Armenian Boxers in the World Rankings at the Beginning of 2026

At the beginning of 2026, the Sportaran editorial team presents an updated and expanded overview of Armenian boxers and their positions in the world rankings. The article is based on BoxRec data, as well as the rankings of the four leading professional organizations — WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO — as of January 2026.

This list allows readers to assess not only the current positions of individual fighters, but also the overall state of Armenian professional boxing: how many boxers are actively competing, which weight divisions show the greatest depth, and where a shortage of fighters is evident.

The tables include both boxers officially representing Armenia and athletes of Armenian origin competing for other countries. We also separately highlight fighters who currently do not have a BoxRec ranking but may potentially return — it should be noted that BoxRec only ranks boxers who have fought at least once in the past year.

A key fact should be emphasized: at the moment, Armenia has only one reigning world champion — Noel Mikaelian, who holds the WBC title in the cruiserweight division.

Heavyweight and Cruiserweight Divisions

Heavyweight

The highest-ranked Armenian boxer in the heavyweight division remains Murat Gassiev, who holds 5th place in the BoxRec rankings. In addition, he is ranked 1st by the WBA. Gassiev represents both Russia and Armenia and received an Armenian passport in 2023.

Other Armenian boxers within the BoxRec top 100 at heavyweight include:

• Gurgen Hovhannisyan (50),
• Vartan Arutyunyan (51),
• Temur Mamoyan (90).

All three are undefeated fighters currently in the development stage of their careers and are not yet involved in title or eliminator bouts.

Cruiserweight

Noel Mikaelian is ranked 6th in the BoxRec rankings and is the reigning WBC world champion. This is the only world title currently held by an Armenian boxer.

In addition to Mikaelian, the following fighters are ranked in the cruiserweight division by BoxRec:

• Marat Grigorian (88),

• Leon Hart (90),

• Rafael Simonyan (143).

Special mention should be made of Arsen Goulamirian, who is temporarily absent from the BoxRec rankings due to inactivity over the past year.

Representatives in Other Weight Divisions

Armenian boxing also has strong representatives in other weight categories.

Erik Bazinyan (32-1-1), competing in the super middleweight division, was ranked in the top 15 of all four major organizations in 2024 and held a top-5 position in the BoxRec divisional rankings. In 2025, Bazinyan did not compete and temporarily dropped out of the rankings. His last bout ended in a loss to Jaime Munguia, but his return to the ring is expected in the near future.

Hovhannes Bachkov continues to combine his appearances for the Armenian national amateur team with a professional career. In the professional ranks, he is progressing confidently and has already entered the WBA top 10 in the super lightweight division.

Debutants and Activity

Special attention should be given to the debutants of 2025.

Erik Israyelyan began his professional career with the Canadian promotion Eye Of The Tiger Management, where Erik Bazinyan also competes. Over the course of the year, Israelyan fought four times and won all four bouts, confidently announcing himself at the professional level.

Another member of the Armenian national team, Narek Hovhannisyan, successfully launched his professional career in the United States, winning both of his first two fights.

The most active Armenian boxer of 2025 was Yuri Sakunts. He fought seven times during the year and improved his record to 20-0, significantly boosting his rankings and becoming Armenia’s leading fighter in the junior middleweight division.

At the same time, it should be noted that the level of opposition faced by Sakunts remains modest: most of his bouts took place in Thailand and the Czech Republic against journeymen or aging veterans. After 20 victories, a move toward more serious competition would be logical, but for now his career continues within the framework of lower-tier events.

Armenian Boxers in the Rankings as of January 2026