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, loss penalty, and draw 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 a quarter of a win, knockouts earn a bonus, and both losses and draws carry scaled penalties that account for career length.

// Canelo: 63W, 3L, 2D, 39KO, 68 total fights
Total fights = 63 + 3 + 2 + 0 = 68
Effective wins = 63 + (2 × 0.25) = 63.5
Win percentage = 63.5 / 68 = 0.934
KO ratio = 39 / 63 = 0.619
KO bonus = 0.619 × 0.10 = 0.062
Volume multiplier = min(1.0, 68 / 12) = 1.000
Base score = min(1.0, (0.934 + 0.062) × 1.000) = 0.996
// Penalties scale 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
Draw penalty = 2 × 0.02 × 0.660 = 0.026
Score = 0.996 − 0.079 − 0.026 = 0.891
Why not 100%? Despite an elite 63-3-2 record, Canelo's 3 losses and 2 draws carry direct penalties. The base score is capped at 1.0 before penalties are applied, ensuring they always reduce the visible score.
Career factor: Both loss and draw penalties scale 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).
Volume multiplier: Prevents small sample sizes from inflating scores. Fighters with fewer than 12 fights are penalized - e.g., 6 fights gives a 0.50 multiplier (score cut in half). At 12+ fights the multiplier is 1.0 (no effect). Canelo's 68 fights means no penalty.
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 (0.891) × 0.40 = 0.356
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 0.891 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 and draws 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 penalties are designed to be meaningful but not devastating - 3 losses and 2 draws in a 68-fight career (like Canelo) results in a combined 0.105 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.

The radar chart on each fighter's detail page displays five axes: Power, Durability, Activity, Opposition, and Win Rate. Durability is calculated using the formula:

Durability = max(0, 1.0 − (Losses × 0.15))

The score starts at 1.0 (perfect) and subtracts 0.15 for each career loss, with a floor of 0. For example, a fighter with 2 losses scores 0.70, while an undefeated fighter scores 1.0. A fighter with 7 or more losses will score 0.

This metric reflects how few times a fighter has been beaten over their career. It does not account for the method of loss (KO vs. decision) or how long ago the losses occurred - only the total number of losses matters.

The Career Factor is used in the Win/Loss score to reduce the per-loss and per-draw penalty for fighters with longer careers. The idea is simple: the longer a career lasts, the more likely a fighter is to eventually lose, and the system should not punish longevity.

careerFactor = 1 − min(totalFights / 200, 0.50)

The number 200 is a normalization constant that defines the upper bound of the career-length adjustment. Very few fighters in boxing history have exceeded 200 professional fights, so it serves as a practical ceiling for career length.

The min(..., 0.50) cap ensures the career factor never drops below 0.50, so losses always carry at least half the base penalty. That cap kicks in at 100 fights (100 / 200 = 0.50).

Total Fights totalFights / 200 Career Factor Effective Loss Penalty
10 0.05 0.95 0.04 × 0.95 = 0.038
33 0.165 0.835 0.04 × 0.835 = 0.033
50 0.25 0.75 0.04 × 0.75 = 0.030
100 0.50 0.50 0.04 × 0.50 = 0.020
150+ 0.50 (capped) 0.50 0.04 × 0.50 = 0.020

In plain terms: a young fighter with 10 bouts pays nearly the full 0.04 per loss. A veteran with 50 fights pays 0.03. And a long-career fighter with 100+ fights pays the minimum of 0.02. The 200 simply sets how gradually that discount ramps up.