Boxing’s Hottest Divisions
By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña
With the lack of competition, in recent years in the heavyweight division, I’ve decided with this article, I’m going to take a look at what I believe are the three hottest weight divisions in boxing. These weight divisions I picked are the most competitive classes in boxing. They all possess boxers who can be great champions, top contenders and young up-and-comers, who will soon challenge for the title.
#3. The Super Lightweight Division:
This is an absolutely loaded division with everything from exciting prospects, to battle tested veterans. 2015 is going to end with some great 140lb fights, and with the expected return of Manny Pacquiao, a 140lb fight is a definite option for “Pacman” in 2016. This Saturday night in Carson California, Lucas Matthysse, 37-3, 34 KO’s and Viktor Postol, 27-0, 11 KO’s battle for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight Championship. On the undercard two more 140lb fighters will be showcased when young undefeated Antonio Orozco, 22-0, 15 KO’s takes on the always tough veteran Humberto Soto, 65-8-2, 35 KO’s.
Also that same night in Cincinnati the always entertaining Adrien “The Problem” Broner, 30-2, 22 KO’s takes on Khabib Allakhverdiev, 19-1, 9 KO’s for the vacant WBA super Lightweight Belt. With these upcoming title fights, plus Terence Crawford defending his title October 24th, and fighters such as Lamont Peterson, Ruslan Provodnikov, Amir Imam, Mauricio Herrera and Jose Benavidez roaming the weight class, the Super Lightweight division is one of the best divisions in boxing today!
#2 The Welterweight Division:
The 147lb weight class is another option for future hall of famer Manny Pacquiao upon his return to boxing. It’s a jammed packed division home to big name stars, a new fighter to the division, a couple of young boxing Olympians, and a whole lot of contenders trying to replace Floyd Mayweather, JR. as the next household name of boxing. To end the year, the Welterweight division will have a couple of big championship fights. On October 24th, IBF Champion Kell Brook, 35-0, 24 KO’s will defend his title in Sheffield England against Diego Chaves, 23-2-1, 19 KO’s.
Then on November 7th, Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, JR., 32-1-1, 12 KO’s takes on Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, 33-2-1, 24 KO’s at the Thomas and Mack Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada for the WBO World Welterweight Title. One big fight most fight fans hope to see by the end of the year is a fight between Shawn “Showtime” Porter and Keith “One Time” Thurman. Both Porter and Thurman are represented by Al Haymon and both are PBC showcase fighters which makes a fight between them seem a little more realistic.
Earlier this year young Errol Spence, JR. got his chance to shine on primetime television, and with his victory, Spence, JR. has began to show that he is ready to take the next step on becoming a superstar in welterweight division. Other names at 147 that with the right match-ups make this division truly exciting are Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, and Sadam Ali.
#1 The Featherweight Division:
The 126lb Division is not only the hottest division in boxing but at the time my favorite division. In August, two of the best fighters in the division went toe to toe at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as Leo Santa Cruz, 31-0-1, 17 KO’s defeated Abner Mares, 29-2-1, 15 KO’s in “The Battle of Los Angeles”. 2015 will come to a close with Vasyl Lomachenko, Gary Russell, JR. and Lee Selby all stepping back into the ring. Leo Santa Cruz has also hinted he would also like another fight in December which in my opinion would help make 2015 one of the best years in boxing. Although the greatest match-ups aren’t being made, the 126lb division I believe will begin to make some very good fights.
Guillermo Rigondeaux is now free of any contractual obligations and may be moving up for a big money fight sooner than later. Oscar Valdez put on a dynamic show in Las Vegas with a knockout win over Chris Avalos and is now in position to fight a top 10 fighter in the division. Other names in the mix for big fights are Evgeny Gradovich, Marvin Sonsona, Jesus Cuellar, Jonathan Oquendo, and if he can make weight at featherweight, Nicholas “The Axe Man” Walters. In the future, I also see Carl Frampton making a move to featherweight as well. The featherweight division has unlimited possibilities for matchmaking and is my choice for the “Hottest Division in Boxing”
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