Despite big nights for the sport like we had on Saturday night, we're constantly hearing that boxing is a dying sport. Two of the biggest reasons for that are that no one can keep the weight classes straight and no one can keep the champions straight.Ring Magazine deserves great credit for attempting to change that by establishing clear-cut criteria for determining its own champions, but I have two problems with the way Ring does things. The first is that the magazine ranks fighters in 17 different weight classes. That's too many. And the second is that the Ring ratings have so many vacancies at the top tthat only six fighters can be called Ring Magazine champions. That's too few.
So below is my attempt to list boxing's legitimate champions, using only the sport's eight traditional weight classes.
Heavyweight: Vitali Klitschko
Everyone agrees that a Klitschko is the best heavyweight in the world; the only question is whether it's Vitali or his brother Wladimir. For now I'm going with Vitali, who fights American Chris Arreola on Saturday.
Light heavyweight (175 pounds): Bernard Hopkins
As long as Joe Calzaghe still says he's retired and Hopkins still says he's planning to fight again, Hopkins holds the light heavyweight title. Of course, Hopkins will need to step in the ring soon or else the light heavyweight division will move on without him.
Middleweight (160 pounds): Kelly Pavlik
His December battle with Paul Williams should be a very good one.
Welterweight (147 pounds): Floyd Mayweather Jr.
This is, without a doubt, the marquee division in boxing today. You could make a case that the five best pound-for-pound boxers in the world are all fighting at welterweight right now, with Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez all fighting in the class. This division won't have a generally recognized champion unless Mayweather fights the Pacquiao-Cotto winner, but for now I think anyone who watched Mayweather destroy Marquez on Saturday night would have to consider Mayweather the one true welterweight champion.
Lightweight (135 pounds): Juan Manuel Marquez
Marquez will, I'm sure, move back down to lightweight for his next fight, and there he's still the best in the world, at least unless Pacquiao moves back down to lightweight as well.
Featherweight (126 pounds): Chris John
After a dubious draw the first time they fought, John beat Rocky Juarez on Saturday night and made clear that he's the world's best featherweight.
Bantamweight (118 pounds): Hozumi Hasegawa
The WBC bantamweight champ has two first-round TKOs and two second-round TKOs in his last four fights.
Flyweight (112 pounds): Ivan Calderon The 33-0-1 Calderon, like John, got revenge on an opponent who previously drew with him, beating Rodel Mayol on September 12.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
With the exception of Floyd Mayweather being the Welter Champ I don't have a problem. Mayweather beats a lightweight by a 12 round decision while Sugar Shane Mosley destroys the reigning Welter king Antonio Margarito and you have Mayweather as champ? On top of that Mayweather nearly craps his pants when challenged by an authentic 100 per cent 147lb champion (Mosley). Doesn't make sense but to each his own.
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thank you for posting this. no doubt it is a major issue for boxing that the average person has no idea who the best fighters in each weight class are. the only two issues i see with your list is that i would have to put wlad ahead of vitali. i realize that vitali is " the man who beat the man who beat the man." but i believe that wlad is simply the better fighter of the two. the other problem i have is that you talk about the welterweights and dont mention andre berto. i know sugar shane beat margarito. but he beat margarito after margarito had the plaster of paris knuckles taken out of his gloves. i know that berto has tried to get a fight with shane and shane wants no part of it. shane will say it is not the best financial move for him to fight berto. i think it is because he dont want to get spanked. funny how shane calls out mayweather and its a big deal. when berto has been trying to get a fight with shane for over six months and shane wants no part of it.
I was at a loss for words when I saw Mayweather's name being mentioned as if he's outdone everyone in the welterweight division. See what they still neglect to mention is that Mayweather has yet to fight a true welterweight. As of September 19, 2009 when Floyd Mayweather faced off Juan Manuel Marquez, Floyd remained a champ and one of the best, but still inviting lightweights to gain weight and step UP as opposed to fighting those within the division. That in my bood does NOT make the best. That merely makes a fighter good enough to beat smaller opponents. The thing with Mayweather is that his ego is contageous. Most Mayweather fans will continue to believe he is simply the best and that is just NOT the case. If you go back to his resume, you'll see that he has never fought anyone who was trully a 147 pounder. His opponents range from 130 to a few 140. One could make the case that Mayweather himself is a blown-up lightweight and therefore legitimate, but then one can also make the case that he should've stayed in that division, fought those there instead of claiming he's the best by going up, inviting others to ascend and fighting them on their 1st or 2nd fight as welterweights. That does not make him good, it simply makes him a cowardly opportunist who lures smaller opponents to a definitive demise with the allure of better purses. I'd believe Arum's comments [Mayweather wants to fight Ivan "iron-boy" Calderon] if they weren't so ridiculous to believe a 105 pounder could be asked to ascend 40 pound for a fight with a welterweight........
Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't Baldomair,Judah and Brussels 147 pd fighters,and Baldomair was the ring champ.
Sorry, this whole concept is too idiotic for words. No one, including Ring Magazine, simply names champions, and no one, especially M.D. Smith, should. The Ring champions are either the guy who beat the guy who beat the guy, or a match-up of #1 and #2 (sometimes #1 and #3).
Mayweather hasn't beaten a welterweight yet in his comeback, and everything else he vacated. Vitali hasn't beaten anyone but an overvalued (and underprepared Samuel Peter). You want to pick favorites, pick favorites. Just label and name your post properly, then.