Welterweight Division Rankings
Published by: Jake Emen | Follow us on Facebook & on Twitter
Here’s a current breakdown of the best welterweights in the world. It’s one of the classic boxing divisions, and it’s also one of the most crowded today. A lot of the top fighters have met each other, but there are more great fights that need to be made. Can anybody say Pacquiao vs. Mayweather? In the meantime, here are the top 10 boxers in the welterweight division today.
Welterweight division rankings last updated May 2012
- Floyd Mayweather – Welcome back to the number 1 spot in the welterweight division, Floyd Mayweather. He bypassed Pacquiao in the rankings based on the strength of his win over Ortiz - the #2 guy in the division fought the #3 guy and was triumphant with a concussive KO victory. Meanwhile Pacquiao looked less than stellar in a catchweight bout against Marquez. He won a tough fight against Miguel Cotto at 154 lbs, but I expect that after his jail stint, he continues to fight here.
- Manny Pacquiao - Pacquiao looked dominating against Shane Mosley, although to keep in context, that's certainly what we expected out of him. Then he failed to make a definitive statement against Marquez. Next, he's facing Timothy Bradley, a worthy challenger, but one who may be hard to look good against. We'll see how he looks on June 9th.
- Victor Ortiz - It's hard to knock Ortiz down at all after his loss to Mayweather. He was fighting pretty well through 4 rounds, and I'm not ready to put him behind the guy he just beat to begin with, Andre Berto. So he stays at the number 3 slot for the time being, until the Ortiz vs. Berto rematch finally comes off this summer after being delayed due to injury.
- Andre Berto – A lot of people had a lot of questions about Berto, and nearly all of them were answered against Ortiz, some for the better, and some for the worse. He showed great heart and will, but was taken out of his element and outdone by a fighter who had the heart, power and skill to really challenge him. He easily took care of Jan Zaveck, although some will find it alarming that he was being tagged by him even as he cruised to an early stoppage win.
- Kell Brook - Brook is one of the hottest names in the British and UK boxing scene. He currently sits at 26-0 with 18 KOs, and is looking to come to the states to start turning things up a notch. He's passed all of his prospect and young contender tests with flying colors. Now it's time to land a major fight and make a real splash.
- Paulie Malignaggi - Malignaggi jumps into the top 10 at 147 lbs after his title-winning upset against Vyacheslav Senchenko. He takes over his spot in the rankings as well. A few years ago, would you have pegged Malignaggi as a two-division champion? Probably not. But now he's in excellent position to land another major fight and payday.
- Devon Alexander - Alexander looked sharp, strong and solid in his welterweight debut against Marcos Maidana. Maidana's sloppy skills and slow speed were tailor-made for Alexander though. Who's up next for the favorite son of the StL?
- Selcuk Aydin - Aydin has put together a pretty good run in his thus far undefeated pro career, turning back Said Ouali, Jackson Osei Bonsu and Jo Jo Dan in three straight outings, before defeating Dan for a second time and extending his mark to 23-0 with 17 KOs. Next up, a match against Robert Guerrero this summer.
- Mike Jones - Jones is a talented Philly fighter who barely survived his first encounter against Jesus Soto Karass. He more handily took care of business in the second bout, sticking to the game plan and utilizing his superior skills and tactics instead of simply brawling. There has been some heat behind a Jones vs. Brook match-up, but first, Jones takes on Bailey for the vacant IBF crown on the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard.
- Randall Bailey - The book has been written on Randall Bailey. Hellacious power, but if you can avoid getting tagged, you'll probably win. He looks strong and powerful at 147 lbs, and was supposed to face Berto for the IBF title. Since Berto dropped it for the Ortiz rematch, Bailey gets to meet Jones for the vacant strap.
More Names to Watch
Vyacheslav Senchenko, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jan Zaveck, Joshua Clottey, Luis Carlos Abregu, Carson Jones, Rafal Jackiewicz, Said Ouali, Matthew Hatton, Jackson Osei Bonsu, Jo Jo Dan, Brad Solomon
More Boxing Weight Division Rankings:
- 135-140 lbs – Boxing Junior Welterweight Rankings
- 147-154 lbs – Boxing Junior Middleweight Rankings
Hands down, I think Mayweather ranks No. 1 and the greatest Boxer of all time…… Not in terms of performance inside the ring though.
I think Mayweather is the best cherry picker of all time. The greatest Ducker of all time. The biggest mouth of all time. The most number of pending crime cases of all time. The greastest Fraud boxer who ever lived.
There is reason to question whether Mayweather actually wants to fight Pacquiao. And you can hardly blame him.
Here is what happened to some of Pacquiao’s last seven opponents:
Antonio Margarito, pummeled repeatedly, broken orbital bone, sent to hospital. Miguel Cotto, pummeled repeatedly, TKO, sent to hospital. Ricky Hatton, knocked out cold, sent to hospital, hasn’t fought since. Oscar De La Hoya, pummeled repeatedly, TKO’d, hasn’t fought since. David Diaz, pummeled repeatedly, TKO’d, sent to hospital.
The other two (Joshua Clottey, Shane Mosley) essentially refused to fight, covered up for 12 rounds and accepted lopsided losses by decision.
Pacquiao doesn’t just defeat opponents; he punishes them right into an ambulance. Mayweather, attempting to spin the argument, notes that he beat most of those guys before Pacquiao and claims he “softened them up.”
Perhaps. It’s also possible Mayweather sees the destruction Pacquiao can do to a man’s health, reputation and career, and wouldn’t mind avoiding him completely.
Only Floyd knows for sure. Mayweather and Pacquiao fight will never happen.
It will be the biggest regret in his life for not facing Pacquiao. How can he claim that he is the best fighter in the world if he will not face Pacman.
Jake Emen, how come FMJ ahead on Pacqiao on welterweight ranking?, is the cheap shot enough for FMJ to earn the number 1 spot?, It maybe a legal but that was an unsportsmanlike manner, believe me he could not do that to Ortiz if Ortiz was aware. He cannot not even finished Ortiz in a single shot thats why he folowed it up with his right. In terms of power Pacqiao has huge advantage, skill even – an offensive fighter vs defensive fighter but you can’t win a fight by defense alone.
mayweather deserves to be number one in the word today
mayweather deserves nothing but jail time,the little sissy,beat on women,but not MAN enough to fight Manny a real boxer and the only NO.1 P4P ,WHY because that would be his first loss and the END of his career after he gets out of the hospital
I’d Probably knocked em’ both,,,if i fight them,,,,i started doing boxing last month
At long last, an American got into as no.1 in this article. After all, Las Vegas is USA territory. But The Ring Magazine rating is still the most prestigious, all others are just unreliable copycats.
I’d probably be the #1 in ur’ list by now if i started boxing last month!!!!!
You can’t blame either guy for the fight not happening. The powers that be and the astronomical amount of money that the fight will generate is the problem. Neither of these guys are pussies, they are Pro-Boxers and would fight each other anytime, anywhere. If it was up to them? Hell I’m sure they can use an extra 60 million, then say I’m out! Win or Lose bring it on!