Top 15 P4P Boxers in the World (May 2026)

The boxing landscape has shifted this year. Plenty of fighters have seen their stock rise or fall – but who are the 15 best boxers on the planet right now?

We have a new entry in our top 15 this time around, as Vergil Ortiz Jr. drops out of the rankings – let’s see who else made the grade.

15. Dalton Smith

Dalton Smith made his mark on the world scene when he emphatically stopped Subriel Matias in a brutal encounter back in January. An accurate puncher with excellent punch resistance and crushing power, Smith has yet to meet his match.

An all-England clash with Adam Azim doesn’t seem to be on the cards anytime soon – however, expect the winner of that inevitable clash to be propelled into the realms of superstardom.

14. Raymond Muratalla

Raymond Muratalla surprised plenty of audiences – ourselves included – when he scored an impressive win over amateur star Andy Cruz earlier in the year.

Previously, he had also beaten the likes of Zaur Abdullaev, Tevin Farmer and Jeremie Nakathila. Muratalla is flying under the radar somewhat at the moment – perhaps a move up to Super-Lightweight would see him earn a bit more recognition?

13. O’Shaquie Foster

O’Shaquie Foster is, likewise, highly underrated and underappreciated by the public at the moment. Don’t let those three losses on his record fool you – two of them came whilst he was a youngster, while the third came against Robson Conceicao in a razor-thin split decision loss (which he would later avenge).

In his last fight, Foster racked up an excellent win when he outclassed Stephen Fulton. His jab is amongst the best in the world right now – we’re interested to see how he gets on against Raymond Ford on May 30.

12. Emanuel Navarrete

Emanuel Navarette lacks the crisp technical ability of some of the other fighters on this list, but his unorthodox approach to the fight game has paid dividends in his career thus far. He demolished Eduardo Nunez last time out – this was one of his best wins to date.

An awkward fighter with crushing punch power, he is one of the most peculilar fighters in the sport today. Despite his flat feet and interesting punch selection, Navarette’s toughness and ring IQ often see him through.

11. Keyshawn Davis

Say what you want about Keyshawn Davis as a person – as a fighter, his talents cannot be denied. He fought most recently out of everyone on our list, out-pointing Nahir Albright in a bad-tempered contest in which both men were guilty of blatant fouls.

With that being said, when focused, Davis is a monster. He’s razor-sharp, with fantastic timing and reflexes – if he can stay out of trouble away from the ring, he’ll be a major force in the world of boxing for years to come.

10. Oscar Collazo

Oscar Collazo is a fighter who doesn’t get nearly enough credit. He put himself on the map with a brilliant win over Knockout CP Freshmart back in 2024 – since then, the Puerto Rican has grown from strength to strength.

He has defended his Minimumweight titles on three occasions since then, winning all three within the distance. He has practically cleared out the Minimumweight division – a move up to Light-Flyweight or even Flyweight would be his best forward move at this stage.

9. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis

A vicious, violent body puncher with lightning quick hands and a natural ability to string deadly combinations together, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is probably the best finisher in boxing today. If he hurts you, the fight is practically over.

His defence needs work – he has been dropped by lesser fighters in the past – but on the front foot, Ennis is a sight to behold.

8. Junto ‘Big Bang’ Nakatani

Junto Nakatani was unsuccessful in his last outing, where he was beaten by Naoya Inoue, but he gains a boost in our rankings based on his strong performance against one of the greatest fighters of all time.

An incredibly entertaining fighter, Nakatani’s sharp punches and unusually wide stance make him a difficult opponent to approach. He has struggled with stamina issues in the past, but these were nowhere to be seen in his fight of the year candidate against ‘The Monster’.

7. Devin Haney

Devin Haney isn’t the most popular boxer in the world – his fights are rarely interesting, but one can’t deny how effective he is. Haney’s distance management is absolutely masterful; he makes it incredibly difficult for fighters to cut off the ring against him.

Forget his ‘loss’ against Ryan Garcia. Garcia was overweight and on PEDs for that fight – we can forgive Haney for the beating he took in that one. Last time out, Haney schooled Brian Norman Jr, despite many thinking Norman would pull off the upset.

6. Dmitri Bivol

Dmitri Bivol is perhaps the best defensive fighter in the world right now. Possessing peerless footwork and a high guard that only Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright could rival, hitting Bivol clean is a battle in of itself – just ask Canelo.

5. Shakur Stevenson

Only one fighter can match Bivol in terms of defensive prowess – Shakur Stevenson. In his last fight, Stevenson made a statement when he shut Teofimo Lopez out in a one-sided bout, winning practically all 12 rounds against the former Lomachenko conqueror.

It’s hard to pick a fault in Stevenson’s game. He showed his acumen on the inside when he defeated William Zepeda – he isn’t the hardest puncher in the world, but with such impervious defence, it rarely matters.

4. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez

Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez made his mark when he beat Mexican icon Carlos Cuadras back in 2022, when he was just 22 years of age – since then, he’s beaten the likes of Sunny Edwards, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Juan Francisco Estrada and Fernando Martinez (to name a few).

The way Bam glides around the ring is a joy to behold. He isn’t just a fancy mover, though – he possesses serious power in both hands, as well as fantastic recovery ability.

3. David Benavidez

David Benavidez’s dominant win over Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez put the world on notice. Despite moving up from Light-Heavyweight to Cruiserweight, Benavidez absolutely annihilated his opponent, shattering his orbital bone and forcing him to quit after just six rounds.

Benavidez has been on a tear as of late. His hand speed is frighteningly quick for a fighter of his weight – not only are they fast, they’re also very, very heavy. There have been talks of him moving up to Heavyweight, but we feel this might be a step too far for ‘La Bandera Roja’.

2. Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk appears to be winding down in his career, as he prepares to take on kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in his next fight. For our money, Usyk has earned a couple of novelty fights after the last five years of his career, but it is disappointing to see him opting to take on a relative soft touch whilst still champion.

Nevertheless, Usyk’s pair of wins over Tyson Fury will live long in the memory. Usyk may slowly begin to slide down our P4P rankings as time passes, but he is still amongst the best fighters on the planet. One may still consider him the P4P number one – but not us, not anymore.

1. Naoya Inoue

Following his win over Junto Nakatani in a technical classic on May 2, Naoya Inoue maintains his spot as our P4P number one. Inoue is a complete fighter – every fighter has weaknesses, but Inoue’s are incredibly minute.

Previously, ‘The Monster’ has picked up stoppage wins over the likes of Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton and Nonito Donaire – however, his victory over Nakatani is his greatest victory to date. Technically adept, tough as nails and with punch power to rivals Heavyweights, Inoue is the best boxer in the world right now.