The junior middleweight division is not a historically famous one. Rather, it has more been the spot of great welterweights on their rise up through further weight divisions or smallish middleweights who couldn’t compete with the bigger bangers at 160. However, that is thankfully no longer the case. And a crop of talented prospects and rising stars makes the future of the division very promising. Here’s a look at boxing’s super welterweight or junior middleweight weight class rankings.

Junior Middleweight Division Rankings Last Updated October 2009.

1. Paul Williams – Paul Williams is challenging Kelly Pavlik for his middleweight titles, but he still says he can fight as low as welterweight. Whether or not that is true or realistic, Williams did capture a vacant belt at junior middleweight just two fights ago, cementing his status in this division pending his performance against Pavlik at 160.
2. Sergiy Dzinziruk – Mostly anonymous to American fight fans, the undefeated WBO light middleweight champion does hold victories over Joel Julio and Daniel Santos. Of course, he hasn’t left Germany in four years and even then, it was for excursions to Ukraine and Poland. It would be nice to see him on American television, against one of the other titleholders.
3. Sergio Martinez – Martinez was largely unknown until his HBO debut several fights ago. The slick boxing Martinez hasn’t lost in 9 years, since he was still inexperienced and was unwisely matched against Antonio Margarito. His recent fight against Kermit Cintron is a travesty, it should have been a KO victory, and then it should have been a unanimous decision.
4. Daniel Santos – Santos is on a three fight winning streak since losing to Dzinziruk. Unfortunately, that was three and a half years ago, showing his inactivity. His last win was a great upset of undefeated champion Joachim Alcine, however, it was nearly a year ago. He’s now scheduled to take on Yuri Foreman in November.
5. Kermit Cintron – The Martinez fight was one of the strangest occurences in recent boxing history. Still, Cintron got right back in the right against rising prospect Alfredo Angulo. Cintron pulled out what is to this point, the win of his career, and now is in line for another title shot in the near future.
6. Alfredo Angulo – Angulo was one of the sport’s fast rising stars until Cintron derailed his climb. He has gotten back in the ring once since then, and will be keeping a busy schedule for the next few months. He needs to come up with a more diverse game plan if he wants to succeed against the best in the division.
7. Verno Phillips – Phillips scored a nice upset victory over Cory Spinks to capture a title. At 39 years of age, he doesn’t have much time left in the tank, and Paul Williams rudely reminded him of such via eighth round TKO.
8. Cory Spinks - Let’s be real, Spinks looked terrible against Deandre Latimore. He should have been stopped in the fight, but Latimore just didn’t have the stamina nor the rounded skills to get the job done. Credit to Spinks for hanging on and winning the rounds, but he looks to be a shell of the fighter he once was.
9. Vanes Martirosyan – The undefeated prospect known as the Nightmare has been making a name as of late, with a busy schedule as he has been working his way up the rankings. He hasn’t fought any top opposition yet, but he has a strong technical base and good power, and seems to be one of the sport’s best young fighters.
10. Deandre Latimore – Latimore has gotten back in the ring with one win after his loss to Spinks. The Spinks fight was a lost opportunity for him, now it’s time to get more experience and build up that stamina so he can go a full 12 rounds.

The rest of the pack: Joel Julio, Joachim Alcine, Sechew Powell, Yuri Foreman

* James Kirkland – Kirkland was rapidly rising through the ranks and was coming off a career best performance, a destruction of fellow slugger Joel Julio. However, he has since been arrested stemming from a gun charge, and is now in jail. Luckily, the judge seemed to have mercy on him, citing his potential to make a difference in the community. Instead of potentially a decade in prison, Kirkland could resume his career potentially by the end of 2010.

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 140-147 lbs – Boxing Welterweight Rankings
• 154-160 lbs – Boxing Middleweight Rankings

Written by: Jake Emen