Light Heavyweight Division Rankings
Published by: Jake Emen
What to make of the current light heavyweight division in boxing? You have the ageless wonder, some young champions he has had mixed results with, and then some rising titleholders and other contenders yet to be truly tested at the elite level. Take a look at boxing's top 10 light heavyweight division rankings.
Light heavyweight division rankings last updated October 2011
- Bernard Hopkins – Say hello to Bernard Hopkins, you might have heard of him. At 46 years old, he just refuses to go away and leave the limelight, and he became the oldest champion in the history of the sport with his win over Pascal. He once said he wouldn't fight past 40, and now he plans on fighting until 50! I don't know what to make of his "loss" to Dawson. But for now, he stays in the number 1 position.
- Tavoris Cloud – Cloud dominated a past-his-due-date Clinton Woods for the IBF portion of the light heavyweight championship, and then gutted out a tough match against Glen Johnson. He's still raw, but he has improved his all-around game and has more than enough power to rattle the chin's of most contenders. Tempting to put him at #1 with the controversy around the rest of these guys, but he hasn't earned that yet.
- Jean Pascal – Pascal has gone on a great run, despite the loss to Bernard. He beat Adrian Diaconu twice, defeated Chad Dawson, and then knocked down Hopkins twice in their first encounter. All of the physical ability is still there, but like we've known all along, it's a raw package, and it comes with stamina problems. Pascal will be back in a big fight soon though.
- Chad Dawson – Where to put Chad Dawson amongst the top guys at 175 lbs right now? He lost against Pascal... but seemed like he could have won. He beat Hopkins... but what did we really see in six minutes of a fight that ended from a shoulder injury via a push? As such, I'm keeping him right where he was before that debacle of a pay-per-view.
- Beibut Shumenov - Say what you will about how he got his title belt and the credibility of that, but Shumenov is still one of the better fighters in the division. With just 12 fights on the record so far, it will be interesting to see how he continues to develop. Was denied a big fight opportunity when (shock) Juergen Braehmer withdrew from their scheduled unification bout.
- Nathan Cleverly -The undefeated U.K. light heavyweight doesn't have many names you'd recognize on the resume, but he recently toppled fellow undefeated European prospect Karo Murat, and followed that up with a win over trash-talking domestic rival Tony Bellew. He didn't get his title shot against Braehmer, and had to settle for a last minute replacement instead. Still, he's the WBO champ now, and is in good position for a big fight.
- Zsolt Erdei - It hasn't exactly been a thrilling career for Zsolt Erdei, but at 36 years old, he's still undefeated, and is now a two division titleholder after a brief foray into the cruiserweight waters. He's back at light heavyweight and just fought in the United States, looking to make a splash. Look for him to try to recapture his longtime WBO belt soon.
- Ismayl Sillakh - This guy has a lot of followers already, dispatching of the undefeated Cuban Yordanis Despaigne and beating a few other noteworthy names. Now 16-0 with 13 KOs, he faces another prospect in the division, Russian Maxim Vlasov next. Sillakh better show that KO power and his vaunted skills, because the fight is in Moscow.
- Adrian Diaconu – Diaconu didn't perform badly against Dawson, but as happened against Pascal, he was again exposed as a bit one-dimensional. Fighting fast, skilled fighters among the division's best seems to be out of reach for him, but a slugger vs. slugger match against the likes of Tavoris Cloud would no doubt be entertaining.
- Juergen Braehmer - Does Braehmer want to fight anybody? That's three consecutive fights canceled in a row. Braehmer? Braehmer? Anyone, Braehmer?
More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:
- 160-168 pounds – Boxing Super Middleweight Rankings
- 175-200 pounds – Boxing Cruiserweight Division Rankings
