Super bantamweight is one of boxing’s hottest divisions, which is hard to imagine, especially in the United States with our obsession with the heavier and more traditional weight classes. However, many of the best fighters in the division – Juan Manuel Lopez, Celestino Caballero, Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez have all moved up to featherweight! That means the division is back to being wide open, although there are some very strong fighters vying for the lead.

Super bantamweight division rankings last updated May 23, 2010.

1. Toshiaki Nishioka – Not having lost a bout in six years, the WBC super bantamweight titleholder has wins over Jhonny Gonzalez and a few other top contenders. He’s held his belt longer than the current WBA champion, below, and has won his last four fights by stoppage, all in title defenses.
2. Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym – Riding a four year winning streak, Poonsawat is now the WBA champion and is coming off his great performance over Bernard Dunne, where he knocked out the champion in just three rounds. He has since made two successful defenses of his strap.
3. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. – Always beware of the fighter with the recognizable name and the “Jr.” at the end. However, Vazquez Jr. seems to have a solid skill set, and has been climbing the ladder, recently winning the vacant WBO title against Marvin Sonsona. He now has a title defense scheduled against Zsolt Bedak.
4. Ricardo Cordoba – Cordoba has fought three times against nobodies since his seesaw battle, and loss, against Dunne. He has the physical assets to rise back to the top of the division if he uses more discipline in the ring.
5. Bernard Dunne – Will he be able to bounce back from the devastating knockout loss to Poonsawat, as well as the brutal war against Ricardo Cordoba – the 2009 Fight of the Year? Time will tell, but the two bouts may have been too much for him.
6. Steve Molitor – He’s on a four fight winning streak since his one-sided loss to Celestino Caballero. However, the competition has been lacking and Molitor should be looking for stiffer competition in the near future now that he’s back to his winning ways.
7. Rogers Mtagwa – Mtagwa is going to be a tough fight for anybody in the super bantamweight and featherweight divisions. You can’t blame the guy for losing to Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, two bigger and more talented fighters. However, he needs to get back with a big win to move back to the top of the division.
8. Jeffrey Mathebula - He actually won on one of the scorecards against division kingpin Caballero. He’s fought just once since then and will need to get busy against better opposition if he wants another title shot in the near future.
9. Gerry Penalosa - Penalosa took a beating at the hands of Juan Manuel Lopez, but still made a good showing considering how overmatched he was. The definition of heart, will and grit, Penalosa’s moved down to bantamweight and lost to Eric Morel in his last outing.
10. Zsolt Bedak – The undefeated fighter is facing fellow undefeated Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for the WBO title that he recently obtained by besting Marvin Sonsona.

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings

• 115-118 lbs – Boxing Bantamweight Division Rankings
• 122-126 lbs – Boxing Featherweight Division Rankings

Written by: Jake Emen