Featherweight Division Rankings

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The featherweight division has been ravaged in the last two to three years by fighters moving up in weight and abandoning the weight class. However, at the same time, a flock of bantamweights and super bantamweights have moved up, and the division is hotter than ever. Now the featherweight division in boxing is one of the deepest and most exciting in the sport, with some huge potential bouts that can be made.

Featherweight division rankings last updated March 2012

Yuriorkis Gamboa – While Gamboa still has some deficiencies, he has improved his all-around game, and has shown fewer weaknesses than he did in his early fights a few years back. He's supposed to be slated to face Brandon Rios at lightweight, however that fight is now on the outs, and it's unclear where Gamboa will be campaigning in the future. For now, he remains the top guy at featherweight.
Chris John – John is seemingly the sole non-defector to higher weight classes and greener pastures from his contemporaries. That includes the man he holds a victory over, Juan Manuel Marquez. He is undefeated in 48 fights and has been a champion seemingly forever, however, it's clear that there will be no more marquee fights for John, and the momentum he had built up for himself has disappeared stateside.
Orlando Salido - Salido has always been tough, but with his two wins over Juan Manuel Lopez, he has finally asserted his status as a top guy in the division, and the legit "A" side of any future fights. You know what you get from Salido, but you better be ready to work all night, or he'll wear you down and get you out of there. Right, JuanMa?
Jhonny Gonazlez - Gonzalez is now on an 11 fight winning streak and he looks better than ever at featherweight, all of those wins coming via stoppage. The most impressive win during the streak was his KO against Hozumi Hasegawa, in which he won the WBC featherweight title. Next up is a fight against Elio Rojas, a fight he should be favored to win.
Mikey Garcia - Mikey Garcia has been ready for the big time for a while now, but has been matched very slowly. After the decisive win over Bernabe Concepcion, hopefully he now gets in there with a legit, top guy, or maybe he runs the risk of being stagnant for too long and not advancing properly. Tight technical skills, supreme patience and power that catches up with you, Garcia has the full tool box.
Celestino Caballero - Remember when Caballero was the hidden gem just waiting to be a massive star in the sport? Yea, we hardly do either. Two straight losses crushed his rise, but he avenged his defeat to Barros to regain his featherweight strap, and since defended it one more time. Is Caballero just worn down at this point, or does he have a few more big fights left in him?
Juan Manuel Lopez - What now for JuanMa? On the positive, he's proven he has toughness, heart and a warrior's mentality in the ring. The downside of course is proving that cost him two KO losses to Salido. The defensive lapses don't seem fixable for JuanMa, so he needs to be matched carefully during his rebuilding period so disaster doesn't strike again.
Elio Rojas - Rojas formerly held the WBC strap at featherweight and has won four fights in a row since his lone setback. Next up he goes for that title once again, this time against Jhonny Gonzalez, and we'll learn a lot about him one way or the other in that bout.
Jonathan Victor Barros - Barros had mostly been known for taking Gamboa the full distance before he upset Caballero to win the WBA strap. Caballero since retook the title, and Barros will now be looking to put a bit of a winning streak together before taking on another one of the big dogs in the division.
Hozumi Hasegawa - The long-time bantamweight champion has lost two of his last three, but sandwiched in between was an impressive win over Juan Carlos Burgos to win a featherweight title. How much time does he have left in the sport, and does he have another elite-type run left in him?

Other names: Rafael Marquez, Rocky Juarez, Terdsak Jandaeng, Mario Santiago, Guty Espadas Jr., Bernabe Concepcion, Ricardo Castillo, Steven Luevano, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Matt Remillard, Billy Dib