Top 50 countries in boxing ranking

[dagilechia]

My method is to sum up the boxrec ratings of 20 Best fighters per Country, only countries with at least 20 active boxers were eligible. There are 76 such countries, the countries that didn't made it to top 50, in alphabetical order: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Czechia, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Greece, India, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Moldavia, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Uganda, Zimbabwe.

In recent years, the countries with decent amateur scene, especially post-soviet republics, most notably central asian countries, are making huge quick progress on pro scene. Some people say that boxing does better in Europe now than in USA but without a doubt boxing is on decline everywhere in Western Europe, except UK. Especially the German scene is losing it's importance, boxing is starving also in Italy.

Wonder if the populous third World countries will eventually catch up the rest and dominate boxing? Are there people on this forum from "non-boxing countries" that could say how it's developing in boxing's exotic countries?

I think it's possible because boxing does better in the poorer countries (Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America are making progress in both pros and ams while USA and Western Europe are on decline). Its a Little bit like boxing is becoming a combat sport of the poor while MMA a combat sport of the rich.

1. United States 13058,9
2. Mexico 9301
3. United Kingdom 8522,5
4. Russia 5743,4
5. Japan 4678,9
6. Ukraine 4545,75
7. Philippines 3681,8
8. Cuba 2727,21
9. South Africa 2619,7
10. Argentina 2515,69
11. Germany 2481,19
12. France 2435,28
13. Australia 2393,01
14. Kazakhstan 2349,24
15. Puerto Rico 2296,67
16. Canada 2150,39
17. Poland 1915,87
18. Dominican Republic 1881,06
19. Thailand 1551,24
20. Venezuela 1494,09
21. Nicaragua 1332,85
22. Colombia 1210,759
23. Spain 1199,83
24. Uzbekistan 1138,805
25. Ghana 1111,389
26. China 1011,61
27. Ireland 895,866
28. Namibia 742,856
29. Sweden 739,243
30. Italy 731,04
31. Latvia 721,587
32. Panama 706,953
33. Belarus 583,314
34. Belgium 540,981
35. Brazil 469,548
36. Armenia 459,784
37. Denmark 431,82
38. New Zealand 421,074
39. Romania 400,682
40. Turkey 376,507
41. Bulgaria 372,374
42. Democratic Republic of the Congo 365,306
43. Lithuania 363,428
44. Nigeria 346,644
45. Tanzania 329,597
46. Indonesia 323,974
47. Croatia 298,083
48. Hungary 290,135
49. South Korea 252,425
50. Switzerland 247,148

[Enlightened-One]

If the above stats were proportioned according to the population of each country, this would have a dramatic effect on the sequence of this list (i.e. Cuba and the UK would both be ranked higher).

[greg]

Dag, I'm still not quite sure how you came up with all these numbers..could be give us one simple example in detail? thanks

[dagilechia]

Dag, I'm still not quite sure how you came up with all these numbers..could be give us one simple example in detail? thanks

For example go to boxrec's USA p4p list (https://boxrec.com/en/ratings?zgk%5Bcou ... 5D=a&r_go=) and add the ratings of top 20 fighters (from Crawford to Roman) and you will get the result for USA

[greg]

Dag, I'm still not quite sure how you came up with all these numbers..could be give us one simple example in detail? thanks

For example go to boxrec's USA p4p list (https://boxrec.com/en/ratings?zgk%5Bcou ... 5D=a&r_go=) and add the ratings of top 20 fighters (from Crawford to Roman) and you will get the result for USA

OK, got it now.

[dagilechia]

If the above stats were proportioned according to the population of each country, this would have a dramatic effect on the sequence of this list (i.e. Cuba and the UK would both be ranked higher).

Of course, like in every sport. In football Iceland would be ranked above Brazil.

But i will try to make this and look how the list will look like.

EDIT: i Just found out that it wouldn't work too well - Latvia would be more of a boxing nation than Mexico or USA. Some small countries have their rating boosted by only one top fighters, like Latvia by Briedis.

Latvia is like 170x less populous than USA. does USA have 170 fighters of Briedis calibre? No. But it doesn't mean that Latvia is a crazy boxing nation, more of a boxing nation than USA, it is not.

[dagilechia]

For example go to boxrec's USA p4p list (https://boxrec.com/en/ratings?zgk%5Bcou ... 5D=a&r_go=) and add the ratings of top 20 fighters (from Crawford to Roman) and you will get the result for USA

OK, got it now.

it is not a perfect way to make a boxing's countries ranking but for now i dont have a better idea. Boxing became much more International in last decades and I'm interested to see how it's developing in countries that weren't previously known as boxing countries.

[gregregegg]

Interesting list, top 20 counted is probly a good number but it would be interesting to see how the list changes with top 10 or top 5. Help the smaller boxing nations I imagine. Such as Cuba and nz

I imagine each country has most of its people coming from predominantly a weight range i.e thaland would be 105-122. Same with Japan. Other countries like nz would be better in higher weights like cruiser and heavy.

I wonder what the list would look like if it was each nation's top 2 from each weight added up for the most diverse boxing nations.

[margaret thatcher]

Nice list, great work there my man

For me, USA and Mexico are in a class of their own in terms of overall boxing history and talent. Then next today comes UK and Japan. It would be interesting as a longer term thing to compare this list to past decades to see how it's changed. Most notably I'd think Russia would be much lower.

[dagilechia]

Interesting list, top 20 counted is probly a good number but it would be interesting to see how the list changes with top 10 or top 5. Help the smaller boxing nations I imagine. Such as Cuba and nz

I imagine each country has most of its people coming from predominantly a weight range i.e thaland would be 105-122. Same with Japan. Other countries like nz would be better in higher weights like cruiser and heavy.

I wonder what the list would look like if it was each nation's top 2 from each weight added up for the most diverse boxing nations.

The idea of top 2 (maybe 3) from each weight wouldn't show how much boxing is popular or how strong the scene is in selected countries, my current method is better for that, but it's still interesting anyway and i will do this type of list in next days. But the results are already known imo - multi ethnic nations and populous states like USA, UK, France, Russia etc would be favoured in this type of ranking while homogenous and/or smaller nations like Japan, Poland, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico etc would be ranked lower than on my list.

[dagilechia]

Nice list, great work there my man

For me, USA and Mexico are in a class of their own in terms of overall boxing history and talent. Then next today comes UK and Japan. It would be interesting as a longer term thing to compare this list to past decades to see how it's changed. Most notably I'd think Russia would be much lower.

Thanks Yeah USA Mexico and i'd say UK are the big three, so would be post-Soviet reps if counted together. Smaller nations that are ranked high usually have strong amateur boxing scene. I have done similar ranking in past, i will post it when i'll find it.

[dagilechia]

This is the list I've made 2 years ago (Note that boxrec rating system was different back then). No huge differences but 2 years is not that much.

The only notable trend is that every post soviet state is ranked higher now than before. Those countries have also strong amateur boxing scene. So does Cuba and it's ranked higher now as well.

1.United States 8095
2.Mexico 6979
3.United Kingdom 6294
4.Japan 3835
5.Philippines 3494
6.Russia 3384
7.Ukraine 3196
8.Thailand 2542
9.Australia 2236
10.South Africa 2073
11.Canada 2067
12.Argentina 2044
13.Germany 2026
14.Cuba 1976
15.Puerto Rico 1900
16.France 1886
17.Poland 1761
18.Kazakhstan 1694
19.Dominicana 1660
20.Venezuela 1418
21.Nicaragua 1409
22.Panama 1331
23.Colombia 1289
24.Spain 1208
25.Ghana 1072
26.Namibia 1028
27.Italy 1001

[keirw]

Good work

It would be interesting to see this list updated annually and see how it changes year on year.

If the number of fighters was shortened I imagine Ukraine would fare well. They probably lack the depth of UK or Japan but their top 2 fighters in particular are miles ahead of anything UK or Japan have.

[dagilechia]

In next days i'll post also Continental ratings (top 20, top 50, maybe top 100 too) + United States vs European Union, what would be the rating for Soviet Union etc

[dagilechia]

Good work

It would be interesting to see this list updated annually and see how it changes year on year.

If the number of fighters was shortened I imagine Ukraine would fare well. They probably lack the depth of UK or Japan but their top 2 fighters in particular are miles ahead of anything UK or Japan have.

Thanks i will update this list from time to time, i have done similar ranking in past as you can see in a post above. And you are right - if i remember well Ukraine's top 10 would top Russia's and Japan's. Their top 5 could make it to the top 3 i guess. UK and Ukraine are really strong boxing Nations compared to Their populations. So are small latino Nations of Puerto Rico, Dominicana and Nicaragua. Some Nations like Latvia or Bulgaria or Lithuania have Their rank boosted by one top fighter, without them they wouldnt make it to the top 50.

[Lackeos]

If the above stats were proportioned according to the population of each country, this would have a dramatic effect on the sequence of this list (i.e. Cuba and the UK would both be ranked higher).

Of course, like in every sport. In football Iceland would be ranked above Brazil.

But i will try to make this and look how the list will look like.

EDIT: i Just found out that it wouldn't work too well - Latvia would be more of a boxing nation than Mexico or USA. Some small countries have their rating boosted by only one top fighters, like Latvia by Briedis.

Latvia is like 170x less populous than USA. does USA have 170 fighters of Briedis calibre? No. But it doesn't mean that Latvia is a crazy boxing nation, more of a boxing nation than USA, it is not.

If you skip the #1-rated fighter and add-up everyone else in the top 21, you'll get less random results.

[dagilechia]

Of course, like in every sport. In football Iceland would be ranked above Brazil.

But i will try to make this and look how the list will look like.

EDIT: i Just found out that it wouldn't work too well - Latvia would be more of a boxing nation than Mexico or USA. Some small countries have their rating boosted by only one top fighters, like Latvia by Briedis.

Latvia is like 170x less populous than USA. does USA have 170 fighters of Briedis calibre? No. But it doesn't mean that Latvia is a crazy boxing nation, more of a boxing nation than USA, it is not.

If you skip the #1-rated fighter and add-up everyone else in the top 21, you'll get less random results.

The idea of skipping #1 sounds weird but i get your point. I will check it out in next days.

[lazboy]

Surprised that Australia is 13. We really haven't had outstanding talent in years. Jeff Horn is our most well known, and no doubt is a tough and strong fighter however whether he belongs in the top 5 currently is debatable.

Australia also doesn't show much boxing at all which is disappointing. UFC on the other hand seems to have made a mark with bars often broadcasting fights on the weekends. I wish we had a better boxing culture. Very niche sport here.

[dagilechia]

Surprised that Australia is 13. We really haven't had outstanding talent in years. Jeff Horn is our most well known, and no doubt is a tough and strong fighter however whether he belongs in the top 5 currently is debatable.

Australia also doesn't show much boxing at all which is disappointing. UFC on the other hand seems to have made a mark with bars often broadcasting fights on the weekends. I wish we had a better boxing culture. Very niche sport here.

Yeah #13 doesn't seem bad but Australia was at #9 two years ago, i predict them to drop to 16-20 in next year or two, i think that Canada, Puerto Rico and especially Kazakhstan have bigger potential and boxing especially in the latter two isnt a niche sport, Australia will compete with Poland, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Dominicana for #16. Seems that in Australia, like in most of the Western Europe (especially Germany and Italy) boxing is unfortunately losing its popularity and importance.

But the big local Australian fights still do decent numbers dont they? So did Horn vs Pac i guess, Danny Green was popular too i guess. Maybe it's lack of talent that causes a decrease in popularity rather than a decrease in popularity causes the lack of talent there.

[lazboy]

Surprised that Australia is 13. We really haven't had outstanding talent in years. Jeff Horn is our most well known, and no doubt is a tough and strong fighter however whether he belongs in the top 5 currently is debatable.

Australia also doesn't show much boxing at all which is disappointing. UFC on the other hand seems to have made a mark with bars often broadcasting fights on the weekends. I wish we had a better boxing culture. Very niche sport here.

Yeah #13 doesn't seem bad but Australia was at #9 two years ago, i predict them to drop to 16-20 in next year or two, i think that Canada, Puerto Rico and especially Kazakhstan have bigger potential and boxing especially in the latter two isnt a niche sport, Australia will compete with Poland, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Dominicana for #16. Seems that in Australia, like in most of the Western Europe (especially Germany and Italy) boxing is unfortunately losing its popularity and importance.

But the big local Australian fights still do decent numbers dont they? So did Horn vs Pac i guess, Danny Green was popular too i guess. Maybe it's lack of talent that causes a decrease in popularity rather than a decrease in popularity causes the lack of talent there.

Yea they did good numbers I believe. They were pretty much Australian events that surpassed merely boxing events. Danny Green and Mundine are well known Australian characters, their rivalry is legendary. Many people watched, many watched illegally their rematch not long ago. Horn's fight with Pac was also mega. It had been a long time since we had been graced by a boxing legend. The last time I remember was Danny Green Roy Jones - when Roy was on the slide. I'd say the majority of Aussies went to see Pac, as he's also a person who has transcended boxing. Most thought he would win also, my self included. I wont speak for the forum members.

[dagilechia]

Yeah #13 doesn't seem bad but Australia was at #9 two years ago, i predict them to drop to 16-20 in next year or two, i think that Canada, Puerto Rico and especially Kazakhstan have bigger potential and boxing especially in the latter two isnt a niche sport, Australia will compete with Poland, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Dominicana for #16. Seems that in Australia, like in most of the Western Europe (especially Germany and Italy) boxing is unfortunately losing its popularity and importance.

But the big local Australian fights still do decent numbers dont they? So did Horn vs Pac i guess, Danny Green was popular too i guess. Maybe it's lack of talent that causes a decrease in popularity rather than a decrease in popularity causes the lack of talent there.

Yea they did good numbers I believe. They were pretty much Australian events that surpassed merely boxing events. Danny Green and Mundine are well known Australian characters, their rivalry is legendary. Many people watched, many watched illegally their rematch not long ago. Horn's fight with Pac was also mega. It had been a long time since we had been graced by a boxing legend. The last time I remember was Danny Green Roy Jones - when Roy was on the slide. I'd say the majority of Aussies went to see Pac, as he's also a person who has transcended boxing. Most thought he would win also, my self included. I wont speak for the forum members.

I also think that Manny won. So it's not that bad with boxing popularity in Australia, at least compared with my country... Making big fights still makes sense in Australia, its Just the lack of talent now, in my Country The last big fight that made profit and sold out a 45k stadium was Vitali-Adamek... Local fights like Adamek vs Gołota made big numbers (6-7M tv viewers), Szpilka vs Adamek (200-300k ppvs) but since Adamek retired the idea of boxing ppv doesn't make sense and is gone... Głowacki vs Usyk couldnt sell 15k arena, made 100k ppvs at best, Szpilka vs Wach did 2M tv viewers but sold like a half of 18k arena only... Ppv killed boxing popularity in Poland, Włodarczyk vs Chakhkiev was a great fight a war in Russia but was in Ppv and made maybe 50k buys.. If shown on open Channel it could boost boxings and Włodarczyks popularity.

Amateur boxing died years ago too, no medal since 1992, not sure about Australia but i guess its better there.

I hope that Australian scene will recover and stay relatively strong, boxing needs to be International, the AU&NZ is important too and followed by boxing nerds around the World.

[conan_the_cribber]

Interesting post dag.....thanks for doing the maths.

[Best Coast]

Great work amigo!! I like stats like that!!

[giacomino]

Using boxrec points is interesting because there are situations where a fighter has more points but clearly isn’t a better fighter. Just looked at the top 50 and Jeff Horn is ranked ahead of Inoue

[Seamus]

World class boxers in South Korea seemed to have gone extinct.