The Hottest Weight Divisions Today
By: Boxing Writer José A. Maldonado, MFA
In a boxing community so obsessed with Pound for Pound discussions and matchups, one has to wonder: what weight divisions are the most compelling? Where can we find not only dynamic personalities and storylines but, above all, the best, most competitive matchups? After compiling lists of fighters, records, past bouts, and possible fights, I weigh in and give you the three hottest divisions today.
3. Super Bantamweight
Notable Names: Nonito Donaire, Rafael Márquez, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Wilfredo Vázquez Jr., Rico Ramos, Cristian Mijares, Jorge Arce, Toshiaki Nishioka
Dark Horses: Rendall Munroe, Takalani Ndlovu, Victor Terrazas
Breakdown: The super bantams eek out a split decision over 118 to make it onto this list because of the simple fact that not everyone in the top ten has fought each other. Sure, one can argue that Nonito Donaire won’t stick around long after his anticipated fight with Arce, and yes, a lot of the guys have already faced each other (Ramos-Rigondeaux; Vázquez-Arce; Vázquez-Donaire; Nishioka-Márquez) a factor that kept other strong weight classes off of this list in the first place. Yet the quality of bouts yet to be made are far superior to what most other weight classes have to offer. Having ventured outside of Japan only five times in 46 fights, Toshiaki Nishioka, 35, is now far more willing to travel to get big fights, especially after his big win over Márquez in Vegas this past October.
Imagine a fight between him and Rigondeaux. What about Ramos against Vázquez in a battle between recently vanquished fighters? There’s also Arce- Márquez, a fight that would do huge business in Mexico even if Arce loses to Donaire as many are expecting. It is clear that, in spite of some good bouts having already been fought, this division has such an abundance of talent that there are still a lot more to be made.
2. Heavyweight
Notable Names: Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius, Tomasz Adamek, Chris Arreola
Dark Horses: Denis Boytsov, Alexander Dimitrenko, Odlanier Solis
Breakdown: Let’s try to forget about the Klitschkos for a bit and think about this: there are a lot of damn good fights out there to be made in heavyweight. Guys like Derek Chisora, Chris Arreola, Alexander Povetkin, and Tomasz Adamek are similar enough in height and skill to make for fun, you pick ‘em fights. Even if you put David Haye into the mix, a fighter who has lost many fans with his recent antics (Toegate, the Tripod toss) and appears to be more bark than bite, the bottom line is the guy is entertaining. He generates interest, has loads of charisma and, most importantly, puts asses in the seats. A fight between him and Chisora, though pooh-poohed by many, would make huge business in the UK. One knock on this division is that none of these guys has even a remote chance of taking down a Klitschko, but the days of Chagaev, Maskaev, Ruíz and friends are (thankfully) over, and the possibilities are definitely worthwhile.
1. Welterweight
Notable Names: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Victor Ortíz, Andre Berto, Paulie Malignaggi
Dark Horses: Kell Brook, Mike Jones, Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley
Breakdown: Okay, so I’ll admit: the top division in boxing today isn’t really welterweight, it’s more like a catch weight of about 150 or so, but for all intents and purposes, we’ll call it 147, especially since more guys at 140 are more likely to move up to 147 or 154 than there are who will go down from 160 to 150. Still not satisfied? Here’s more evidence: Amir Khan will move up from 140 after his rematch against Lamont Peterson. Timothy Bradley has already moved up to 147 to face Pacquio. Canelo Alvarez would no doubt jump at the chance to face Mayweather at 150 or so. Speaking of Money, yes, he’ll come back down after his 154 matchup with Cotto. As for the guys already at 147, there are Victor Ortíz, his rival Andre Berto, up-and-coming Mike Jones, Kell Brook, who just oozes potential, and the newly arrived Devon Alexander. Need I say more?
No other division even comes close to packing this much fire, which is why fight fans should be keeping an especially close eye on 147 (ahem, 150).
Honorable Mention:
Featherweight: Question: who is the current Ring Magazine champion at 126? If you answered no one, you’re correct. That’s because the Ring belt is currently vacant, and there are a lot of relatively young fighters vying against tough veterans to win this distinction. Among the up-and-comers are Miguel Angel García and Billy Dib. As for the more established fighters, there are Chris John, Juan Manuel López, Celestino Caballero, Jhonny González, Hozumi Hasegawa, and assuming that his move to 135 is not official yet, who knows, maybe we can still count Yuriorkis Gamboa as a featherweight. So what’s holding back this division? For one, López and Salido have already fought twice; also, Chris John rarely fights in the US (though he did so twice for Rocky Juárez); plus, we’re still not sure where Gamboa stands at the moment. The mix of talent this division has, nonetheless, coupled with the fact that its top fighters are spread out globally puts this weight division several notches above most others.
Bantamweight: This division has some elite fighters in it: Abner Mares, Yonnhy Pérez, Joseph Agbeko, Vic Darchinyan, Anselmo Moreno, just to name a few. Problem is: we’ve already seen these guys fight each other. Part of what makes a weight division so compelling is that we don’t know who would win the fights and, ultimately, be the division’s top dog. Though Showtime’s Bantamweight Tournament put the spotlight on an often neglected segment of boxing (the little guys) and will no doubt be a launching pad for Abner Mares’ rise on pound for pound lists, it also took away the element of surprise now that we know who beats who. Consider, for instance, that Darchinyan has already faced Abner Mares, Cristian Mijares, Joseph Agbeko, Anselmo Moreno, and Yonnhy Pérez. Pérez fought Agbeko twice, and Agbeko fought Mares twice, as well as Darchinyan in a fight shortly before the Showtime tourney began. Still, with this much heat in one division, even if they’ve all fought each other, it must be mentioned when discussing the sport’s best weight classes.
Super Middleweight: This division has the same problem that bantamweight has all the fights have already been made. After a tournament that lasted over two years and tested every boxing fan’s patience, we are only left with a handful of good matchups, but not really anything that screams must see TV. Sure, many would like to know once and for all who the top dog is, an honor shared by Andre Ward and Lucian Bute, but then what? Besides, Bute and Ward aren’t even fighting each other, with Bute slated to face Carl Froch instead. But nobody can deny one simple fact: the division is loaded. Kessler, Bute, Froch, and even Stieglitz and Bika are enough to catapult the division into the discussion, at least.
José A. Maldonado is senior staff writer at punchrate.com and contributor to realcombatmedia.com
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