This being a pro boxing-oriented blog, I confess I’d never seen world amateur boxer ratings until today, via Boxing Along the Beltway/D.C. Amateur Boxing. The man who provided the rankings to D.C. Amateur Boxing, the U.K.’s Michael Smith, appears to have been a well-regarded authority on the matter for any number of years.
In the latest world rankings, in every weight class but one — where Russia had the #3 boxer — Russia has either the #1 boxer, #2 boxer or both in the “junior” category. I don’t know if that trend necessarily indicates that Russia, already the dominant power in the heavyweight division, is soon going to be taking over the sport as a whole; its amateurs don’t do quite as well in some of the other, non-junior rankings. But I thought it was interesting and worth sharing. The rest of the rankings are interesting, too, so read ’em and enjoy. Or weep.
