All astute boxing fans know that the proliferation of world titles has diluted their value.
Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia proved that by generated 1.2 million pay-per-view buys in the U.S. even though no belt was on the line for their April 22 fight.
And few doubt that Davis is the best 135-pounder even though Devin Haney is the undisputed champion.
That’s why Davis was able to strengthen his position in Boxing Junkie’s Great Eight feature, in which we name the No. 1 fighter in each of the original eight weight classes (heavy, light heavy, middle, welter, light, feather, bantam and fly).
It’s also why 112-pound titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez drops out after a so-so performance on the Canelo Alvarez-John Ryder card last Saturday.
Davis dominated and then stopped Ryan Garcia with a body shot, demonstrating again that he — not Haney, not Shakur Stevenson and not Vasiliy Lomachenko — is the man to beat between 130 and 135 pounds.
Meanwhile, Martinez stopped relative unknown Ronal Batista in the 11th round but struggled much of the fight because of his technical limitations.
That followed his ill-fated challenge of junior bantamweight Roman Gonzalez, who easily outpointed him in March of last year, and a so-so effort in a majority-decision victory over Samuel Carmona back at 112 in December.
So who replaces him? Tough one.
If this were a pound-for-pound list, the best choice might be Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, who beat Carlos Cuardras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai at 115 last year before moving down 112.
However, this is based on performances and accomplishments at 112 and below. Thus, we’ve opted to go with Sunny Edwards, a gifted, albeit light-punching 112-pounder who has held a major title for more than two years.
Our hope is that Edwards and Rodriguez settle it in the ring sometime soon.
Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions and their immediate plans:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) – Reportedly considering a title defense against former beltholder Andy Ruiz Jr. or Zhilei Zhang in July, although Zhang might be headed for a rematch with Joe Joyce.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) – Expected to defend his 175-title against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached..
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) – No fight scheduled.
WELTERWEIGHT
Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) – Reportedly is near a deal to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship in July but no announcement has been made.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – No fight scheduled.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Stephen Fulton Jr. (21-0, 8 KOs) – Scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo
BANTAMWEIGHT
Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo
FLYWEIGHT
Sunny Edwards (19-0, 4 KOs) – Scheduled to defend his title against Andres Campos on June 10 in London.
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