Stock Up, Stock Down for Boxing's Top Welterweight Fighters
How good is the welterweight division?
Ridiculously good, and that's no exaggeration.
Three of the 147-pound division's best talents will be on display on Saturday night, with huge implications for all fighters in a crowded and top-heavy weight class.
But that's what you get for operating in a neighborhood that features Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, among others.
But before we get to Saturday, let's take a look at the elite, cream-of-the-crop fighters in the welterweight division.
And let's get right to it.
This is stock up, stock down for boxing's uber-talented welterweight division.
10. Devon Alexander: Stock Up
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Why He's Here
Devon Alexander is a former two-time welterweight champion who owns a pair of victories over murderous punchers—Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana.
His most recent title reign ended at the hands of Shawn Porter last December at the Barclays Center, but he rebounded nicely with an impressive near-shutout win against the rugged Jesus Soto Karass in June.
Alexander is a tricky southpaw boxer who is a difficult out for any fighter in the division.
He will meet fellow 147-pound contender Amir Khan on Saturday in a crossroads showdown with huge implications for both men.
Why His Stock Is Rising
Alexander has had a difficult time getting much mainstream traction. His style, while effective, isn't always aesthetically pleasing, and that has limited his appeal to a certain extent.
But he won his last fight impressively, putting himself in position to make a statement against Khan.
If you believe Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, per BoxingScene.com, the winner of this fight will earn the next crack at Mayweather. That alone raises Alexander's stock.
9. Amir Khan: Stock Up
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Why He's Here
Khan won his first fight in 2014, returning from a yearlong absence to lift a pair of minor titles from Luis Collazo on the Mayweather vs. Maidana undercard in Las Vegas.
The former junior welterweight titlist has responded well to his new coach Virgil Hunter, fighting smarter and beginning the process of rehabilitating his image after back-to-back upset defeats.
Khan faces Alexander at the MGM Grand as part of a four-fight card televised by Showtime on Saturday night. He appears to be just one victory away from fulfilling his dream of a showdown with Mayweather in possibly one of boxing’s most lucrative and intriguing fights.
Why His Stock Is Rising
Khan dominated Collazo in May and finally had the good sense to pursue the Mayweather match with his fists rather than his mouth after losing a year of his career in fruitless pursuit.
Alexander is no pushover—even if the Brit remains a betting favorite on Odds Shark—but this fight easily could have happened a year ago with a belt on the line.
Even a year late, Khan vs. Alexander remains a significant fight with huge implications for the future of the division.
And that elevates both men.
8. Robert Guerrero: Stock Up
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Why He's Here
Robert Guerrero took a long break from boxing following his lopsided defeat against Mayweather in 2013.
He took more than a year off, to be exact.
Guerrero returned in June, digging deep to defeat Yoshihiro Kamegai at the StubHub Center in a fight that is sure to garner its share of votes for Fight of the Year. The bout featured nonstop action. The crowd—notorious for letting you know how it feels about a fight—loved it, and the Ghost got back into the win column.
Why His Stock Is Rising
You really can't fault Guerrero for taking the rest of 2014 off after a brutal affair against Kamegai. His left eye was badly cut and swelled shut by fight's end, and that type of injury necessitates some time to heal.
Kamegai wasn't a well-known commodity at the time of the fight, but Guerrero's willingness to engage in a slugfest and emerge victorious was impressive—especially given it came after such a deflating defeat.
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7. Shawn Porter: Stock Down
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Why He's Here
Shawn Porter took Alexander’s 147-pound belt late last year, but he truly burst on the scene with a dominant fourth-round knockout of former multi-time world champion Paulie Malignaggi in April.
It wasn’t the first time the brash Brooklynite had tasted defeat, but nobody was able to walk through him with such ease and devastating force as Porter did. It was a heck of an impressive performance.
Porter’s year ended on a down note, when the 27-year-old was outboxed and dropped his title in a minor upset to Kell Brook over the summer.
Why His Stock Is Falling
Porter went from in the mix to land fights with Mayweather, Marquez and longtime friend Keith Thurman to picking up the pieces from an upset loss.
It's another testament to how everything can change in one night in boxing.
Sometimes a loss is the best thing for a fighter.
Porter is still tremendously talented. He didn’t lose the fight—Brook won it. Therefore, going back to the drawing board could benefit him in the long haul. But, still, you don’t see your stock go up after losing a fight most expected you to win.
6. Marcos Maidana: Stock Down
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Why He's Here
Maidana nearly shocked the world in May, roughing up and nearly scoring a colossal upset against Mayweather in a shockingly competitive fight that most had dismissed as a mismatch.
"Competitive" doesn’t equate to "close," but public perception—rightly—was that the Argentine had exceeded all expectations, and he parlayed that, plus a lack of compelling alternatives, into a September rematch.
Maidana didn’t collect much more than a check, and possibly a chunk of Floyd’s glove, in his second bite at the apple—forgive the pun—losing in more decisive, and less eye-pleasing, fashion.
Why His Stock Is Falling
Maidana’s stock rose exponentially after his near-upset performance in May, but he zapped most, if not all, of that goodwill by shooting a blank in September.
Mayweather, by most accounts, looked as bad as we’ve seen him in years—cautiously effective but not dominant—but the Argentine seemed to let him off the hook.
He just wasn’t near as menacing or threatening. It’s possible he was overly cautious about running out of gas by pressing the action early—which happened the first time—but he couldn’t find a proper balance and went out with a whimper.
5. Keith Thurman: Stock Even
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Why He's Here
Thurman has the potential to be a huge star going forward. He has a mean left hook, an engaging personality and boxing ability that gets better with each fight.
But 2014 hasn’t come together quite as planned for One Time and his team.
Julio Diaz was forced to retire with an injury after three rounds of action in April, and next up is relatively unknown Leonard Bundu on Saturday night.
Bundu, the undefeated challenger, has beaten three undefeated fighters in his last eight outings but has little name recognition outside of Europe.
Why His Stock Is Holding
It’s hard to fault Thurman for what’s happened to him this year.
The Diaz fight seemed to be something of a mismatch on paper, but despite being down in the second round, the former champion was engaging and firing back before an injury prematurely ended his night.
Bundu is a bit of an X-factor. He could exceed expectations and give a good account, or he could prove to be another unknown with an inflated record who crosses the pond to get outclassed.
Thurman, who should take care of business, will need to step it up in the coming years, as he’s all but guaranteed to be one of 2015’s fighters to watch.
4. Kell Brook: Stock Up
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Why He's Here
Brook patiently persevered through injuries, postponements and cancellations, finally getting a crack at a world title and making good against Porter in August.
The win marked just his second trip to the United States for a fight, and it introduced him to American fans as a tremendous boxer with a stiff left jab and quick straight right hand.
Brook wasn’t intimidated by the moment, befitting his confident approach, and showed that he belongs in the conversation among the top 147-pound fighters in the sport.
Why His Stock Is Rising
Remember what we said about Bundu’s challenge of Thurman?
Nobody is comparing the 40-year-old Italian-based challenger to Brook, but the general point is that you never know what you have until a fighter steps up in class.
Brook did that against Porter and passed with flying colors. He was an underdog in that fight, largely unknown by the American audience that packed the StubHub Center and facing an opponent on a meteoric rise.
Seriously, people were talking about Porter, who had just beaten Alexander and decimated Malignaggi, as though he were the unbeatable second coming.
Brook not only beat him but did it convincingly and took his spot by completely blunting his offensive attack.
3. Juan Manuel Marquez: Stock Even
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Why He's Here
Marquez is a legend and one of the greatest fighters ever produced by the fighting-crazed nation of Mexico.
And that’s high praise. You don't throw around those types of classifications lightly.
Marquez has only fought once in 2014, battering a younger and clearly larger Mike Alvarado over 12 mostly one-sided rounds to capture a unanimous decision at the redesigned Forum in Inglewood, California, this May.
Why His Stock Is Holding
The 41-year-old remains one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and in pursuit of history.
Marquez has made no secret of his desire to compete for a welterweight title. Should he win one, he would become the first Mexican fighter to win a world championship in five weight classes.
The options, however, remain limited.
Mayweather holds half of the 147-pound belts, but there is no market for Marquez to face him again. Pacquiao, whom Marquez has remained uninterested in fighting for a fifth time, has another belt, and Brook owns the last.
Marquez could retire at any time with his legacy intact, but money talks.
The chance for a lot of the green stuff and a shot at history could compel him to renew acquaintances with his longtime rival next year.
2. Timothy Bradley: Stock Even
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Why He's Here
Bradley is a top-five pound-for-pound fighter—as ranked by The Ring Magazine, ESPN and Bleacher Report—who doesn’t get the respect he deserves.
Desert Storm lost his last fight after selling out early for a knockout against Pacquiao, but he’s a multiweight world champion with wins over three fighters on this list—Pacquiao (officially), Marquez and Alexander.
He faces the rugged and dangerous Diego Chaves on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Why His Stock Is Holding
Bradley proved against Ruslan Provodnikov that he can win outside his comfort zone. He also showed he could legitimately beat a top pound-for-pound fighter by clearly toppling Marquez.
His credentials at welterweight are very solid, and a win over Chaves would put him into the mix for significant fights going into 2015.
With the recent thaw of boxing’s cold war between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, Bradley has attractive options going forward, and that means more chances to secure the respect that has eluded him.
1. Manny Pacquiao: Stock Up
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Why He's Here
Pacquiao might not have been as big a star at the box office, but he certainly re-established himself as the sport’s premier offensive fighter in 2014.
The Filipino icon avenged an earlier defeat against Bradley in April, weathering something of an early storm to dominate down the stretch with fast, powerful punches in bunches.
Pacquiao closed out his year with a dominant win over Chris Algieri, dropping his challenger four times en route to an almost comically wide unanimous-decision win in Macau.
Why His Stock Is Rising
It’s all about context.
Flash back a year ago at this time, and you’d see many credible observers of the sweet science wondering aloud whether Pacquiao would ever be the same fighter.
His win over Brandon Rios was convincing and clear, but it didn’t move the needle much on that question.
But wins over Bradley, who made a specific point of questioning the Filipino’s fire and desire, and Algieri showed that Pacquiao can still be a dynamic offensive force and convincingly beat quality opponents.
Pacquiao seemed fiery in both of those contests, and he had a better overall year than his longtime rival who heads this list.
C. Floyd Mayweather: Stock Down
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Why He's Here
Mayweather is undefeated and seldom challenged; he remains boxing’s pound-for-pound king until someone topples him. He’s the sport's biggest draw and has amassed a business empire built on shrewd marketing and a keen understanding of the inner workings of the sport.
He captured a pair of decision victories over the rugged Maidana in 2014, the latter coming with none of the drama produced by the former.
Mayweather found a way in the second half of the first fight to blunt Maidana’s offense by making him miss—a lot—and making him pay, but the second fight was a pedestrian affair. Floyd didn’t look good, even in clear victory.
Why His Stock Is Falling
Mayweather’s empire showed signs of cracking for the first time during his reign as undisputed top dog in the sport.
He won a dogfight with Maidana in May, coming closer to defeat than he has, perhaps, in his entire professional career.
Failing to find a compelling new foil for September, Mayweather turned in one of his worst performances in years, taking the rematch but looking just OK. Both fights were steep drops from his virtuoso performance against Canelo Alvarez last September.
Outside of the ring, Floyd hasn’t had it much better.
His longtime friend and business partner Richard Schaefer departed Golden Boy Promotions in June, prompting Mayweather to end and then restart his relationship with the company.
Mayweather openly questioned the decision-making of longtime advisor and CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe, which left the future in doubt and teased a reshuffling of The Money Team.
And now he has nobody compelling left to fight. Compounding matters, Canelo, who has made no secret of his desire to take back Mexican holiday fight weekends from Mayweather, is zeroing in on a Cinco de Mayo fight with Miguel Cotto next year.
It’s been a cascade of bad news for Mayweather in 2014, and it will be interesting to see if he can right the ship as the calendar turns.
He could always fight Pacquiao, and that would stop all the other noise in the room.
But as Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports pointed out on Tuesday, nobody in the Mayweather camp, including the man himself, seems to have the desire to make even an honest effort at giving the fans the fight they want most.
So don't hold your breath.
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