and even broke Opetaia’s jaw, it was too little too late, and he lost via unanimous decision. His next fight is a rematch against Jai Opetaia on May 18th.

3. Norair Mikaeljan

Title(s):

WBC Cruiserweight World Champion

Norair Mikaeljan, AKA Noel Gevor is an Armenian professional boxer with 27 wins and 2 losses.

He is the current WBC cruiserweight world champion and has previously held multiple regional titles as well, including the WBC Silver and International Cruiserweight titles.

He won the Vacant WBC world title recently, after defeating Ilunga Makabu via an impressive third-round TKO. Mikaeljan outclassed his opponent from start to finish, solidifying his position with a dominant performance.

As of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

2. Chris Billam-Smith

Title(s):

WBO Cruiserweight World Champion

Now in the Top 5 of the Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list is Chris Billam-Smith. Billam-Smith is a professional boxer from England, and he has a record of 20 wins with only 1 loss.

He is the current WBO Cruiserweight world champion and has previously held multiple regional titles including the European, Commonwealth, and WBA Continental Cruiserweight titles.

He defeated Mateusz Masternak via referee stoppage. Billam-Smith applied pressure and winning the first five rounds overcoming a cut above his left eye in the fourth round. Before the eighth round Masternak was unable to continue due to rib injury.

Recently, he made his second title defense against Richard Riakporhe, winning the fight by Unanimous decision, and retaining the WBO Cruiserweight title.

1. Jai Opetaia

Title(s):

IBF Cruiserweight World Champion
The Ring Cruiserweight World Champion

In at number 1 on the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list is Jai Opetaia. Opetaia is an Australian Professional boxer, with an undefeated record of 25 wins and 0 losses.

Jai Opetaia is the current unified IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world champion. He has also held multiple regional titles including the WBA Oceania and WBO Global cruiserweight titles

He won the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles after defeating Mairis Briedis. Opetaia took the lead on the scorecards in the early rounds and though Briedis had a comeback in the later rounds, Jai Opetaia won the fight via a unanimous decision.

Opetaia took on Jordan Thompson for his first title defense and knocked him out in the 4th round after a short but dominating performance. Then he defended his title against Ellis Zorro, winning by an impressive 1st round KO.

In his most recent fight, he defended the Ring title against Mairis Briedis and won the Vacant IBF title as well. As of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

How would you rank these Contenders and Champions in the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list? Rank below to be added in the Power Rankings