By: Ken Hissner
Former WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO Super lightweight champion Terrence “Hunter/Bud” Crawford, 32-0 (23), announced he is moving up to the welterweight division. This is a division packed with talent. How will he effect this division?
Keith “One Time” Thurman, 28-0 (22), of Clearwater, FL, holds both the WBA & the WBC titles and is recognized as the best welterweight in the world. Newly crowned IBF champion Errol Spence, Jr., 22-0 (19), is touted as “the boxer of the future!” WBO champion Jeff Horn, 17-0-1 (11), of Australia, got a “gift decision” over now No. 1 WBO ranked Manny Pacquiao, 59-7-2 (38), of the Philippines and shouldn’t even have a title.
Crawford is still listed as champion by the WBC at Super lightweight. He is also ranked No. 4 in the WBA welterweight rankings. He needs to take a welterweight fight and I think I have just the opponent in Philadelphia’s “The New” Ray Robinson, 25-2 (12) who is ranked in two of the organizations and looking to fight anyone including Garcia who he has been chasing for years.
Thurman upped his record in taking two divisional belts defeating Philadelphia’s Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-1 (19), by split decision. Both boxers defeated Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero to become welterweight champions. Between Guerrero and Andre Berto they seem to be the “safe fights” to take since they have seen their better days gone by them.
Former IBF Super World Lightweight and WBA Super World Lightweight champion Lamont Peterson, 35-3-1 (17), now out of TN, gets first shot at Spence, Jr.
Peterson gave Garcia all he could handle in their fight. Garcia wouldn’t fight Amir Kahn, 31-4 (19), again who was the No. 1 contender in the WBC so “they allowed” No. 2 Garcia fight No. 6 Guerrero. Go figure! Garcia is No. 2 in both the WBC and WBA.
The WBA has Tewa Kiram, 38-0 (28), of Thailand, their No. 1 contender. Who has he beaten lately? Two fights ago he pulled a Floyd “Money” Mayweather defeating an opponent making his debut.
He’s scheduled to fight Lucas Matthysee, 38-4 (35), in January for the vacant WBA title? I thought Thurman holds that title.
The WBC No. 1 is former champion Shawn Porter, 28-2-1 (17), of Las Vegas, NV, who won the WBC Silver Title in November. He lost to Thurman eighteen months ago and lost his IBF title to Kell Brook. Brook will never be the same after getting brutalized by Gennady “GGG” Golovkin at middleweight.
Who knows maybe Mayweather will come back and fight a “professional” for a change. He feels he has to “protect” his 50-0 record since the WBC light fly champion Chayaphon Moonsri of Thailand just got to 49-0 to equal Rocky Marciano’s record!
