Great Eight: Who will succeed Terence Crawford as welterweight champion?
The proliferation of titles makes it difficult for all but the most astute fans to determine the cream of the boxing crop.
That’s why Boxing Junkie came up with its “Great Eight” feature, which names the best fighter in each of the original eight weight classes –heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.
Heavyweight includes cruiserweight (and the WBA and WBC’s bridgerweight), light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight and so on down to flyweight, which includes junior flyweight and strawweight.
In this installment of “Great Eight,” we explore the possibility that 147-pound king’s Terence Crawford’s move up to 154 — to challenge beltholder Israil Madrimov — will create a vacancy in the welterweight division here, presuming he gives up his titles.
And there are a number of bona fide candidates to take his place once he makes the announce. Here is a list of 147- and 140-pounders who will be in the discussion:
- Jaron Ennis — The IBF 147-pound titleholder is as talented as anyone in the world pound-for-pound but might need to bolster his resume before taking his place here.
- Teofimo Lopez — The WBO 140-pound titleholder arguably is the top fighter in his division and has a strong track record, with victories over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor.
- Isaac Cruz — The new WBA 140-pound champ, coming off his sensational knockout of Rolando Romero, is one of the hottest fighters in the world.
- Ryan Garcia — The 140-pound contender was stopped by Gervonta Davis at 136 pounds only a year ago. However, he has to be considered for the spot given his three-knockdown decision over Haney last Saturday.
- Others to watch in the future — 147-pounder Eimantas Stanionis, assuming he defeats Gabriel Maestre on May 4; 147-pounder Mario Barrios, who faces Fabian Maidana on he same card; 140-pound champ Subriel Matias, who faces Liam Paro in June; and Gervonta Davis, who will be a prime candidate to become champion the minute he moves up to 140.
Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) – Fury will have a chance to prove his subpar performance against Francis Ngannou was an aberration when he faces Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship on pay-per-view May 18 in Saudi Arabia. Of course, the winner will be our Great Eight champ.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) – The winner of the Bivol-Artur Beterbiev showdown on June 1 will determine not only the Great Eight champion but also the best 175-pounder of the era. Few possible matchups in boxing are better or more significant than this one.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) – The 154-pounder came up short against 168-pound champ Canelo Alvarez in September but he remains the best at 160 and 154. He doesn’t appear to be negotiating with potential opponents, leaving his future up in the air.
WELTERWEIGHT
Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) – Crawford hasn’t fought since his epic beat down of Errol Spence Jr. last July and has nothing solid in the works. The WBO has ordered new 154-pound beltholder Sebastian Fundora to fight him but Fundora might fight Tim Tszyu again first.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – “Tank” remains the most-complete fighter at 135 and 130 but boxing wizards Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko might have something to say about who reigns in Great Eight before all is said and done. Now we need to see these pivotal matchups.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) – Inoue gave another dominating performance against Marlon Tapales on Dec. 26, stopping the Filipino in the 10th round to become undisputed champion in a second weight class. Can anyone compete with him? Luis Nery will be the next one to try. They meet on May 6.
BANTAMWEIGHT
Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) – The Mexican 115-pound titleholder has agreed to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, our Great Eight flyweight champion, in a blockbuster matchup June 29 in Phoenix. The winner will be the bantamweight king here.
FLYWEIGHT
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) – Rodriguez will hold his position here until the 112-pounder steps into the ring to challenge Estrada at 115, meaning we are likely to have a new flyweight champ in early July.