Cristobal Lorente didn’t just give Nathaniel Collins his first loss – he also took Collins’ spot in the WBC’s rankings of top featherweights.
Lorente and Collins had fought to a draw in October 2025. They had a rematch last month, with Lorente winning via split decision. He improved to 21-0-3 (8 KOs) while Collins fell to 17-1-1 (8 KOs).
Lorente was previously rated No. 2 by the WBC. He’s moved up to No. 1 in the sanctioning body’s monthly update, which was released May 6.
Collins had been No. 1 and has now dropped all the way to No. 5.
The WBC titleholder at 126lbs is Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, who is scheduled to defend against Rene Palacios (who has moved from No. 12 to No. 10 in the organization’s rankings). Carrington-Palacios will take place on July 4 in Cleveland, Ohio, on the undercard of Abdullah Mason-Joe Cordina.
The WBC also has a “champion in recess,” Rey Vargas, who has not fought since a March 2024 draw with Nick Ball.
Lorente is followed in the WBC’s rankings by Ball, Omar Trinidad, Luis Nery, Collins, Reiya Abe, Joet Gonzalez, Mikito Nakano, Liam Davies, Palacios, Toshiki Shimomachi, Brandon Mejia, Marlon Tapales, Otabek Kholmatov and Kevin Walsh.
Abe’s and Shimomachi’s rankings are particularly strange. The WBC’s ratings say they reflect results up to May 2. And early in the day on May 2, Shimomachi won a majority decision over Abe on the undercard of Naoya Inoue-Junto Nakatani.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
