Losses have consequences. Carl Frampton learned that on Saturday night, when he lost his alphabet featherweight title to Leo Santa Cruz by a majority decision in Las Vegas.

That result also impacted the RING Ratings.

Frampton was No. 10 on our pound-for-pound list as of last week. He drops out, which opens a spot for another fighter.

There was some debate among members of the Ratings Panel and Editorial Board as to who would replace Frampton. Some suggested Mikey Garcia after his striking knockout of Dejan Zlaticanin on the Santa Cruz-Frampton card. Others feel Garcia must beat a better opponent in his comeback to enter the pound-for-pound Top 10. They suggested we bring back Naoya Inoue.

In the end, the editors decided to go with Inoue. We agreed that Garcia needs a stiffer test to take the next step. And we’ve been impressed with Inoue, who has turned in several dominating performances over the past few years. That includes a sixth-round KO of Kohei Kono in December.

Thus, Inoue replaces Frampton at No. 10 and we’ll keep an eye on Garcia.

Also, we had to make some decisions in the featherweight division. This is what the 126-pound Top 3 looked like last week: 1. Gary Russell Jr., 2. Carl Frampton, 3. Lee Selby, 4. Leo Santa Cruz.

As a result of Santa Cruz’s victory and Russell’s relative inactivity, this is the new list: 1. Santa Cruz, 2. Russell, 3. Frampton, 4. Selby. Russell hasn’t fought since he stopped Patrick Hyland in April, although he is scheduled to face Oscar Escandon on March 11.

In other divisions:

LIGHTWEIGHT

Garcia’s third-round knockout of Zlaticanin (No. 1 last week) catapults him to the No. 1 position. Zlaticanin drops all the way to No. 9. Ray Beltran (No. 10 last week) drops out to make room for Garcia.

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT

Miguel Berchelt crashes the ratings after his impressive 11th-round KO of Francisco Vargas (No. 2 last week). Berchelt enters at No. 4; Vargas drops to No. 9. Tevin Farmer (No. 10 last week) drops out to make room for Berchelt.

Takashi Miura (No. 6 last week), who stopped Miguel Roman on the Berchelt-Vargas card, moves up one spot.

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT

Jerwin Ancajas (No. 8 last week) retains his position by stopping Jose Alfredo Rodriguez on Sunday.

STRAWWEIGHT

Wanheng Menayothin (No. 1 last week) stays put after narrowly outpointing Melvin Jerusalem (unrated last week) on Wednesday in Thailand.