A Look at the Current Featherweight Division
There is plenty to be excited about in boxing in many of the weight divisions. As of lately the Heavyweight division has gained much attention with a potential Deontay Wilder vs Anthony Joshua fight. The Cruiserweights and Super Middleweights are winding down on the WBSS tournament between some of the top fighters in those divisions. Hopefully, we still have the big rematch in the Middleweight division between Canelo and GGG in May. The Welterweights have a stellar list of fighters battling it out.
In the smaller weight classes, the Lightweight division just got more interesting with the announcement of the Jorge Linares and Vasyl Lomachenko in May. The Super Flyweights are also having a battle between their top fighters in the recent Superfly cards. There is another weight class that needs attention as well and that’s the Featherweight division. This weight class currently has a list of top fighters and these fighters also bring excitement. Let’s take a look at these fighters.
The Champions:
Leo Santa Cruz, 34-1-1, 19 KO’s: Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz is the current WBA Featherweight Champion and is considered the number one guy in the division. He has already won world titles in three different weight classes. He is never in a bad fight and is known for his aggressive style. He had a good 2017 and avenged his only loss against the tough Carl Frampton. He changed his style and used good counter punching skills to defeat Frampton. Santa Cruz will be fighting Abner Mares in a rematch in June and is most likely to defeat Mares again. We should expect another great fight.
Gary Russell, JR., 28-1, 17 KO’s: Mr. Gary Russell, JR. is the current WBC Featherweight Champion and was an outstanding amateur boxer as well. His only defeat was to the ultra-talented Vasyl Lomachenko back in 2014. He has won 4 fights since that loss and acquired the WBC title. I would say he is the quickest of all the Featherweights and possess the best technical skills as well. The problem is that he is very inactive and his last fight was in May of last year. If he wants to be considered a threat, he needs to fight again real soon.
Oscar Valdez, 24-0, 19 KO’s: Oscar Valdez is the current WBO Featherweight Champion and probably one of the most exciting fighters in the division right now. He just beat his toughest test up to date against Scott Quigg by unanimous decision in an all-out action fight. Despite having his broken jaw in the fight, Valdez continued to battle. Valdez is a good counter puncher but is vulnerable and likes to slug it out, which makes for good action fights. Hopefully we get to see him fight against the other top Featherweights.
Lee Selby, 26-1, 9 KO’s: Lee “Lightning” Selby is the current IBF Featherweight Champion and has made 4 title defenses of this title thus far. He only has one early loss in his career. He has notable wins over Evgeny Gradovich, Fernando Montiel, and Jonathan Barros. Even though he is considered one of the top five Featherweight fighters; he wants to be considered the top of his division. He will be fighting fellow Brit Josh Warrington next month. If he wins, hopefully we can see him unify the other title belts in the future.
The Top Contenders:
Carl Frampton, 24-1, 14 KO’s: Carl “The Jackal” Frampton is the former WBA and IBF Jr. Featherweight Champion. He also was the former WBA Featherweight champion. His only blemish on his record was against Leo Santa Cruz in their rematch last year. He also has wins against Santa Cruz (1st encounter), Scott Quigg, and Kiko Martinez (twice). Frampton is looking to get another title shot, but first will need to get past Nonito Donaire in April. If he does, there is a possibility of a rubber match with Santa Cruz in the future.
Abner Mares, 31-2-1, 15 KO’s: Abner Mares just like Santa Cruz, won titles in three different weight classes. He has fought a list of top fighters such as: Vic Darchinyan, Daniel Ponce De Leon, and Joseph Agbeko. The only major setback in his career was a shocking 1st round knockout defeat against the hard punching Jhonny Gonzalez. Even though he also lost to Santa Cruz in 2015 by a majority decision; it was a competitive fight. In 2016, he made a huge statement with a unanimous decision over the hard punching Jesus Cuellar and made a comeback. This has now landed him a rematch with Santa Cruz in June.
Joseph Diaz, 26-0, 14 KO’s: Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr is a former 2012 Olympian and is now looking for a potential title shot maybe some time this year. He has beaten solid fighters along his journey. Most recently he looked great stopping Victor Terrazas in 3 rounds last month. As of lately he has been featured on Canelo Alvarez undercard fights and has been impressive.
Scott Quigg, 34-2-2, 25 KO’s: Scott Quigg is still a threat in the division, if he can make weight going forward. He only has two close losses on his record, once against Carl Frampton and the other lost against Oscar Valdez Jr. In both of those fights he showed toughness and a lot of heart.
Other fighters to lookout for: Josh Warrington, Jesus Rojas, and Jorge Lara.
Who is the best Featherweight out of this bunch? The edge seems to lean towards Leo Santa Cruz at the moment, but we don’t have a decisive answer yet. As fight fans, we hope to see the top fighters in this division face each other. Once that happens, we will then get a clear answer on who is the king of the Featherweights.
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