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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, one of the sport's hottest and most exciting divisions.

Junior Middleweight Division Rankings Last Updated March 2012

1. Miguel Cotto - Cotto got his revenge and reestablishes himself as the top dog in the division after his big win over Antonio Margarito. Funny how Margarito's shots didn't bludgeon him this time, eh? With three straight wins at junior middleweight, the world is at his fingertips in terms of big, moneymaking fights. As we called here at ProBoxing-Fans.com, Cotto is now lined up to face Mr. Floyd Mayweather.
2. Erislandy Lara - Never underestimate the kind of lofty amateur boxing chops that someone like Erislandy Lara has. He was fast on the rise until the draw against Carlos Molina, which many had considered to be very disappointing... until Molina dominated Kermit Cintron. Then he suffered the ultimate job of a decision when he took at least 9 rounds against Paul Williams and lost the verdict, a fight which ended with all three judges being suspended indefinitely by the New Jersey commission.
3. Delvin Rodriguez - It's never an easy night of work when you meet Delvin Rodriguez. Rodriguez proved yet again that he's going to give hell to anyone who faces him, and at 154 lbs, he still looks big and durable. He easily handled Pawel Wolak in their rematch of their first instant-classic fight from summer 2011.
4. Saul Alvarez - Alvarez continues to work his way up the top 10, justifying his lofty star status in the sport. Canelo certainly puts asses in seats, and now he's putting asses on the canvas too of legit guys, like Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron. But fighting Shane Mosley, as a PPV co-feature, really, really stinks.
5. Carlos Molina - King Carlos keeps on getting better and better after a nearly two year layoff. He handled Lara's slickness with his aggression and grit, earning a draw, took out a highly touted prospect and then easily defeated Cintron. Of course, his hard luck journey just got even more difficult, as he was DQ'd against Kirkland by the ridiculous Texas boxing commission. The "L" there on his record will give promoters a nice reason to continue withholding title shots from him.
6. James Kirkland - Now that's how you shut up the critics and tell people that you're back. Realigned with trainer Anne Wolfe, Kirkland seems to have returned to Beast Mode, coming back from the brink over another 1 round KO loss disaster to turn the tables and stop Angulo. But his up and down ride continues, as he looked to be on the path to dropping a decision against Carlos Molina when Molina got DQ'd. It's possible Kirkland could have scored the late knockout, but we'll never know, and it would have been an uphill battle for him there.
7. Sergiy Dzinziruk – Paging Mr. Dzinziruk. Anybody home? After challenging for the middleweight title against Sergio Martinez, and being stopped in 8 rounds, Dzinziruk has been on the shelf, with no words of his next bout on the horizon. He still has the credentials and skills at 154 lbs, but he needs to get back in the ring to keep from falling farther down the logjammed division.
8. Cornelius Bundrage - K9 backed up his bark with some bite against Cory Spinks, stopping the St. Louis slickster midway through their contest. It says more about how far Spinks has fallen than anything, but the bottom line is Bundrage put himself into position and did what he needed to do. He also avenged his loss to Sechew Powell in the famous double knockdown bout to add a title defense to his resume.
9. Paul Williams - The Punisher returns to the top 10 at junior middleweight with his strong showing against Nobuhiro Ishida. It's a fight he was supposed to win, and he did, so he's off the schnide now and can look for a legit fight. The question marks about Williams in terms of his defense and chin remain though, so we'll see who Goossen lines up for him next.
10. Austin Trout - Trout is technically a titleholder in the division, and he's undefeated with good skills, but he needs to step up the opposition in a hurry. It's time to face another top 10-15 caliber guy at the minimum, or else No Doubt Trout will be... We Doubt Trout.

The rest of the pack:  Alfredo Angulo, Vanes Martirosyan, Demetrius Andrade, Kermit Cintron, Grady Brewer, Sechew Powell, Yuri Foreman, Daniel Santos, Joel Julio, Deandre Latimore, Joachim Alcine, Cory Spinks, Antonio Margarito

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

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

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