Quote Originally Posted by milmascaras1 View Post
here's the way i see the jr. welterweights. i think this division is still wide open as far as any one fighter distancing themselves from the rest.

timothy bradley - great little fighter with great speed and technique. on the short side and has been dropped (holt) so we still don't know how good his chin is because of his chin, he rarely gets tagged solidly. my favorite fighter at jr. welter because he comes to fight no matter how big or powerful his opponents are.

amir khan - even i don't like the guy, he still has impressed me with his overall skills and speed. i think roach has done wonders preparing him for his last two or three fights but i think it's time for him to ratchet it up a little bit and start fighting serious contenders. he's been feeding on fighters on the downside like barrera, malignaggi and a very ordinary salita. chin is still suspect. a very well managed fighter who has been protected thus far!

devon alexander - i too, was caught up in the alexander the great hype until he came back down to earth last saturday night. very disappointing showing on his part. but you've got to give kotelnik massive credit for taking the fight to him. still, devon is only 23 years old and will improve. has good power and speed but he's what i call more of a herky jerky type of puncher. most of his jabs hit nothing but air with no real strategic advantage. but i like the kid and his life story!

marcos rene maidana - tough as nails who can really punch. but he also has slow reflexes and can definitely be outboxed. if you outbox him like kotelnik did, he doesn't really know how to adjust. he only knows one way and that is brawling. this was the mistake victor ortiz did. he could of outboxed him all night long but got cocky and began trading with this tough argentine. would be at the mercy of the top three aforementioned fighters but will always have a puncher's chance.

joan guzman - very, very dangerous fighter. in fact, i would give him a great chance of beating any of the top welters. his second fight with ali funeka was masterful. he may be past 30 years old but he still has his skills and speed. his only problem is his lack of activity and his true lack of desire to be the best i.e. coming in overweight twice before.

victor ortiz - has all the skills he needs to succeed but i don't think has gotten (subconsciously) over his KO loss to maidana. seems to me he still has just a little doubt running through his head for him to realize his mass potential. still young and improving. maybe he should try to exercise his demons and rematch maidana after two or three more fights. if he can beat maidana in a rematch, he could go a long way.

zab judah - i still think this guy can be a great fighter again! coming down in weight probably did wonders for him. at welter, he seemed to get discouraged when his bigger opponents kept coming at him in the later rounds. but physically, he's got it all and could be a major player again.

andriy kotelnik - too bad he doesn't have much of a punch otherwise he would have beaten alexander. love his counterpunching skills and is as crafty a veteran as i've seen. love the way he fell behind but didn't panic. was in control mentally throughout the whole fight. i believe he can still be a force in the division but again, his only drawback is his lack of KO power which puts him in somewhat of a disadvantage.

SLEEPERS - watch out for venezuela's patrick lopez. this guy is a tough and extremely strong fighter. followed his career for a couple of years now and he could surprise and win a title this year or next. i think he would give any of the above mentioned fighters a tough fight right now.

another sleeper could be josesito lopez. i've been a big fan of his for about three years. btw, he's already beaten patrick lopez by SD so i know this guy can fight. hasn't been very active the last couple of years but has a big fight this friday night on espn2 vs. marvin cordova 21-1-1, who is also a pretty good prospect. if lopez wins decisively, he should be ready to fight the bigger names at jr. welter.
One of the best posts i've read on here in a while (with the exception of VD's gym girl advice). Only thing i would argue with is what you say about Malignaggi being on the slide. Plenty of people have said this lately, but it's not true imo. He was coming off what were probably his two best performances of his career both against Juan Diaz. The rest is great though.