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Boxing
Conor Benn, William Scull, Chris Billam-Smith - Biggest winners and losers of IBF ratings update May 2025
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The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has revealed its latest ratings.
Following another month of boxing, there have been plenty of winners and losers in the latest ratings from the organisation.
Winners
Conor Benn
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Conor Benn may not have been victorious in his grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr at the end of April, but he had plenty to take away from the experience.
It felt that all eyes were on the pair when they shared a ring at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
The spirit shown inside the ring has helped rehabilitate Benn’s public image following his controversies, but there have been further gains from the fight.
A natural welterweight that came up to middleweight to face Eubank Jr, Benn has been ranked at fifth place in the IBF’s super welterweight ratings, or junior middleweight as they call the 154-pound division.
Benn had not been rated by the IBF in April, even as a welterweight, but his new ranking at 154 pounds hints at his future fighting plans.
Chris Billam-Smith
Chris Billam-Smith returned to the ring for the first time since losing his WBO cruiserweight title at the end of 2024, securing a comfortable win over American Brandon Glanton on the undercard of Conor Benn’s clash with Chris Eubank Jr in April.
The unanimous decision win was vintage CBS; a slow start focused on flooding the basement of his opponent, before taking control of an all-out war.
Billam-Smith's victory has been recognised by the IBF, who have catapulted the Brit into fourth place, despite not having the cruiserweight in their top 15 in April.
It now means ‘The Gentleman’ is ranked fourth by the IBF, WBC, and WBA – suggesting that the Bournemouth boxer firmly remains in the world-title picture despite losing his WBO title in November.
Losers
William Scull
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Some might argue that the biggest losers of William Scull’s unification bout with Canelo Alvarez were the spectators of the fight, with former IBF champion Scull’s retreating tactics and Canelo’s cautious approach leading to a dull affair.
Scull, who became IBF champion when Alvarez relinquished his belt to chase a more lucrative fight with Edgar Berlanga, might have received his biggest pay day as a boxer, but the Cuban has tumbled down the super-middleweight rankings.
The IBF now have him at 11th, suggesting that another world title shot is some distance away from Scull at the time of writing.
Brandon Glanton
Chris Billam-Smith reaped the rewards for beating Brandon Glanton, so it is perhaps not surprising that the American would be impacted in the opposite direction.
Heading into the contest Glanton was rated at 11th in the cruiserweight picture by the IBF, but his decision loss to CBS has seen him drop out of the 15 listed names in the division.
At 33-years-old Glanton needed a victory over former world champion Billam-Smith to make an assault on the higher reaches of the cruiserweight division, but now it will take a lot for the American to re-establish himself as a contender, at least with the IBF.
Lyndon Arthur
Lyndon Arthur was another fighter in action on the Eubank Jr vs Benn undercard. It was Arthur’s third clash with Anthony Yarde, having won the first meeting by split decision before being knocked out by his rival in the second.
In the end Yarde came out on top in a unanimous decision victory, elevating him from fifth to fourth in the IBF’s ratings.
Arthur’s movement in the rankings was far more dramatic; the 33-year-old dropping from ninth to out of the top 15 in the eyes of the IBF.
Zaur Abdulaev
Zaur Abdulaev entered 2025 as the highest-rated lightweight by the IBF, despite the fact that the number one spot is unfilled. Abdulaev had earned the number two ranking by defeating Juan Javier Carrasco in October 2024.
Last weekend Raymond Muratalla, previously ranked fourth, defeated Abdulaev via a unanimous decision. Whilst Abdulaev has tumbled from second down to 10th, the first and second places are now vacant, meaning that there will be further eliminators to establish mandatory challengers in the lightweight division.
