FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Learn how our algorithmic pound-for-pound rankings are computed. We use four weighted components to produce a transparent composite score for every fighter.

How are the P4P rankings calculated?

Each fighter's composite score is a weighted sum of four independently computed components:

Component Weight Measures
Win/Loss Record 40% Win percentage, KO ratio, career volume, and loss penalty
Quality of Opposition 45% Opponents' win rates, experience, KO danger, title fight significance, and result weighting
Title Wins 10% Title fight victories, championship appearances, winning percentage in title bouts, recent title activity
Activity & Recency 5% Time since last fight and fights-per-year over the last 3 years

Composite Score = (Win/Loss × 0.40) + (Opposition × 0.45) + (Title Wins × 0.10) + (Activity × 0.05)

Worked Example: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez

To demonstrate how each component works, we'll walk through a real calculation using Canelo Alvarez's career record of 63 wins (39 KO), 3 losses, 2 draws across 68 professional fights.

1 Win/Loss Record (40% weight)

This component evaluates a fighter's record with nuance beyond a simple win percentage. Draws count as half a win, knockouts earn a bonus, and losses carry a scaled penalty that accounts for career length.

// Canelo: 63W, 3L, 2D, 39KO, 68 total fights
Total fights = 63 + 3 + 2 + 0 = 68
Effective wins = 63 + (2 × 0.5) = 64
Win percentage = 64 / 68 = 0.941
KO ratio = 39 / 63 = 0.619
KO bonus = 0.619 × 0.10 = 0.062
Volume multiplier = min(1.0, 68 / 12) = 1.000
// Loss penalty scales with career length
Career factor = 1 − min(68 / 200, 0.50) = 1 − 0.34 = 0.660
Loss penalty = 3 × 0.04 × 0.660 = 0.079
Score = (0.941 + 0.062) × 1.000 − 0.079 = 0.924
Why not 100%? Despite an elite 63-3-2 record, Canelo's 3 losses carry a direct penalty. This ensures even dominant fighters are differentiated by defeats.
Career factor: The loss penalty scales down for longer careers. 3 losses in 68 fights (career factor 0.66) is less punishing than 3 losses in 10 fights (career factor 0.95).
2 Quality of Opposition (45% weight)

The largest component, measuring who a fighter has actually fought. Each opponent in the fighter's record contributes to the score based on several factors:

Opponent Win %
Each opponent's career win percentage forms the base score. Fighting a 90% winner is worth more than fighting a 60% winner.
Experience Bonus
Opponents with 40+ fights earn a 0.10 bonus, 30+ earn 0.07, 20+ earn 0.04. Seasoned veterans are tougher competition.
Title Fight Bonus
Fights contested for a championship title receive a 0.15 bonus, recognizing that both fighters in a title bout are elite.
Recency Weight
Recent fights matter more. Weight decays exponentially so the most recent opponents have the greatest influence on the score.
// For each opponent in Canelo's fight history:
Per-fight score = (oppWinPct + expBonus + titleBonus + dangerBonus) × resultMultiplier
Result multiplier: 1.0 for wins, 0.4 for losses
// Each fight score is weighted by recency: e^(-0.05 × index)
Final = weighted average of all fight scores
// Blended with a profile estimate when fewer than 20 fights are synced

Why is this weighted 45%? Who you beat matters more than how many you beat. A fighter who consistently defeats top-ranked opponents should rank higher than one who pads their record against weaker competition.

3 Title Wins (10% weight)

Measures a fighter's championship credentials using their title fight record. The algorithm uses the IsTitleFight flag from each bout's record.

// Canelo's title fight scoring:
Title fight wins × 0.08 (capped at 0.48 for 6+ wins)
Title fight appearances × 0.02 (capped at 0.12)
// Title winning percentage bonus:
≥ 80% title win rate → +0.15
≥ 60% title win rate → +0.10
≥ 50% title win rate → +0.05
// Recent title activity (last 2 years):
Any title fight in last 2 years → +0.10
Recent title wins × 0.05 (capped at 0.15)

Example: A fighter with 8 title fight wins (0.48), 10 title appearances (0.12), an 80% title win rate (+0.15), and 2 recent title wins (+0.10 + 0.10) would score near the maximum. Canelo's extensive title fight history contributes significantly here.

4 Activity & Recency (5% weight)

Rewards active fighters and penalizes long layoffs. This is a blend of two sub-scores: recency (60%) and activity rate (40%).

Recency Score (60%)
Based on months since last fight:
≤ 6 months1.00
≤ 9 months0.85
≤ 12 months0.65
≤ 18 months0.40
≤ 24 months0.20
> 24 months0.10
Activity Score (40%)
Based on fights per year (last 3 years):
2.0 – 3.0 /yr1.00
3.0 – 4.0 /yr0.90
1.5 – 2.0 /yr0.85
> 4.0 /yr0.75
1.0 – 1.5 /yr0.65
0.5 – 1.0 /yr0.40
// Activity & Recency formula:
Activity Score = (recencyScore × 0.6) + (activityScore × 0.4)
Putting It All Together
// Canelo's composite P4P score:
Win/Loss (0.924) × 0.40 = 0.370
Opposition (varies) × 0.45 = varies
Title Wins (varies) × 0.10 = varies
Activity (varies) × 0.05 = varies
Composite = sum of all weighted components

The "varies" values above depend on the current state of fight data in our database — specifically which opponents are synced and their current records. The Win/Loss score of 0.924 is deterministic from Canelo's 63-3-2 (39 KO) record, but the other components change as new fight data is imported.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Rankings are recalculated weekly via a scheduled background job. After each recalculation, a new snapshot is saved and the movement indicators (up/down arrows) show how each fighter's position has changed compared to the previous week.

In boxing, who you beat is the strongest indicator of your ability. A fighter with a 40-0 record against unknown opponents is not comparable to a fighter who is 35-3 against world champions. By weighting opposition quality at 45%, we ensure that fighters who consistently compete against elite opponents are rewarded, even if they have picked up a few losses along the way.

Yes. Losses reduce the Win/Loss component, but if a fighter's opposition quality, title record, and activity are strong enough, they can absolutely be ranked #1. The loss penalty is designed to be meaningful but not devastating — 3 losses in a 68-fight career (like Canelo) results in roughly a 0.079 penalty on the Win/Loss score, not a disqualification.

Activity is a tiebreaker, not a defining characteristic. A fighter who hasn't fought in 18 months shouldn't plummet in the rankings if their career resume is outstanding. However, consistently active fighters deserve a small edge over inactive ones with similar records. The 5% weight provides this nudge without overpenalizing fighters recovering from injuries or waiting for marquee matchups.

Fighter profiles and fight records are synced from an external boxing data API. The data is cleaned and deduplicated automatically to handle common issues like duplicate fight entries, accented name variations, and fighters listed under different names. Records are reconciled so that the highest known value for wins, losses, draws, and KO wins is always used.

No. Men's and women's P4P rankings are computed and displayed separately. The same algorithm and weights are used for both, but each gender has its own ranking list. On the P4P Rankings page, you can toggle between the men's and women's lists.

Strength of Schedule is a per-weight-class ranking that evaluates who has fought the toughest opponents within their division. It uses four components: opponent records (40%), opponents' opponents (20%), title fights (25%), and venue significance (15%). While P4P ranks fighters across all weight classes, SOS answers the question: "Who has the hardest schedule in this division?"

Please use the Contact page to report data corrections. Include the fighter's name and what you believe is incorrect. We review all submissions and can apply manual overrides or trigger a data re-sync as needed.