by Cliff Rold

Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua gets his first win against a top ten contender, his first belt, and now the fun really gets started. Joshua will be an attractive opponent sooner than later for champion Tyson Fury and they could be in a football stadium within the next twelve months. Charles Martin exits the top ten while Joseph Parker enters.

Cruiserweight: Ola Afolabi announced his retirement and exits the top ten. Youri Kalenga enters the top ten.

Light Heavyweight: Andre Ward enters the top ten and appears headed towards a showdown with Sergey Kovalev. It can’t get here soon enough. Ward’s arrival forces Marcus Browne out of the ratings for now.

Super Middleweight: Gilberto Ramirez knocks off Arthur Abraham but does he take his spot at the very top of the ratings? Robert Stieglitz exits the top ten after two fights at 175 lbs. and Callum Smith enters the top ten.

Jr. Middleweight: Carlos Molina exits, now competing at welterweight. Willie Nelson enters the top ten.

Welterweight/Jr. Welterweight: Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley entered rated 1-2 by several outlets, including this one, for their third fight. Pacquiao, if he retires, exits recognized as the genuine welterweight champion. Bradley moves down just a hair in the ratings. Dmitry Mikhaylenko enters the top ten as Pacquiao’s ascension makes room at the bottom of the top ten.

Jessie Vargas’s win over Sadam Ali sees him arrive at 147 and exits the 140 lb. ratings. Ali exits the top ten. Adrien Broner lost his title at 140 on the scales and has announced he will continue at welterweight. If that turns out to be the case, he will exit the 140 lb. top ten. Sergey Lipinets enters the top ten at 140.

Lightweight: Robert Easter enters the top ten with an impressive knockout of rated contender Algenis (Argenis) Mendez.

Featherweight: Oscar Valdez and Oscar Escandon arrive in the top ten. Escandon knocked off Robinson Castellanos and Valdez walloped former titlist Evgeny Gradovich. Both Castellanos and Gradovich exit the top ten.

Jr. Flyweight: Ganigan Lopez crashes the top ten in a big way with a road upset of Yu Kimura. It was tough to figure out how to align the top ten given a lot of round robin work below Nietes but ultimately last big win won out. Kimura’s announced retirement further clarifies the picture and makes room for Jesse Espinas.

Strawweight: A big upset in the smallest class as Byron Rojas upends the division leader, Hekkie Budler. Rojas moves up strong in the ratings.

The full results of note and the total impact on the ratings are a click away.

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Last ratings update: March 1, 2016

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com