In the light heavyweight division today, one man clearly stands above the rest. Some of the old names are stating to fade – Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones and the like – while others are still going strong, like Bernard Hopkins. With Chad Dawson continuing to take on tough challengers and other dangerous fighters lurking in the rankings, like Jean Pascal and Tavoris Cloud, the division has been refreshed.

Light heavyweight division rankings last updated November 8, 2009.

1. Chad Dawson – After giving Antonio Tarver a rematch he didn’t deserve, Chad Dawson is now finally finished with giving Glen Johnson a rematch he very much deserved. After squeaking by Johnson in a disputed decision win, Dawson had a much easier go of it the second time around. Dawson has also beaten the reigning cruiserweight champion, Tomasz Adamek. Still undefeated at 29-0 with 17 KOs, Dawson has a great combination of speed, power and skill.
2. Bernard Hopkins – You can’t deny the resume of Bernard Hopkins, but you can question his willingness to step up to the challenge of the young champion of the division. Hopkins has a December 2nd tuneup scheduled and if he and Roy Jones both win their matches, a rematch is on the horizon.
3. Jean Pascal – After losing a decision to Carl Froch for a super middleweight belt, Pascal jumped up to light heavyweight to face the then undefeated Adrian Diaconu. He surprisingly cruised past Diaconu, outclassing him and even hurting him. Pascal looks to be better in the light heavyweight ranks than he was before, and he now has a rematch with Diaconu scheduled.
4. Zsolt Erdei – Erdei has been a titleholder for 5 years, making 11 successful defenses. He is undefeated with a 30-0 record, but his opposition has been routinely soft. Few American fight fans have seen him fight or even know of him. If he wants to establish credibility he must take on a recognizable name. Next up is actually a title bout at cruiserweight.
5. Glen Johnson – At 40 years old Johnson is still a formidable challenge for any light heavyweight. Dawson had his way with him in the second bout, but Johnson was still able to chip away, win some rounds and make the bout relatively close. The only big fight left for him would seem to be a rubber match with Tarver, if Tarver came out of retirement.
6. Adrian Diaconu – Diaconu didn’t put on a bad performance against Pascal. He started slowly, trying to adjust to Pascal’s movement and speed and surely he was surprised by his power. What we saw from Diaconu that night is that he is still a very good fighter, but he is one dimensional in the ring and can be exposed if a fighter can take his shots and keep up the pace. He has a second shot against Pascal to see if his power and pressure can win the day and his belt back.
7. Danny Green – After an 18 month layoff, when he retired as the reigning WBA light heavyweight champion, Green returned to the ring in April of 2009. After putting together a few victories he has an early December fight against Roy Jones Jr scheduled.
8. Tavoris Cloud – Cloud dominated a past-his-due-date Clinton Woods for the IBF portion of the light heavyweight championship. He still isn’t very well known, which will hurt his chances at landing a big match. Maybe a fight with Glen Johnson could stir up some interest.
9. Antonio Tarver – The magic is gone from the Magic Man, but he’s still one of the top 10 fighters in the light heavyweight division. Considering Clinton Woods is now getting a title shot, and Tarver trounced him in a pathetic showing by Woods, Tarver could get himself another title shot soon. He may or may not be retired, but something tells me he could be lured back to the ring for a lucrative fight.
10. Roy Jones Jr. – Roy Jones is barely a shell of the fighter he was as the pound for pound king. Still, he has shown that he is serious about continuing his career and has been staying relatively busy. After toppling Jeff Lacy without any trouble, Jones is scheduled to meet Danny Green in December. If he wins that and Hopkins wins his tuneup, we finally get a rematch of their first fight in early 2010.

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 160-168 pounds – Boxing Super Middleweight Rankings
• 175-200 pounds – Boxing Cruiserweight Division Rankings

Written by: Jake Emen