Boxing Divisional Rankings: Inoue Stays on Top at Junior Featherweight

Naoya Inoue solidified his position as the top-ranked junior featherweight with another dominant knockout win on Friday in Tokyo. The Japanese superstar stopped South Korea’s Ye-Joon Kim in the 4th round to retain his undisputed 122-pound championship.

Inoue was heavily favored to defeat Kim, who stepped in on short notice to replace Sam Goodman. With the victory, Inoue maintained his #1 ranking in the division and extended his knockout streak to 10 consecutive fights.

The “Monster” is now expected to make his U.S. return this spring, likely facing #9 ranked David Picasso in Las Vegas. It would mark Inoue’s first stateside bout since 2021.

In other action, #7 welterweight Jin Sasaki picked up a decision win over the tough Shoki Sakai in the co-main event.

The welterweight division, once one of boxing’s glamour weight classes, is currently in a transitional period. However, that should change soon with Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney both moving up to 147 pounds for separate fights in May ahead of a planned rematch in October.

In Las Vegas, Diego Pacheco held onto his #4 super middleweight ranking with a comfortable decision victory over fringe contender Steven Nelson.

While there were no major changes in this week’s rankings, next week should bring plenty of movement. A high-stakes PBC pay-per-view card on Saturday features David Benavidez vs. David Morrell and the rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa.

The divisional rankings aim to highlight the best fighters in each weight class based on recent performances. Fighters moving to new divisions are ranked there once they compete at the new weight. Champions in multiple divisions can be ranked in both. Inactive fighters or those who fail drug tests are removed until they return to action.