Women's Monthly Rankings: September 9th, 2021

September 2021 Ratings – Updates

* The Lineal Boxing Champion monthly ratings are produced by an international panel of 10 boxing analysts. Boxers are ranked according to ability and accomplishments in their respective weight classes. When our ratings began in April 2019 (the first non-computerised monthly rankings to have ever been produced in women’s boxing), fighters who had been inactive for 12 months, with still no fights scheduled, were removed from the ratings. As the 2020-21 pandemic severely interfered with the boxing schedule for approximately one year, it seems only fair to lengthen our inactivity rule to 24 months. By the middle of 2022, the inactivity rule will once again return to 12 months.

Atomweight

Fabiana Bytyqi’s (previously rated #3) last two contests have been at flyweight, and she has not fought at strawweight for nearly two years – she therefore exits the ratings. Nao Ikeyama has been inactive for two years, and so, also exits. With these departures, there has been a reassessment of spots #3 - #5, but all-in-all, there is little to separate these fighters: Saemi Hanagata enters at #3, Eri Matsuda moves to #4, and Nanae Suzuki enters at #5.

Flyweight

Leonela Yudica (#4) has not fought for over over 2 years, so has been removed from the rankings, allowing Maria Salinas to move from #5 to #4. Jessica Plata, who defeated Sandra Nobles, 24-3, in September 2020, enters at #5.

Junior featherweight

After winning the WBO title at 118lbs, Dina Thorslund is scheduled to make a defence of her new belt in this weight class in November – Thorsulnd exits the 122lbs ratings making way for 14-0, Segolene Lefebvre at #5, and resulting in Romero, Nava and Mercado, each moving up one place.

Middleweight

Tori Nelson, inactive for 2 years. Exits the ratings. Maricela Cornejo enters the rankings at #5, with Hermans and Kozin each moving up a place.

Heavyweight

Annie Mazerolle (#1) has not fought for over 2 years, so exits the ratings. Perkins, Gabriels and Maknouzi each move up a place. Meleisea remains at #5, while her conqueror, Sequita Hemingway, enters at #4.

Pound-For-Pound:

No changes.

Ratings Panel

David Avila: 2019 Inductee IWBHF. Journalist at The Sweet Science. California, USA. @AvilaBoxing

Anthony Cocks: Journalist for Max Boxing, and previous contributions for Boxing Monthly. Australia. @el_pollo_loco

Daniel Yanofsky: Boxing journalist, including articles for FIGHT SPORTS and The Scrap. New York/Florida, USA. @DanYanofskyMMA

Ireneusz Fryszkowski: Boxing Journalist. Poland. @RingBlogpl

Julian Haramoure: Boxing journalist, including articles for Argentina Amateur Deporte and ElRoundFinal.com. Argentina. @JulianFunky

Yuriko Miyata: Boxing journalist, including articles for The Ring and ThePrizeFighters.com. Japan. @Yuriyuri0803

GM Ross: Boxing journalist. Host of Pugilistically Inclined podcast. Canada. @punchingprof

Blanca Gutierrez: Creator of Beautiful Brawlers. 2019 Inductee IWBHF. 2018 Inductee WCBHOF. USA. @bbrawlersboxing

Inaky Arzate: Boxing journalist, including articles for TUDN. Mexico. @inaky_arzate

Adam McMeeking: Member of the International Boxing Research Organisation, and Editor of LinealBoxingChampion.com. United Kingdom. @LinealBoxChamp

Women's Championship Policy

Monthly Ratings

The Lineal Boxing Champion monthly ratings are produced by an international panel of 10 boxing analysts. Boxers are ranked according to ability and accomplishments in their respective weight classes. As a general rule, fighters who have been inactive for 18 months, with still no fights scheduled, are removed from the ratings.

Filling a Championship Vacancy

A match-up in a weight class between the #1 and #2 rated contenders, or the #1 and #3 rated contenders, may be eligible to fill a championship vacancy.

As with the men’s Lineal Championship Policy, “The wider opinion among the boxing fraternity will also taken into consideration - this may include the opinions of prominent boxing journalists/pundits/boxers and other impartial independent ratings.”

Winning the Championship from the Champion

To become the champion, the challenger must beat the champion in a fight in which both boxers weigh-in officially within the divisional weight range.

The Championship becomes Vacant

The two main circumstances which may cause a championship to become vacant:

1)    A formally announced retirement e.g. at a press conference.

2)    The champion declares that she is leaving the weight class, with no foreseeable plans to return to the division.

PEDs

A boxer who tests positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs - for the fight in which she wins the Lineal Championship, leading to the official verdict being nullified, will not be recognised as Lineal Champion.

Pregnancy

A boxer who is pregnant during her championship reign will be continued to be recognised as lineal champion, until she loses the crown in the ring, retires, vacates, or abandons (see below) the championship.

Contenders ranked in our divisional rankings who become pregnant will be removed from the monthly ratings, on the basis that they are likely to be inactive in their weight class for at least 12 months. Upon their return the boxer will be assessed in the same manner as any other boxer who has returned after a 12 months (plus) period of inactivity.

Abandonment

In the extremely unlikely event that a champion refuses to retire, but also refuses to defend her title for a period of longer than 3 years 3 months, it could be considered that the champion has abandoned her title. To prevent a situation whereby the title is frozen for potentially decades, the leading contenders may be eligible to fight for the abandoned crown.

The 3 years, 3 months time-frame is used in order to be respectful of past champions. Aside from Tony Zale’s reign in the 1940s, whose reign was affected by World War 2, it represents the longest period of inactivity (Jess Willard’s reign) a Lineal Champion has had in over 100 years of gloved boxing.

A shorter time-frame is not used, because many Hall of Fame champions have had periods of inactivity of 1-3 years, and as history shows, they returned to defend their titles.

@LinealBoxChamp