Women’s pound-for-pound rankings: Claressa Shields still on top; Chantelle Cameron makes a big jump
Claressa Shields showed once again why she’s the best women’s fighter in the world by dominating Maricela Cornejo in a 10-round unanimous decision win to retain her undisputed middleweight championship.
And while Cornejo was a late replacement for Hanna Gabriels, who tested positive for a banned substance and was removed from the card, it was more about the way Shields dominated Cornejo and how she looked unbeatable.
With the victory, Shields keeps the top spot. All our panelists voted Shields at No. 1, with Chantelle Cameron getting some consideration after her victory over Katie Taylor to keep her junior welterweight undisputed championship.
“Shields was once again dominant — as expected — and she remained No. 1 for me in the latest pound-for-pound rankings,” said boxing writer Michael Rothstein. “But it was a close decision. What Cameron accomplished last month in beating Taylor, and beating her somewhat decisively in Taylor’s homecoming fight in Ireland, was a truly special performance. So Cameron jumped up to No. 2 for me based off what she’s done so far and the massive win over Taylor.
“Shields remains at No. 1 because of her level of skill and her continued tremendous ability as a defensive fighter. She’s shown improvements fight over fight, from sitting on her punches to some of her combination work, and she has some of the best defense in the sport.”
Despite the loss, Taylor kept her No, 2 spot over Amanda Serrano, while Cameron moves to No. 4. Seniesa Estrada also moves up after an impressive victory over Tina Rupprecht which unified two strawweight world titles.
Here’s the current top 10.
Note: Results are through June 7.
RECORD: 14-0, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Maricela Cornejo, June 3
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
RECORD: 22-1, 6 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: L (MD10) Chantelle Cameron, May 20
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
RECORD: 44-2-1, 30 KOs
DIVISION: Featherweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Erika Cruz, Feb. 4
NEXT FIGHT: Aug. 5 vs. Heather Hardy
RECORD: 18-0, 8 KOs
DIVISION: Junior welterweight unified champion
LAST FIGHT: W (MD10) Katie Taylor, May 20
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
RECORD: 14-1, 7 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Elhem Mekhaled, Feb. 4
NEXT FIGHT: July 15 vs. Christina Linardatou
RECORD: 24-0, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Strawweight unified champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Tina Rupprecht, March 25
NEXT FIGHT: July 28 vs. TBA
RECORD: 18-1, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Lucy Wildheart, April 15
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
RECORD: 12-3, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: L (TKO3) Chantelle Cameron, Nov. 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
RECORD: 8-1, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Elin Cederroos, April 30
NEXT FIGHT: July 1 vs. Savannah Marshall
RECORD: 12-1, 10 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight
LAST FIGHT: L (UD10) Claressa Shields, Oct. 15
NEXT FIGHT: July 1 vs. Franchon Crews-Dezurn
The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on.
Others receiving votes: Natasha Jonas (7), Delfine Persoon (6), Christina Hammer (5), Hyun Choi (1), Yokasta Valle (1), Terri Harper (1), Jessica Nery Plata (1).
Michael Rothstein: 1. Shields, 2. Cameron, 3. Taylor, 4. Serrano, 5. Estrada, 6. Baumgardner, 7. McCaskill, 8. Mayer, 9. Jonas, 10. Valle
Timothy Bradley Jr.: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Baumgardner, 5. Estrada, 6. Cameron, 7. Mayer, 8. McCaskill, 9. Jonas, 10. Crews-Dezurn
Nick Parkinson: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Baumgardner, 6. Mayer, 7. Marshall, 8. McCaskill, 9. Estrada, 10. Harper
Salvador Rodriguez: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Baumgardner, 6. Estrada, 7. Mayer, 8. Crews-Dezurn, 9. Jonas, 10. Nery Plata
Bernardo Pilatti: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Baumgardner, 5. Cameron, 6. McCaskill, 7. Marshall, 8. Hammer, 9. Persoon, 10. Estrada
Charlie Moynihan: 1. Shield, 2. Serrano, 3. Baumgardner, 4. Mayer, 5. Cameron, 6. Taylor, 7. Persoon, 8. Estrada, 9. Hammer, 10. Choi
Kel Dansby: 1. Shields, 2. Cameron, 3. Taylor, 4. Serrano, 5. Bumgarnder, 6. McCaskill, 7. Crews-Dezur, 8. Estrada, 9. Mayer, 10. Jonas
First place: Shields (7)
Second place: Taylor (4), Cameron (2), Serrano (1)
Third place: Serrano (4), Taylor (2), Baumgardner (1)
Fourth place: Serrano (2), Cameron (2), Baumgardner (2), Mayer (1)
Fifth place: Baumgardner (3), Cameron (2), Estrada (2)
Sixth place: McCaskill (2), Taylor (1), Cameron (1), Baumgardner (1), Estrada (1), Mayer (1)
Seventh place: Mayer (2), Marshall (2), McCaskill (1), Crews-Dezurn (1), Persoon (1)
Eighth place: Estrada (2), McCaskill (2), Crews-Dezurn (1), Mayer (1), Hammer (1)
Ninth place: Jonas (3), Estrada (1), Mayer (1), Persoon (1), Hammer (1)
10th place: Estrada (1), Crews-Dezurn (1), Jonas (1), Harper (1), Choi (1) Valle (1), Nery Plata (1)