Andy Hiraoka fell short on the scorecards – and therefore fell in the WBA’s junior welterweight rankings.
Hiraoka had been slotted No. 1 ahead of his challenge of WBA titleholder Gary Antuanne Russell. He put up a competitive fight but lost a unanimous decision last month on the undercard of Ryan Garcia’s win over Mario Barrios.
The defeat meant Hiraoka, now 24-1 (19 KOs), has dropped to No. 4 in the sanctioning body’s newest monthly ratings update, which was released on March 1.
His demotion meant three fighters each moved up one position. Former titleholder Alberto Puello is now No. 3. Unbeaten prospect Kevin Brown is No. 2. And Khariton Agrba is the new No. 1.
Agrba, a 30-year-old from Russia, is 17-1 (9 KOs) and also has gone 3-0 in IBA Pro bouts, which BoxRec lists separately. He had been ranked No. 2 before suffering a surprising second-round TKO loss last July to Ruben Nestor Neri Munoz, who was rated No. 12 at the time. That result meant the two men essentially switched positions, with Agrba going all the way down to No. 13 while Munoz vaulted to No. 2.
But Agrba won their rematch in December via unanimous decision, and they switched once again, with Agrba heading back to No. 2 and Munoz going to No. 12.
Given that Hiraoka was Russell’s mandatory contender, Agrba may have to wait for a shot while Russell pursues voluntary defenses or unification bouts.
After Agrba, Brown, Puello and Hiraoka is Kenneth Sims at No. 5, followed by Nestor Bravo, Cletus Seldin (pending a decision on his recent positive test for a banned performance-enhancing drug), Frank Martin, Israel Mercado, Hovhannes Bachkov, Zaur Abdullaev, Emiliano Vargas, Erislandy Alvarez, Munoz and Feudri Franco.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
