--- title: "Our Methodology" --- # Our Methodology How official sources become searchable rankings, archives, and boxer profiles. We want you to understand exactly what you are looking at when you browse rankings on this site. This page explains how we collect, organise, and maintain the boxing rankings you see here. ## 1. What our rankings represent The tables show how major sanctioning bodies and independent ratings sources currently rate fighters in each weight class, focusing on WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and Ring lists. The site may also show derived summaries, country counts, or historical comparisons calculated from those rankings. Source organizations and publications remain the authority for their own rankings. Box-Rank is an independent compilation and presentation. The tables bring recognised rankings from the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring into one consistent format. Box-Rank may also calculate summaries, country counts, and historical comparisons from those published lists. The official organisations and source publications remain the authority for their own rankings. Box-Rank is an independent compilation and does not replace the original lists. ## 2. Where the data comes from Primary sources are publicly available documents and pages from sanctioning bodies and ratings sources: ranking pages on official sites, posted PDF bulletins or circulars, and archived public documents. Where possible, the site includes source references or links so you can verify on the source site. Primary source material includes: - Ranking lists on official organisation websites - Publicly posted PDF bulletins and circulars - Archived ranking documents available to the public Where possible, a source reference or link appears near the relevant rankings so readers can compare the Box-Rank presentation with the official publication. ## 3. How we collect and update rankings The database is built with human review and data entry from public documents, plus internal tools for detecting new publications and consistency checks. The process identifies new monthly lists, extracts fighter name, weight class, organisation, rank or status (champion, interim, etc.), and country, and stores them in a structured database while preserving historical snapshots where possible. The collection process combines human review with internal tools that detect new ranking releases, assist with formatting, and run consistency checks. For each monthly list, the process records the factual elements needed by the site: - Fighter name - Weight class - Organisation - Rank or title status, including champion and interim designations - Country That information is stored in Box-Rank’s own database structure rather than reproducing the appearance of an official table or PDF. Historical snapshots are retained where possible so changes can be followed over time. ## 4. Normalisation and data cleaning Organisations format lists differently. Box-Rank standardises obvious aliases or abbreviations to one spelling per fighter, maps similar weight-class labels to one category (e.g. Jr. Welterweight and Super Lightweight), and normalises country abbreviations for reliable flags and stats. These steps only affect display and comparison. they do not change how a body ranks a fighter. ### Name normalisation Obvious aliases and abbreviations are unified so one fighter can be followed across organisations and months. For example, “Oleksandr Usyk” and “O. Usyk” may refer to the same boxer, but a correction is applied only when the identity can be established with sufficient confidence. ### Weight-class mapping Equivalent division labels are mapped to one display category. For example, Jr. Welterweight and Super Lightweight are treated as the same division for navigation and comparison. ### Country codes Country names and abbreviations are converted to a consistent internal format so flags and country statistics can be displayed reliably. For example, USA and United States represent the same country. Normalisation changes how information is displayed and compared. It does not alter the position assigned by a sanctioning body or ratings source. ## 5. Independence and affiliation No. The site is not owned, operated, endorsed by, or officially affiliated with any sanctioning body, ratings publication, or promoter. Organisation and source names are used for identification. Box-Rank aggregates and presents rankings in a unified format without replacing source lists. Organisation names and abbreviations are used to identify and report the source of the underlying rankings. Box-Rank aggregates those lists into a unified presentation but does not override them or claim an official relationship with their publishers. ## 6. Accuracy, delays and corrections There may be a delay between official publication and the site. Human or technical errors can occur. In any conflict, the official organisation list takes precedence. Users can report issues via the contact page. reports are reviewed and corrected where appropriate. There can be a delay between an organisation publishing a new list and that list appearing on Box-Rank. Human and technical errors can also occur while information is entered, interpreted, or normalised. If a Box-Rank entry conflicts with an official publication, the source publication takes precedence. Readers can report something that appears wrong, outdated, or inconsistent through the [contact page](https://box-rank.com/contact). Reports are reviewed and the data is corrected where appropriate. ## 7. Historical data Past months are intended as snapshots of how each organisation’s rankings appeared at that time, based on documents that were publicly available when captured. If an organisation later changes older documents, the archive may still retain the earlier snapshot. the official site is the reference for disputes. Historical tables are intended to preserve the ranking list that was publicly available when the month was captured. An organisation may later amend or remove an older document. In that situation, Box-Rank may retain the earlier snapshot, while the official organisation remains the final reference for a dispute. ## 8. Data verification and quality assurance Every ranking entry is cross-referenced with its official source. Internal consistency checks look for issues such as unexpected duplicate weight-class appearances or invalid ranking positions. Data also undergoes manual review before publication. User reports provide another quality check, and confirmed errors are corrected as quickly as possible. ### Source verification Ranking entries are checked against the official source document. The review covers fighter names, positions or title statuses, countries, and weight classes. ### Consistency checks Internal checks look for unexpected duplication, invalid positions, missing divisions, and other inconsistencies that may indicate an extraction or normalization problem. ### Manual review Human review remains part of publication because automated checks cannot resolve every identity, title, or formatting issue. ### User feedback Reports from readers provide another quality check. Confirmed errors are corrected, and recurring problems can be used to improve the import and validation process. ## 9. Handling edge cases and special situations Interim champions are included and marked with their title status. Vacant titles are identified while the remaining contender list is preserved. When fighters change weight class, current listings are updated and historical rankings retain their previous divisional positions. ### Interim champions When an organisation designates an interim champion, Box-Rank includes the boxer and marks the relevant title status rather than treating the entry as an ordinary numbered contender. ### Vacant titles A vacant championship is identified without removing the rest of the published contender list. The division can therefore remain searchable even when no current champion is named. ### Weight class changes Current listings reflect the divisions in which fighters are ranked. Historical pages retain earlier positions, allowing a move between divisions to be followed without rewriting the archive. ## 10. Technical implementation Rankings are stored in a structured database that supports efficient queries, historical tracking, and comparisons across organisations and weight classes. New rankings pass through validation before publication. Search and navigation tools make fighters, countries, and monthly lists easier to find, while database constraints help protect data integrity. ### Database structure Structured storage supports queries across organisations, divisions, months, fighters, and countries. It also allows the current site and historical archive to use the same underlying records. ### Update process New ranking sources pass through import, normalization, validation, and integrity checks before the updated data is served publicly. ### Historical preservation Monthly records are stored as dated snapshots so later releases do not overwrite the ranking order shown for an earlier month. ### Search and navigation Search and directory pages make fighters, countries, organisations, divisions, and monthly lists easier to locate without scanning the original source documents. ### Data integrity Database constraints, validation rules, and consistency tests help prevent malformed or contradictory records from being introduced. ## 11. Transparency and disclosure Where possible, Box-Rank links to official sources so readers can verify the underlying lists. Normalisation decisions and known limitations are documented, including possible publication delays and the fact that official organisations remain the ultimate authority. Questions and correction reports are welcomed through the contact page. Box-Rank documents sources where possible, explains important normalization decisions, states known limitations, and provides a way to report questions or errors. - **Documented sources:** Official references help readers verify the underlying lists - **Explained decisions:** Normalization and standardization choices are described rather than hidden - **Stated limitations:** Publication delays and the possibility of errors are acknowledged - **Reader feedback:** Questions and corrections can be submitted for review ## 12. Future improvements Ongoing work includes faster monthly updates, stronger verification and error detection, improved name and data normalisation, additional historical rankings, and clearer ways to find and compare the archive. Current areas of work include: - Reducing the delay between official publication and site updates - Strengthening verification and error detection - Improving name, country, division, and title normalization - Adding older historical lists where reliable sources are available - Making rankings easier to find, compare, and understand ## 13. Use of our compiled data The combination, structure, and presentation of the rankings are Box-Rank’s work product. Visitors may browse the site for personal, non-commercial use. Automated extraction, bulk copying, and commercial reuse may be restricted by the terms of use. Contact Box-Rank to discuss other uses. Visitors may browse the site for personal, non-commercial purposes. Automated extraction, bulk copying, or commercial reuse of the compiled rankings may be restricted by the [terms of use](https://box-rank.com/terms). For general ranking concepts, read [How Rankings Work](https://box-rank.com/how-rankings-work). Questions about the methodology or possible data issues can be sent through the [contact page](https://box-rank.com/contact). --- HTML: https://box-rank.com/methodology Markdown: https://box-rank.com/methodology.md