11-16-2023, 10:33 AM
Ngannou gets WBC #10 ranking
By David Finger
At the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan the eagerly anticipated ratings session kicked off in the heavyweight division. The most recent WBC rankings were unveiled at the convention and perhaps the most notable development was the presence of Francis Ngannou, who lost a split decision to Tyson Fury earlier this month in his professional debut, ranked at #10. Although it is hard to deny that any fighter who drops the world champion and loses a split decision deserves a top ten ranking, it is nonetheless an unprecedented development to see a fighter with only one fight in the world rankings.
The other major development was the WBC board voting to switch places of #12 Joe Joyce and #14 Daniel Dubois in the rankings. The move was suggested to Francis Warren by Mauricio Sulaiman after Warren asked to see Dubois move up from #14, citing his performance in his word title fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
“If Daniel and Joe were to be switched, would that satisfy you?†Sulaiman asked.
“Yes. Joe will not be happy with me, but I have to be fair,†said Warren.
The WBC ratings committee voted to make the change, with Dubois now the #12 ranked heavyweight while Joe Joyce drops to #14.
By David Finger
At the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan the eagerly anticipated ratings session kicked off in the heavyweight division. The most recent WBC rankings were unveiled at the convention and perhaps the most notable development was the presence of Francis Ngannou, who lost a split decision to Tyson Fury earlier this month in his professional debut, ranked at #10. Although it is hard to deny that any fighter who drops the world champion and loses a split decision deserves a top ten ranking, it is nonetheless an unprecedented development to see a fighter with only one fight in the world rankings.
The other major development was the WBC board voting to switch places of #12 Joe Joyce and #14 Daniel Dubois in the rankings. The move was suggested to Francis Warren by Mauricio Sulaiman after Warren asked to see Dubois move up from #14, citing his performance in his word title fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
“If Daniel and Joe were to be switched, would that satisfy you?†Sulaiman asked.
“Yes. Joe will not be happy with me, but I have to be fair,†said Warren.
The WBC ratings committee voted to make the change, with Dubois now the #12 ranked heavyweight while Joe Joyce drops to #14.