Ranking the Most Competitive Weight Classes in Boxing

Weight classes are what make the combat sports special. An athlete like Roman Gonzalez can become a major star in boxing. Outside of the prize ring, his only other realistic venue for sporting greatness would probably be as a jockey. 

The weight classes from lightweight to light heavyweight are packed with tremendous natural athletes who simply lack the size to be viable in team sports like basketball or football. Divisions in the welterweight and middleweight neighborhood invariably dominate a list like this one. 

My standard for ranking here takes into account both the number of top stars in a weight class, as well as how close those top stars are in terms of current resumes. These are all divisions where title-unification fights need to happen.

7. Super Flyweight

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On September 10, consensus pound-for-pound king Roman Gonzalez moved up to super flyweight and captured a world title in his fourth division, outlasting previously unbeaten Carlos Cuadras. This is my choice for Fight of the Year to date. It was an action-packed battle, with both men displaying exquisite technical ability. 

I will predict that at least one reader will write in the comment section that Cuadras was robbed. I cannot agree. Gonzalez out-landed Cuadras in every round but the last three.

Cuadras did land the better quality punches in many rounds, and that made the fight very close on my card. I had it seven rounds to five for Gonzalez. However, if this had been a 15-round bout, like in the old days, I do believe Cuadras would have won. 

And he definitely deserves a rematch. 

At the same time, there is going to be a lot of demand now for Gonzalez to face Japan's Naoya Inoue next, who won the WBO 115-pound crown in December 2014, when he demolished longtime champion Omar Narvaez in just two rounds. Narvaez had previously lost just once, to Nonito Donaire, by decision. 

That win made Narvaez a two-division world champion in just his eighth professional fight. 

I also expect to see the 115-pound division become even more crowded sometime during the next year, with the inevitable arrival of current WBA and WBO flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada, who gave Gonzalez a tough fight in 2012.

I would not raise an eyebrow at any pound-for-pound top 10 that included Gonzalez, Cuadras, Inoue and Estrada. The thought of all four young warriors campaigning in the same division at the same time should have boxing fans very excited.

6. Super Middleweight

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There is no obvious top dog at super middleweight, but there are three very exciting young champions, all anxious to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. 

James DeGale became the first Olympic gold medalist from Great Britain to capture a world title as a pro, when he edged Andre Dirrell in May 2015 for the vacant IBF belt. Badou Jack overcame a shocking, Round 1 knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014 to win the vacant WBC title by split decision over George Groves in September 2015.

Gilberto Ramirez pitched a perfect shutout against veteran champion Arthur Abraham to seize the WBO belt last April.  

Those are three very deserving belt holders, but the division's top contenders are not far from their heels. Both Andre Dirrell and his brother Anthony are still hungry for titles, as is Groves, who beat DeGale early in both men's careers. 

It is only a matter of time before Callum Smith gets his own shot at a title. Mexico's 19-year-old David Benavidez looks like he could develop into a phenom.

And sooner or later, you have to think that 168-pound division will welcome middleweight knockout king, Gennady Golovkin.

5. Featherweight

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If the year ended today, WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton would have to be 2016's Fighter of the Year. In February he unified the IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles when he defeated Scott Quigg. 

Then, in July, he moved up to featherweight and defeated previously unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz. Frampton belongs in the pound-for-pound top 10 now, in my estimation. 

But Santa Cruz's performance in defeat demonstrated he is not far behind Frampton.

WBC champion Gary Russell Jr. has some of the quickest hands in the sport. He captured his belt with a stunning knockout of veteran champion Jhonny Gonzalez. IBF champion Lee Selby is undefeated. 

Argentina's Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar has not lost in over five years, while defeating a handful of contenders. Joseph Diaz Jr. was a 2012 Olympian and has shown even more promise as a professional.

Oscar Valdez is 20-0 with 18 KOs and destroyed former world champion Evgeny Gradovich earlier this year. He looks like an emerging heir to former Mexican featherweight champions like Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera.

4. Super Featherweight

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The top name at super featherweight is unquestionably Vasyl Lomachenko. The Ukrainian is arguably the greatest amateur fighter who ever lived and is already a two-division world champion, just seven fights into his professional career. 

He claimed the WBO belt at 130 pounds in June, with a surgical knockout of longtime champion Roman Martinez. 

Jezreel Corrales turned the super featherweight division on its head earlier this year, when he captured the WBA belt by upsetting previously unbeaten Takashi Uchiyama—an exciting knockout artist who remains very relevant to the division picture. 

WBC champion Francisco Vargas won his belt when he knocked out Takashi Miura in 2015's best fight. Vargas retained it in a brutal draw with Orlando Salido earlier this year. Salido has a previous win over Lomachenko. 

Former featherweight champion Nicholas Walters is an athletic puncher. His draw against Jason Sosa last December is the worst judging decision I have ever watched in person. But even though I thought Sosa lost, he did demonstrate he is a tough brawler, who is unlikely to give anybody an easy fight.

3. Light Heavyweight

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We still have a little ways to go before the current light heavyweight division starts to rival the golden age of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But the pieces are definitely in place. 

The biggest fight of 2016 will take place at 175 pounds, when WBA, IBF and WBO champion Sergey Kovalev faces former super middleweight king Andre Ward in November. Both men are top-five, pound-for-pound superstars. 

Meanwhile, the lineal champion at light heavyweight remains Adonis Stevenson—an explosive and athletic knockout puncher. Like Stevenson, a native of Haiti, Columbian Eleider Alvarez currently calls Quebec home. The undefeated contender would be a great matchup for Stevenson. 

Quebec is also Artur Beterbiev's adopted home—Kovalev's former rival in the Russian amateur ranks. Beterbiev has knocked out all 10 opponents he has faced as a professional, including former world champions Tavoris Cloud and Gabriel Campillo.

Long Island's Joe Smith showed his power cannot be overlooked when he stunned Polish contender Andrzej Fonfara last June, with a Round 1 KO.

A pair of Ukrainians also bear watching at light heavyweight. Oleksandr Gvozdyk recorded one of the year's prettiest knockouts over former title-challenger Nadjib Mohammedi last June. He stopped tough fringe contender Tommy Karpency in July.

Gvozdyk's countryman, Vyacheslav Shabranskky, handled rugged Garret Wilson with far more ease than heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Glazkov could manage, stopping Wilson in nine. He gave Cuban contender Yunieski Gonzalez a boxing lesson last December.

2. Welterweight

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The welterweight division is always packed with talent. Now, it seems, some of those big names at 147 pounds are willing to fight each other. 

In June, WBA champion Keith Thurman stayed unbeaten when he turned back former IBF champion Shawn Porter in what could end up being 2016's Fight of the Year. Hopes are high that Thurman will face undefeated WBC champ Danny Garcia early in 2017. 

Welterweight is still the home of established stars like Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. But, as always, the real excitement at 147 pounds involves the youth. 

Undefeated Jose Benavidez has the length and hand speed to dazzle crowds, even if he has yet to put together a complete, 12-round performance. Unbeaten Frankie Gomez was outstanding against veteran contender Mauricio Herrera last May. Konstantin Ponomarev, a Freddie Roach-pupil out of Russia, ran his own record to 30-0 when he defeated 26-0 Brad Solomon in April. 

But the true emerging star at 147 pounds is unquestionably Errol Spence Jr. He looked like an experienced veteran in both of his 2016 fights to date—clinical stoppages of Chris Algieri and Leonard Bundu, a pair of contenders who had never been knocked out. 

Before the end of 2017, expect to see WBO and WBC super lightweight champion Terence Crawford, one of the top pound-for-pound stars in the sport, move up to 147. 

1. Super Welterweight

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The super welterweight division would rank high on this list even if Saul Alvarez had opted to move up to middleweight this year. But with Canelo sticking around and claiming the WBO strap earlier this month, 154 pounds has to be viewed as the most competitive weight class in the sport. 

Alvarez's first defense at 154 should come against unbeaten Demetrius Andrade, a former champion with the length and style to give Canelo all he can handle. I also had Alvarez losing in July 2014 to Erislandy Lara, who remains a top super welterweight contender. 

The Charlo twins are both undefeated and both have world titles, with Jermell holding the WBC belt and Jermall the IBF version. Jermall looked outstanding in defeating former champion Austin Trout last May.

Julian Williams is way overdue for a title shot. Fighting in France tends to leave Michel Soro out of the picture, but nobody should doubt that he is a legitimate contender at 154 pounds.

Ultimately, the best fighter in this division might end up being Erickson Lubin. The 20-year-old is already 16-0 with 11 KOs, and he will be ready to start facing contenders soon.

If Kell Brook can make a full recovery from the eye injury he sustained against Gennady Golovkin, he will be as tough as anybody in the division at 154 pounds.