The Corner Stool Competition Index: April 2025 Update

Once again, the top spot changes and Inoue plummets

Regular readers are accustomed to big shifts in this index from quarter to quarter. Results matter, and what one has done for us lately keeps the picture changing all the time.

This time around, change started at the top.

The year-end index for 2024 had Artur Beterbiev in the pole position. It only took twelve rounds in 2025 to change the equation. By the narrowest of margins, Beterbiev suffered his first defeat.

So who leads the pack now?

Before we get there, here’s a few notes on the update:

• While still the lineal champion of the junior middleweight division, Jermell Charlo was removed from consideration for the index for the time being due to excessive inactivity. Should he return to the ring in 2025, that will be reevaluated. Charlo was at number ten in the year-end index.

• Among the handful of non-titlists in consideration for the index: Devin Haney, Beterbiev, Anthony Cacace (who didn’t lose his WBA belt in the ring), and David Benavidez remain for the time being. Benavidez added another solid win over David Morrell but it wasn’t quite enough to crack the top ten.

• Five of the top ten (Beterbiev, Dmitrii Bivol, Naoya Inoue, Gervonta Davis, and Kenshiro Teraji) had fights in the first quarter. Currently three (Inoue, Saul Alvarez, and Devin Haney) are scheduled in quarter two.

• A total pool of 53 fighters were considered for this update.

We start at number ten as last quarter’s number four takes quite a tumble:

10) Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 1 (41.84 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 1 (6 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 42 (2 pts)
Average Opponent Ranking: 9 (5.06)
Age: 31
Current Lineal Titles: World Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 3 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: WBC Super Bantamweight (2023-Present, 4 Defenses); WBO Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 4 Defenses); IBF Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 3 Defenses); WBO Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 3 Defenses)
Additional Lineal Titles: World Bantamweight (2022-23, 1 Defense)
Additional Titles: WBC Light Flyweight (2014, 1 Defense); WBO Jr. Bantamweight (2014-18, 7 defenses); Ring Magazine Bantamweight (2019-23, 6 Defenses); IBF Bantamweight (2019-23, 6 Defenses); TBRB Bantamweight (2022-23, 1 Defense) WBA Bantamweight (2019-23, 5 Defenses); WBC Bantamweight (2022-23, 1 Defense); WBO Bantamweight (2022-23); TBRB/Ring Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 3 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 22-0, 20 KO (24-0, 22 KO including sub-title fights)
Last Five: Ye Joon Kim KO4 (Unrated), TJ Doheny TKO7 (Ring Magazine #7/TBRB Unrated), Luis Nery TKO6 (#5/#3 - 122), Marlon Tapales KO10 (#2 - 122), Stephen Fulton TKO8 (#1 - 122 [+]),
Three Year Activity Kicker: Yes - Nonito Donaire TKO2 (#1/#2 - 118), Paul Butler KO11 (#6/#8 - 118)

Next Opponent: May 4, 2025 vs. Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KO, #9/#5 - 122)

The Take: Inoue’s streak of consecutive top ten wins was halted at six when Sam Goodman was again forced to withdraw due to injury. Inoue settled on the unheralded Kim and disposed of him quickly to keep a different streak alive, scoring his tenth straight knockout. Kim, combined with lower rated Doheny, combined for his lightest two-fight run since facing Michael Dasmarinas and Aran Diapen back-to-back. Inoue, by virtue of his elevated activity and the quality of the run between Diapaen and Kim (he remains tied for the most rated wins in the last three years with potential rival Junto Nakatani), remains in the top ten. Cardenas is up next but, assuming Inoue wins, a showdown with Murodjon Akhmadaliev in the fall will likely create the most buzz for Inoue since the Fulton fight.