the light welterweight division: reloaded

www.eastsideboxing.com

14.04.06 - By Dan Horgan: The day is November 6th, 2004. A packed crowd at the Glendale Arena in Phoenix Arizona is eagerly awaiting the much-anticipated rematch between long time division champ, Kostya Tszyu, and slick southpaw Sharmba Mitchell. Much debate fills the crowd as to who will win this fight and who is indeed the best Light Welterweight in the world. Is it Tszyu, who has unified the titles one by one and hasn’t lost in seven years? Is it Mitchell, who seems to easily outbox each top contender he faces? Maybe it’s the man in the crowd scouting, Vivian Harris, who seems to really have come into his own since his shocking loss to Ray Oliveira four years ago.

The debate goes on and on, as other names such as Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, and Ricky Hatton are brought up, and it becomes quite obvious that in this deep and talented division, something is going to have to give.

Something did give: Kostya Tszyu blasted Sharmba Mitchell out of contention, Ricky Hatton forced Tszyu retire on his stool, and Carlos Maussa shocked and rocked Vivian Harris. All of the sudden, the division that was considered the best in boxing had lost three of its top contenders within seven months.

The day is April 14th, 2006. With the downfall of so many top contenders and the departure of Floyd Mayweather to Welterweight, one would think that the Light Welterweight division right now isn’t half as intriguing as it was a year and a half ago, but remarkably, the division has been revived. With a mix of exciting, undefeated prospects, a slew of cagey, battletested veterans, and even some pound for pound megastars, the division is better than ever. Here are my rankings of the many top Light Welterweights today, and the best possible match ups for the division.

1-Ricky Hatton - Although Hatton at the present moment is testing the waters at Welterweight, he is not expected to stay there. Once he comes back down, the obvious match ups would be fights with undefeated Miguel Cotto and fellow countryman Junior Witter.

2-Miguel Cotto -His resume is very similar to Hatton’s in that he has beaten top contender after top contender, but he still lacks that big win Hatton has. If he can get by Pauli Maglinaggi in June, then a fight with Hatton, or a rematch with DeMarcus Corley, would be the most ideal match ups.

3-DeMarcus Corley -The slick southpaw has fought the best, and nothing but the best. He gave Zab Judah one of his toughest fights (and even convinced one judge and many boxing fans that he won), rocked Floyd Mayweather harder than ever before in his losing effort to him, and lost on a controversial stoppage to Miguel Cotto. He owns three wins in title fights, and is the best shape of his life right now as he has been Floyd Mayweather’s chief sparring partner. If all goes as planned, Corley will challenge Junior Witter this summer for the belt Mayweather vacated.

4-Pauli Maglinaggi -Although he lacks a big win, Maglinaggi’s dazzling hand speed and ring generalship has won over many critics, and he will look to win over rest on June 10th when he faces Miguel Cotto in a career-defining fight.

5-Demetrius Hopkins -The nephew of Bernard, Demetrius has been skyrocketing up the light-welterweight ladder. If you want to know how good this kid is, consider this: Mario Jose Ramos, just five months before he fought Hopkins, had won virtually every round against Cosme Rivera, who was coming off challenging for the Welterweight championship of the world. Against Hopkins however, he barely won any rounds at all. Hopkins returns on his uncle’s undercard June tenth, and an intriguing match up would be against tough, battletested Juan Lazcono.

6-Carlos Maussa -Although he is only 1-3 in his four biggest fights, Maussa has shown competitive in all of his losses and holds a victory over the super-talented Vivian Harris. In his next fight, a match up with perennial contender Emmanuel Augustus would promise for a wild, entertaining affair.

7-Vivian Harris -He was looking so impressive in all of his fights, until he was shocked by Carlos Maussa. He may have the chance of a lifetime to redeem himself and revive his career if a July bout with Mike Arnaoutis can come off.

8-Mike Arnaoutis -With outstanding power, the WBO NABO champion has scored three first round knockouts in a row. Ultra-confident, Arnaoutis will most likely face off against Vivian Harris next in what will be his true test.

9-Juan Urango -He has shown incredible power thus far in his young career, and looks to continue to do the same against Naoufel Ben Rabah if the fight can come off.

10-Juan Lazcono -His high volume of punches has guided him to a 3-0 start thus far in the division. A fight with Demetrius Hopkins, who, like Lazcono, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, would be an extremely intriguing match up.

What’s scary about this division is the difference of rankings, as my top ten may be almost entirely different than someone else’s, showing how much depth this division has. Veterans Lovemore N’Dou, Junior Witter, Emmanuel Augustus, and Stevie Johnston all are looking for a title shot and are top-ten worthy. Contenders Almazbek Raiymkulov, Andreas Kotelnik, and Souleymane M’Baye have all suffered tough losses in their careers, but are coming off wins and are also top ten worthy. And we can’t forget about hot prospects Herman Ngoudjo and Kendall Holt who have scored impressive wins in their young careers and may be considered by some to already be amongst the best.

The light-welterweight division right now is simply amazing. It has reloaded from a year and a half ago, and if all goes well, we could see some amazing match ups this summer. The funny thing is, once some of these top contenders are eliminated, the division will likely reload again. Both Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales may move up after their lightweight title fight, and Joel Casamayor just might follow. Zab Judah, who has clearly shown this year that he is not the best welterweight in the world, may end up moving back down in weight, and if the money is right, Floyd Mayweather, who walks around at 147 pounds, could come down for a guest appearance at any time.

With so many top contenders and possible match ups, the only thing for certain right now in the light-welterweight division is the fans are in for an exciting ride.