By Michael Montero – Before we get to my regular rankings, I wanted to do a “belt count” and rate the major sanctioning organizations in order to determine just which one is the most disgusting.
WBA: 16 “regular” titles, 8 “interim” titles, 6 “super” titles – 30 total titles!
WBC: 17 regular, 6 interim – 23 total titles
WBO: 16 regular, 3 interim – 19 total titles (1 division vacant)
IBF: 15 regular/total titles (2 divisions vacant)
NOTES: There are 17 divisions in professional boxing, which is confusing enough. But when the WBA has 30 titlists, how the hell are they to expect the fair whether sports fan to be able to follow along? The WBA is undoubtedly the worst of the alphabet groups, with the WBC running a fairly close second. At 115 and 135 pounds, the vile WBA has three titlists – meaning a “super”, “regular” AND “interim” titlist – in the same division! The saddest part is that the WBA is the oldest and most historic of the sanctioning bodies, dating all the way back to it’s inception in 1962. Surprisingly it’s one of the newest groups, the IBF (created in 1983), that is the best of the bunch. They currently recognize fifteen titlists, sans all the fraudulent “interim”, “super” or “diamond” titles. The most legitimate title in the world, given by RING Magazine, has strict rules. A champion is crowned only when the #1 and #2 (sometimes #3) ranked fighters in a weight class face each other. There are no “interim” titles, bogus mandatories and nobody gets stripped. Consider the fact that the RING currently crowns only six legitimate champions and it’s easy to see just how ridiculous the WBA, WBC and WBO truly are. So be careful how you rate title belts, they certainly are not all the same.
OK then, on to the regular rankings…
HEAVY
1 Wladimir Klitschko (RING, IBF, WBO)
2 Vitali Klitschko (WBC)
3 David Haye (WBA)
4 Alexander Povetkin
5 Eddie Chambers
6 Nicolai Valuev
7 Cristobal Arreola
8 Ruslan Chagaev
9 Denis Boytsov
10 Odlanier Solis
NOTES: It’s getting more and more difficult to rank this division. Truly, it’s the Klitschko brothers, followed by everybody else. With his win over Valuev, you have to put Haye at #3 by default, but it’s a distant third behind the Klitschkos. Povetkin and Chambers will each get a shot at the champion in 2010. It’s almost a certainty that both will lose, but the manner in which they lose can show us a lot in regards to their future in the division. Admit it – there’s a part of you that thinks Chambers could dominate at cruiserweight if he dropped another ten pounds.
CRUISER – 200 (created in 1979 by WBC)
C Tomasz Adamek (RING)
1 Steve Cunningham
2 Marco Huck (WBO)
3 Guillermo Jones (WBA)
4 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk
5 Troy Ross/Zsolt Erdei (WBC)
NOTES: Hopefully Adamek quits messing around at heavyweight and moves back down to his true division at 200 pounds. A rematch between himself and Cunningham would be one of the most anticipated cruiserweight bouts in the divisions thirty year history. Expect “Contender” series winner Troy Ross to fight for a title next year.
LIGHT HEAVY – 175
C Chad Dawson (WBC “Interim”)
1 Bernard Hopkins
2 Jean Pascal (WBC)
3 Glen Johnson
4 Tavoris Cloud (IBF)
5 Gabriel Campillo (WBA)
NOTES: I’m very much looking forward to the inevitable face off between Dawson and Pascal next year. I don’t think we’ll see Hopkins in anything meaningful again, but Johnson is supposed to be fighting in an elimination bout next month. Should he win, he’d be Cloud’s mandatory for the IBF title.
SUPER MIDDLE – 168 (created in 1984 by IBF)
C VACANT
1 Andre Ward (WBA)
2 Lucian Bute (IBF)
3 Arthur Abraham
4 Carl Froch (WBC)
5 Mikkel Kessler
NOTES: The Super Six tournament should get very interesting in 2010! One thing we’ll find out for sure is whether Kessler is finished, or simply just had an off night against Ward last month. His upcoming bout with Froch (in Denmark April 17th) should be an entertaining one. I’m cringing at the thought of what Ward might do to Jermain Taylor when they face each other later that same night.
MIDDLE – 160
C Kelly Pavlik (RING, WBC, WBO)
1 Khoren Gevor
2 Felix Sturm (WBA)
3 Sebastian Sylvester (IBF)
4 Roman Karmazin
5 Anthony Mundine
NOTES: This is probably the weakest division in boxing. Yes, even including the heavyweights. The best thing for the division would be for Pavlik to have a strong year, unify with another titlist, and/or finally have that big match with Paul Williams. There are some prospects out there, the most exciting of which is Fernando Guerrero. Should he continue to win, he could be in line for a title shot by the end of 2010.
SUPER WELTER – 154 (created in 1962 by WBA)
C VACANT
1 Paul Williams
2 Sergio Martinez (WBC)
3 Sergeii Dzinziruk (WBO)
4 Cory Spinks (IBF)
5 Kermit Cintron
NOTES: I still rank Williams at 154 because it’s unclear as to whether he’ll rematch Martinez for his WBC title there, or finally get a crack at Pavlik at 160. This division is pretty much Williams, Martinez, and then everybody else. The good news is that there are some great prospects coming along.
WELTER – 147
C VACANT
1 Manny Pacquiao (WBO)
2 Shane Mosley (WBA)
3 Floyd Mayweather Jr.
4 Miguel Cotto
5 Joshua Clottey
NOTES: Right now RING Magazine ranks Pacquiao as #1 and Mayweather #3 at welterweight. That means that their upcoming bout should be for the RING championship, which makes it even bigger. The winner of the Mosley-Berto match next month will be the unanimous top contender.
SUPER LIGHT – 140 (created in 1926 by NBA)
C Manny Pacquiao (RING)
1 Timothy Bradley (WBO)
2 Amir Khan (WBA)
3 Ricky Hatton
4 Paulie Malignaggi
5 Devon Alexander (WBC)
NOTES: You have to rank Pacquiao as the champion at 140 until he fights Mayweather for the championship at 147, so he’s ranked in two divisions right now. Once he leaves 140 for good, Bradley becomes the obvious heir apparent. He looks better with every fight and doesn’t’ get the credit he deserves. Without any big fights on the horizon, the best thing Bradley can do is just keep on winning. His promoter should try to get him in there with other titlists like Alexander and/or Urango to unify.
LIGHT – 135
C Juan Manuel Marquez (RING, WBA “Super”, WBO)
1 Edwin Valero (WBC)
2 Ali Funeka
3 Juan Diaz
4 Michael Katsidis (WBO “Interim”)
5 Antonio DeMarco (WBC “Interim”)
NOTES: Funeka was absolutely robbed against Joan Guzman (who appears all but done) last month and I’d give him the edge against anybody in the division not named Marquez or Valero. But what to make of Marquez? Is he past his prime and on the way out, or could he show new life in a proposed bout against Ricky Hatton next year? If Marquez takes that fight, does he stay at 140? The despicable WBA has three titlists at lightweight, so if Marquez does stay at 140 they would strip him of his “super” title and only have two titlists here. Would that count as progress for the WBA?
SUPER FEATHER – 130 (established in 1921)
C VACANT
1 Humberto Soto (WBC)
2 Robert Guerrero (IBF)
3 Juan Carlos Salgado (WBA)
4 Roman Martinez (WBO)
5 Mzonke Fana
NOTES: A Soto-Guerrero bout is not only the biggest fight in this division, but it crowns a RING champ. It would make for a good event in the Los Angeles area. I’d love to see it happen.
FEATHER – 126
C VACANT
1 Chris John (WBA “Super”)
2 Steven Luevano (WBO)
3 Cristobal Cruz (IBF)
4 Elio Rojas (WBC)
5 Jorge Solis/Yuriorkis Gamboa (WBA)
NOTES: Luevano has a big fight against Juan Manuel Lopez (coming up from 122) next month and a big win could really shake things up at featherweight. Chris John recently survived a bout with Dengue Fever in Indonesia, but should be back in action next spring.
SUPER BANTAM – 122 (created in 1976 by WBC)
C VACANT
1 Celestino Caballero (WBA ‘Super”, IBF)
2 Juan Manuel Lopez (WBO)
3 Toshiaki Nishioka (WBC)
4 Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (WBA)
5 Steve Molitor
NOTES: Poor Caballero, he’s been calling out Lopez forever and just can’t get the fight. The only thing he can do now is call out the other titlists, even if it means facing them on their home turf in Asia.
BANTAM – 118
C VACANT
1 Hozumi Hasegawa (WBC)
2 Yonnhy Perez (IBF)
3 Joseph Agbeko
4 Anselmo Moreno (WBA)
5 Fernando Montiel (WBO)
NOTES: Hasegawa is probably moving up to 122 pounds, which could make for some big fights against titlists Nishioka and Kratingdaenggym there. That would probably leave Perez as the heir apparent.
SUPER FLY – 115 (created in 1980 by WBC)
C Vic Darchinyan (WBC, WBA “Interim”)
1 Nonito Donaire (WBA “Interim”)
2 Alexander Munoz
3 Nobuo Nashiro (WBA)
4 Hugo Fidel Cazares
5 Simphiwe Nondqayi (IBF)
NOTES: I rank Darchinyan as the champion at 115 pounds because of his unification victory over Cristian Mijares last year. Promoter Gary Shaw is working hard on a Donaire-Darchinyan rematch in 2010, which would crown an undisputed, RING champion. What’s disgusting is that even after that match, the WBA will still have two titlists in this division. Pathetic.
FLY – 112
C VACANT
1 Omar Narvaez (WBO)
2 Koki Kameda (WBC)
3 Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC “Interim”)
4 Denkaosan Kaowichit (WBA)
5 Daisuke Naito
NOTES: Wonjongkam, the WBC “Interim” titlist, faces the “regular” titlist Kameda in Japan this coming spring. That’s a big fight between the division’s young bad boy and it’s most prominent elder statesman, who’s a legend in his native Thailand.
SUPER STRAW – 108 (created in 1975 by WBC)
C Ivan Calderon (RING, WBO)
1 Brian Villoria (IBF)
2 Rodel Mayol (WBC)
3 Giovani Segura (WBA)
4 Edgar Sosa
5 Ulises Solis
NOTES: Calderon is the legitimate 108 pound champ, but I’d love to see him in there against the younger Villoria at some point next year to see if we can still call him the undisputed champ. Calderon has looked a little slower as of late, while Villoria looks to be improving.
STRAW – 105
C VACANT
1 Roman Gonzalez (WBA)
2 Raul Garcia (IBF)
3 Oleydong Sithsamerchai (WBC)
4 Donnie Nietes (WBO)
5 Nkosinathi Joyi
NOTES: This is the only division south of heavyweight that has just four titlists – no “interim”, “super” or “champions in recess”. Wow.
POUND FOR POUND (no heavyweights)
1 Manny Pacquiao
2 Floyd Mayweather
3 Shane Mosley
4 Chad Dawson
5 Bernard Hopkins
6 Miguel Cotto
7 Juan Manuel Marquez
8 Nonito Donaire
9 Hozumi Hasegawa
10 Paul Williams
11 Sergio Martinez
12 Celestino Caballero
13 Juan Manuel Lopez
14 Kelly Pavlik
15 Andre Ward
16 Ivan Calderon
17 Arthur Abraham
18 Chris John
19 Edwin Valero
20 Yonnhy Perez
Happy holidays to everybody out there! Questions, comments, hate mail? You know what to do.
Ciao,
Michael Montero
(PS: if you like my stuff and wanna talk boxing, feel free to Facebook me)