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The cruiserweights have been seeing some great action in the last few years and there are a lot of big names that are floating around the division. The best news is that all of them are willing to fight each other, and as a result fans have been treated to some fantastic and meaningful scraps. Still, some of the best fighters have moved up to heavyweight, so how do the top 10 cruiserweight division rankings play out? Here's a look at the best cruiserweight fighters in boxing today.

Cruiserweight division rankings last updated October 2011

1. Marco Huck – The only loss on Huck’s resume is a stoppage to Cunningham, who has basically taken on everybody in the division. Huck has good power and is back on a long winning streak including big recent wins over Lebedev and Afolabi. Together, Huck and Cunningham had been the cruiserweight division for a few years, but you can add Yoan Pablo Hernandez into that top group now.
2. Yoan Pablo Hernandez - Since suffering an early stoppage loss to Wayne "Big Truck" Braithwaite in 2008, Hernandez has been on a tear. He's put together 11 wins since that encounter, including his recent wins over Steve Herelius and Steve Cunningham. Hernandez had lost all of his momentum against Cunningham when the fight was stopped due to cuts and went to some strange scorecards, however, with his near 1st-round stoppage, he gets the benefit of the doubt and vaults to number 2.
3. Steve Cunningham – Cunningham just lost his titles to Hernandez, but probably should have been ahead on the scorecards when the fight was stopped due to the cuts... and the fight probably shouldn't been stopped to begin with. However, he was badly hurt and almost stopped outright in the 1st round, and now is stuck without a title yet again despite having the outright best resume in the division.
4. Denis Lebedev – Lebedev had a four year layoff in his career between 2004 and 2008 but put together a big 8 wins before meeting Marco Huck and losing a hard fought split decision. Lebedev is tough, aggressive and has both powers and skill, but does he get a rematch with Huck? He recently added a brutal KO win over Roy Jones to his record and looks to be lined up to face another aged American next, James Toney.
5. Ola Afolabi – Since losing to Huck, Afolabi has put together four more wins, not all against good competition, but he's ready for another title shot and he should land one shortly.
6. Antonio Tarver - Tarver's first effort in the cruiserweight division was very impressive, stopping Danny Green. A rematch with Green could be next, but Tarver has lots of options in this division, and with his name could call his own shots.
7. Lateef Kayode - What a great name for boxing, especially for a power puncher, and a power puncher with the nickname "Power"! The Freddie Roach disciple is all over the Showtime airwaves and has 14 KOs in his 18 wins. After besting Matt Godfrey, it's probably title shot time, however he has lost some of his momentum as he has struggled at times against the likes of Felix Cora Jr and Nicholas Iannuzzi, and one envisions a lopsided 12 round decision loss if he faced somebody like Cunningham.
8. Troy Ross - Troy Ross was giving Steve Cunningham a very difficult outing in their recent encounter until the fight had to be stopped because of a cut in the early stages. Cunningham therefore got the nod, and Ross was vying for the rematch, which means he might get Hernandez next.
9. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk - This guy seems to have a preordained capacity for picking up loose titles in fights you didn't see against fighters you don't know or with decisions he didn't deserve. Be that as it may, it's a 9 fight winning streak for the current WBC titleholder at cruiserweight.
10. Alexander Frenkel - Enzo Maccarinelli has been getting knocked out by everyone for the last two years, and Frenkel was the latest to get through that rite of passage for a top cruiserweight fighter. A German fighter in a division that fights almost exclusively in Germany it seems, the undefeated Frenkel will be getting a title shot soon.

Other Names

Guillermo Jones, Danny Green, Matt Godfrey, Ryan Coyne, Steve Herelius, BJ Flores

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 168-175 pounds – Boxing Light Heavyweight Division Rankings
• 200+ pounds – Boxing Heavyweight Division Rankings

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