The WBC’s latest ratings update, released April 12, includes the installation of one new No. 1 contender.

At strawweight: The previous No. 1, Yudai Shigeoka, lost in his rematch with WBC titleholder Melvin Jerusalem on March 30. Shigeoka is now rated at junior flyweight in the No. 5 position.

That means the previous No. 2 at 105lbs, Thammanoon “Knockout CP Freshmart” Niyomtrong (pictured), has been elevated to the top spot.

Freshmart, 25-1 (9 KOs), is a former titleholder himself. He long held the WBA belt before suffering that lone loss on his record, stopped in a unification bout with WBO titleholder Oscar Collazo in November.

Collazo may wind up getting to Jerusalem before Freshmart, however. The two fought once before, with Collazo stopping Jerusalem in May 2023 to win the WBO belt. Collazo and Jerusalem have both expressed interest in a rematch, which would have three world titles on the line.

The WBC’s titleholders and No. 1 contenders in each weight class are:

Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles; Agit Kabayel is the WBC’s interim titleholder. Lawrence Okolie is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.

Bridgerweight: Kevin Lerena has the world title; Adam Balski is his No. 1 contender.

Cruiserweight: Badou Jack has the world title; Ryan Rozicki is his No. 1 contender; Noel Mikaelyan is the champion-in-recess. Rozicki has pulled out of a May 3 fight with Jack due to an injury, and Mikaelyan will face Jack instead.

Light heavyweight: David Benavidez has the world title. Artur Beterbiev is the No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. However, the reason Benavidez has the WBC title now instead of Dmitry Bivol is because Bivol vacated the belt in favor of an expected rubber match with Beterbiev later this year.

Super middleweight: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles; Christian Mbilli is the WBA and WBC’s No. 1 contender. Canelo is scheduled to face the IBF titleholder William Scull on May 3 for the undisputed super middleweight championship.

Middleweight: Carlos Adames has the world title; Meiirim Nursultanov is his No. 1 contender. 

Junior middleweight: Sebastian Fundora has the WBC and WBO world titles; Vergil Ortiz is the WBC’s interim titleholder; Serhii Bohachuk is the WBC’s No. 1 contender. Fundora is in negotiations to defend against his WBO mandatory, Xander Zayas.

Welterweight: Mario Barrios has the world title; Devin Haney is his No. 1 contender. Haney is scheduled to face Jose Ramirez on May 2.

Junior welterweight: Alberto Puello has the world title; Dalton Smith is his No. 1 contender. Smith is scheduled to face Mathieu Germain on April 19.

Lightweight: Shakur Stevenson has the world title; William Zepeda is the interim titleholder; Andy Cruz is the No. 1 contender.

Junior lightweight: O’Shaquie Foster has the world title; Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez is his No. 1 contender. 

Featherweight: Stephen Fulton has the world title; Bruce Carrington is his No. 1 contender; Rey Vargas is the champion-in-recess.

Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue has all four world titles and is the undisputed junior featherweight champion; Alan David Picasso is the WBC’s No. 1 contender. Inoue is scheduled to defend his title against Ramon Cardenas on May 4.

Bantamweight: Junto Nakatani has the world title; Tenshin Nasukawa is his No. 1 contender.

Junior bantamweight: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has the world title and lineal championship; Roman Gonzalez is his No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. 

Flyweight: Kenshiro Teraji has the WBA and WBC world titles; Galal Yafai is the WBC’s interim titleholder; Francisco Rodriguez Jnr is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.

Junior flyweight: Panya Pradabsri has the world title; Carlos Canizales, who lost a highly controversial decision to Pradabsri in a fight in December for the vacant belt, is the No. 1 contender.

Minimumweight: Melvin Jerusalem has the world title; Knockout CP Freshmart is his No. 1 contender.

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.