Fabio Wardley is now the WBA’s new No. 1 heavyweight contender

Unbeaten heavyweight Fabio Wardley is now ranked first by the WBA in its latest ratings, which were released December 31.

Wardley, 18-0-1 (17 KOs), fought twice in 2024, both times against the same opponent. In March he competed to an entertaining draw with Frazer Clarke, then proceeded to knock Clarke out in the first round of their rematch in October.

Wardley had been ranked No. 9 by the WBA before the Clarke rematch and No. 6 after it. However, the WBA for some reason just decided to jump him all the way up to No. 1. Wardley leapfrogged several fighters to get there.

Before December, the WBA’s top six contenders were Martin Bakole, Tyson Fury, Michael Hunter, Lenier Pero, Agit Kabayel and Wardley. Only one of those fighters was active in December: Fury, who lost his rematch with heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk by unanimous decision.

The WBA’s top six now are Wardley, Bakole, Hunter, Pero, Fury and Kabayel.

Wardley’s No. 1 slot doesn’t necessarily mean he would be in a mandatory position to challenge Usyk, who holds the WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles.

That’s because the WBA also has a secondary “regular” titleholder in Kubrat Pulev, who unseated Mahmoud Charr in December. Sometimes the WBA will mandate a fight between its primary and secondary titleholders. And sometimes that secondary titleholder will instead be the one who is required to defend against the mandatory challenger.

Also, the WBC has decided that the February 22 bout between Zhilei Zhang and Kabayel will be for its interim world title.

(The IBF has ordered a final eliminator between Bakole and Efe Ajagba, which would give the victor a mandatory shot at the sanctioning body’s titleholder, Daniel Dubois.)

The WBA’s titleholders and No. 1 contenders in each weight class are:

Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles; Kubrat Pulev has the WBA’s secondary “regular” belt; Fabio Wardley is the No. 1 contender. 

Cruiserweight: Gilberto Ramirez has the WBA and WBO world titles; Yuniel Dorticos is the WBA’s No. 1 contender. 

Light heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev has all four world titles. David Morrell is the secondary “regular” titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Beterbiev; Morrell will face WBC interim titleholder David Benavidez on February 1. Dmitry Bivol is the No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts and will have a rematch with Beterbiev on February 22.

Super middleweight: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles; Caleb Plant is the WBA interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Canelo. Christian Mbilli is the WBA’s and WBC’s No. 1 contender.

Middleweight: Erislandy Lara has the world title; Yoenli Hernandez is his No. 1 contender.

Junior middleweight: Terence Crawford has the world title; Jermell Charlo is the “champion in recess” and would be in line for a title shot if and when he returns to the division; Abass Baraou is the No. 1 contender.

Welterweight: Eimantas Stanionis has the world title; Shakhram Giyasov is his No. 1 contender.

Junior welterweight: Jose Valenzuela has the world title; Andy Hiraoka is his No. 1 contender. Valenzuela is expected to face Gary Antuanne Russell next, potentially on the March 1 undercard of Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jnr.

Lightweight: Gervonta Davis has the world title; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant. Davis is scheduled to face Lamont Roach Jnr on March 1.

Junior lightweight: Lamont Roach Jnr has the world title; Albert Batyrgaziev is the interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Roach; Otar Eranosyan is the No. 1 contender. Roach is scheduled to challenge WBA lightweight titleholder Gervonta Davis on March 1.

Featherweight: Nick Ball has the world title; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant. Ball is scheduled to defend against TJ Doheny on March 15.

Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue has all four world titles; Murodjon Akhmadaliev has the WBA’s interim title; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant. Inoue is scheduled to defend against Sam Goodman, who is ranked first by the IBF and WBO, on January 24.

Bantamweight: Seiya Tsutsumi has the world title; Antonio Vargas has the interim title; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant

Junior bantamweight: Fernando Martinez has the world title; David Jimenez is the interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Martinez; Roman Gonzalez is the No. 1 contender. Martinez was supposed to face Kazuto Ioka next in a rematch on December 31 but pulled out with the flu.

Flyweight: Seigo Yuri Akui has the world title; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant.

Junior flyweight: Erick Rosa just outpointed Neider Valdez Aguilar in December to win the title; the No. 1 slot is now vacant as a result.

Minimumweight: Oscar Collazo has the WBA and WBO world titles; Hasanboy Dusmatov is the WBA’s No. 1 contender.