Claressa Shields solidified her No. 1 spot in the ESPN women's pound-for-pound rankings with another dominant performance Saturday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Shields, the undisputed women's heavyweight champion, moved down in weight and defeated Kaye Scott by sixth-round TKO to reclaim the WBC and WBA middleweight titles.
Shields' speed and relentless pressure kept Scott fighting off her back foot and prevented her from finding any kind of rhythm. It was Shields' first stoppage victory since a second-round TKO of Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in July 2024.
After the fight, Shields said she would like to face WBC, IBF and WBA women's welterweight champion Lauren Price in December or January. She also expressed interest in facing WBC and WBA junior middleweight champion Mikaela Mayer or a unification fight against recently crowned WBO and IBF middleweight champion Tamm Thibeault.
On Aug. 8, in Orlando, Florida, Dina Thorslund dominated Cherneka Johnson to become the undisputed women's bantamweight champion. Thorslund, who most recently fought at featherweight, had not competed at 118 pounds since October 2024. Her speed and power were on display from the opening bell as she overwhelmed Johnson and won every round on all three judges' scorecards.
With the victory, Thorslund makes her ESPN pound-for-pound debut at No. 10.
Here's the current top 10.
Note: Results are current through Aug. 19.
1. CLARESSA SHIELDS
RECORD: 19-0, 4 KOs
DIVISION: Undisputed heavyweight champion; unified middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO6) Kaye Scott, Aug. 15
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Another fight, another win for Shields. This time, the undisputed heavyweight champion moved down to middleweight and defeated Kaye Scott by TKO to reclaim the WBC and WBA world titles. Shields is looking to defend her 160-pound titles against unified welterweight champion Lauren Price, unified junior middleweight champion Mikaela Mayer or recently crowned unified middleweight champion Tamm Thibeault.
2. KATIE TAYLOR
RECORD: 25-1, 6 KOs
DIVISION: Unified junior welterweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (MD10) Amanda Serrano, July 11, 2025
NEXT FIGHT: Sept. 5 vs. Flora Pili
On Sept. 5, Taylor will fight one more time to fulfill her wish of headlining at Croke Park in her hometown of Dublin. An expected 80,000 fans will be in attendance for Taylor's farewell fight against Pili. Taylor, a future Hall of Famer and former undisputed champion at lightweight and junior welterweight, could become a three-division undisputed champion with a victory.
3. GABRIELA FUNDORA
RECORD: 18-0, 10 KOs
DIVISION: Undisputed flyweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (KO6) Viviana Ruiz Corredor, March 14
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Fundora is dominating the competition at flyweight. She stopped Ruiz Corredor in the sixth round in March to extend her KO streak to four fights. At 5-foot-9 with a 69-inch reach, Fundora presents a difficult matchup for anyone in the division. She could make her way down one weight class for her next fight to challenge unified junior flyweight champion Estefania Alegria, who dethroned Evelin Bermudez to win the WBO, IBF and WBA titles.
4. AMANDA SERRANO
RECORD: 49-4-1, 32 KOs
DIVISION: Unified featherweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO2) Cheyenne Hanson, May 30
NEXT FIGHT: Friday vs. Lucrecia Anabella Manzur
Serrano is arguably the most accomplished female fighter in professional boxing. She has won world titles in seven divisions, from junior flyweight (108 pounds) to junior welterweight (140 pounds), and most recently defeated Hanson in her second fight of 2026 to tie Christy Martin's record with 32 knockouts. Serrano will look to break that record against Manzur on Friday.
5. CHANTELLE CAMERON
RECORD: 22-1, 8 KOs
DIVISION: Junior middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Michaela Kotaskova, April 5
NEXT FIGHT: Aug. 29 vs. Mikaela Mayer
Cameron, the only fighter to defeat Katie Taylor in the pro ranks, is a two-division champion and former undisputed junior welterweight champion. She currently holds the WBO middleweight belt and will face WBC and WBO champion Mayer next. With Taylor retiring after her Sept. 5 fight, Cameron, who is 1-1 against Taylor, won't have a chance for a trilogy fight with Taylor, but a victory over Mayer could set up an undisputed matchup against IBF champion Oshae Jones.
T-6. ALYCIA BAUMGARDNER
RECORD: 18-1, 7 KOs
DIVISION: Unified junior lightweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Bo Mi Re Shin, April 17
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Baumgardner won her first junior lightweight world title against Terri Harper in 2021 and has fought exclusively in title bouts since. She became the undisputed junior lightweight champion by defeating Elhem Mekhaled in February 2023 and made three successful defenses before vacating the WBC belt to fight 12 three-minute rounds against Leila Beaudoin in December 2025. With little left to accomplish at 130 pounds, Baumgardner could move up to challenge Caroline Dubois for her WBO and WBC lightweight titles.
T-6. MIKAELA MAYER 
Previous ranking: 7
RECORD: 22-2, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight champion; unified junior middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Mary Spencer, Oct. 30, 2025
NEXT FIGHT: Aug. 29 vs. Chantelle Cameron
Following her unanimous decision over Spencer, Mayer signed a promotional deal with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions in March. Her first fight under the MVP banner will be in the U.K. against Cameron in a three-belt junior middleweight unification bout. Mayer, who holds the WBA and WBC titles at 154 pounds, is a three-division champion. Her only losses came fighting in the U.K., against Alycia Baumgardner and Natasha Jonas.
8. LAUREN PRICE
RECORD: 10-0, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Unified welterweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Stephanie Pineiro, April 4
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Price, a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, has just 10 professional fights but she has taken full advantage of every opportunity. Price defeated Jessica McCaskill in May 2024 to become the WBA welterweight champion and added the WBC and IBF belts in a dominant performance against Natasha Jonas in March 2025 before defending the belt against Pineiro. A fight against Claressa Shields, who was ringside for Price's victory against Pineiro, could be next if Price decides to move up in weight.
9. ELLIE SCOTNEY
RECORD: 12-0, 0 KOs
DIVISION: Featherweight
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Mayelli Flores, April 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Scotney continued her rise in the pound-for-pound rankings with a dominant performance against Flores to become the youngest undisputed champion in U.K. boxing (men or women) in the four-belt era. In May, Scotney vacated all of her belts with the intention of moving up in weight and becoming a two-division champion. She could have very challenging options at featherweight, including fights against the champions in the featherweight division: Amanda Serrano, Nina Meinke and Tiara Brown.
10. DINA THORSLUND Previous ranking: NR
RECORD: 25-0, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Undisputed bantamweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Cherneka Johnson, Aug. 8
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
After taking time away from boxing because of pregnancy and an eventual miscarriage, Thorslund, a former bantamweight champion, returned as a featherweight and defeated Almudena Alvarez in January. She then moved back down once again to bantamweight and became the undisputed champion by dominating Johnson, winning every round on all three judges' scorecards. Thorslund's movement, footwork and combination of speed and power make her a difficult matchup for anyone in the division.
The formula
The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on.
Others receiving votes: Caroline Dubois (3), Estefania Alegria (1).
How our experts voted
Nick Parkinson: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Mayer, 7. Price, 8. Baumgardner, 9. Thorslund, 10. Scotney
Salvador Rodriguez: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Fundora, 5. Mayer, 6. Thorslund, 7. Baumgardner, 8. Price, 9. Scotney, 10. Alegria
James Regan: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Mayer, 7. Baumgardner, 8. Price, 9. Scotney, 10. Dubois
Bernardo Pilatti: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Cameron, 4. Fundora, 5. Baumgardner, 6. Serrano, 7. Price, 8. Mayer, 9. Scotney, 10. Thorslund
Andres Ferrari: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Fundora, 4. Serrano, 5. Cameron, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Mayer, 8. Scotney, 9. Thorslund, 10. Price
Damian Delgado Averhoff: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Cameron, 4. Serrano, 5. Fundora, 6. Baumgardner, 7. Mayer, 8. Scotney, 9. Dubois, 10. Thorslund
ESPN experts poll
First place: Shields (6)
Second place: Taylor (6)
Third place: Fundora (3), Cameron (2), Serrano (1)
Fourth place: Serrano (4), Fundora (2)
Fifth place: Cameron (3), Fundora (1), Baumgardner (1), Mayer (1)
Sixth place: Baumgardner (2), Mayer (2), Serrano (1), Thorslund (1)
Seventh place: Baumgardner (2), Mayer (2), Price (2)
Eighth place: Price (2), Scotney (2), Baumgardner (1), Mayer (1)
Ninth place: Scotney (3), Thorslund (2), Dubois (1)
10th place: Thorslund (2), Price (1), Scotney (1), Dubois (1), Alegria (1)
