The WBC’s latest ratings update includes the installation of five new number-one contenders.

At heavyweight: The previous number one, Agit Kabayel, captured the WBC’s interim heavyweight title with his stoppage on February 22 of Zhilei Zhang (previously second, now seventh). Kabayel is ostensibly in the mandatory position to challenge Oleksandry Usyk for the championship.

With the number-one slot open, Lawrence Okolie moved up from third. Okolie, previously a titleholder at cruiserweight and bridgerweight, only arrived at heavyweight in December, when taking less than a round to dispatch the 18-1 Hussein Muhamed.

At light heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev, previously the undisputed champion, moved into the WBA, WBC and WBO’s number-one slots in the wake of his rematch loss to Dmitry Bivol, who was previously first before seizing the throne from Beterbiev, on February 22.

The WBC’s “interim” titleholder – ostensibly in line in front of Beterbiev – is David Benavidez, who also has the WBA’s secondary “regular” title.

At middleweight: Following his draw with the WBC titleholder Carlos Adames, Hamzah Sheeraz has gone from first to second. Chris Eubank Jnr has gone from second to third instead of moving up one spot. And the previous number three, Meiirim Nursultanov, is now first. Nursultanov hasn’t fought since November 2023, when he outpointed the 16-1 Julio Alamos.

At junior welterweight: Sandor Martin lost a split decision on March 1 to the WBC titleholder Alberto Puello and has dropped from first to second. That allowed the previous number two, Dalton Smith, to move up into the number-one position.

At bantamweight: Entering February, Tenshin Nasukawa was rated third. But his unanimous decision win on February 24 over Jason Moloney (previously fifth, now eighth) means that Nasukawa is now first, pushing Juan Francisco Estrada down to second and Takuma Inoue to number three.

The WBC’s titleholders and number-one 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 number-one contender.

Bridgerweight: Kevin Lerena has the world title; Adam Balski is his number-one contender.

Cruiserweight: Badou Jack has the world title; Ryan Rozicki is his number-one contender; Noel Mikaelyan is the champion-in-recess. 

Light heavyweight: Dmitry Bivol has all four world titles and is the undisputed light-heavyweight champion. David Benavidez is the WBC’s interim titleholder as well as the WBA’s secondary “regular” titleholder and is therefore the mandatory challenger for both sanctioning bodies. Artur Beterbiev is the number-one contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts; he similarly sits behind the interim WBO titleholder Callum Smith.

Super middleweight: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles; Christian Mbilli is the WBC’s number-one 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 number-one contender. 

Junior middleweight: Sebastian Fundora has the WBC and WBO world titles; Vergil Ortiz is the WBC interim titleholder; Serhii Bohachuk is the WBC’s number-one contender. Fundora is scheduled to defend against Chordale Booker on March 22.

Welterweight: Mario Barrios has the world title; Devin Haney is his number-one contender. Haney is scheduled to face Jose Ramirez on May 2.

Junior welterweight: Alberto Puello has the world title; Dalton Smith is his number-one contender.

Lightweight: Shakur Stevenson has the world title; William Zepeda is the interim titleholder; Andy Cruz is the number-one contender.

Junior lightweight: O’Shaquie Foster has the world title; Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez is his number-one contender. 

Featherweight: Stephen Fulton has the world title; Bruce Carrington is his number-one 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 number-one contender. Inoue is expected to defend his title against Ramon Cardenas on May 4.

Bantamweight: Junto Nakatani has the world title; Tenshin Nasukawa is his number-one contender.

Junior bantamweight: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has the world title and lineal championship; Roman Gonzalez is his number-one contender. 

Flyweight: Kenshiro Teraji has the world title; Galal Yafai is the interim titleholder; Francisco Rodriguez Jnr is the number-one 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 number-one contender.

Minimumweight: Melvin Jerusalem has the world title; Yudai Shigeoka is his number-one 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.