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. The return of Floyd Mayweather to the fold and the dominance of Manny Pacquiao only adds more excitement to the jam packed welterweight division.

Welterweight division rankings last updated May 2, 2010.

1. Manny Pacquiao – Numbers 1 and 2 in the pound for pound list and the welterweight division, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather must happen. The Clottey win was a solid effort, although Clottey appeared to be uninterested in truly going for the win. Of course Pacquiao’s best work at 147 was his win over Cotto. Since he got the stoppage, and since Cotto beat Mosley, Pacquiao remains at number 1 in the division.
2. Floyd Mayweather – Mayweather put on a truly dominant performance over Shane Mosley, a fight that many considered one of his most dangerous and challenging to date. We knew he would be faster, but he was also stronger and perhaps even more powerful as the fight wore on. Of course, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao needs to happen. Mayweather could be ranked as number 1 in the division, but really the only way to solve the ranking dilemma is by these two meeting in the ring.
3. Andre Berto – Sure, Berto is a titleholder, but he hasn’t faced the best competition. Many people felt that he lost to Luis Collazo, and dominating junior welterweight Juan Urango is only moderately impressive. The win over Quintana was solid, but Berto still hasn’t met anybody that had a real chance to beat him. Regardless of his competition, Berto has serious hand speed, a great offensive arsenal and good power. Whether he has the chin and the defense to be the top dog is very questionable.
4. Miguel Cotto – Cotto suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Margarito, but were those hands coated in plaster of Paris? We may never know, but there is nothing that can make you question the loss at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, who simply overwhelmed him. He’s lined up to face Yuri Foreman next, although one must think his true home is still at the welterweight division.
5. Shane Mosley– Oh, what could have been for Shane Mosley. He had Mayweather arguably as hurt as he’s ever been in his career in the second round of their fight, but that’s all he was able to accomplish and he was dominated the rest of the way. Mosley could still make some intriguing bouts at and around welterweight if he’s interested in sticking around.
6. Joshua Clottey – Clottey has now lost the three biggest fights of his career, against Antonio Margarito, Cotto. and Pacquiao. While he acquitted himself fairly well against Cotto, it was a seeming non-effort or complete inability to keep up with the Pacman in his shot at the big-time. He could still step in with a fighter like Andre Berto and give him trouble, or a rematch with Miguel Cotto could put one of them back in the title picture.
7. Luis Collazo – It’s been a long year since the loss to Berto and he has had only one fight against a complete tomato can of an opponent since. He’s just 4-3 in his last 7 bouts, but with a little bit of luck it’s not hard to imagine him being 6-1 with the only loss coming to a rejuvenated Shane Mosley. Collazo vs. Clottey could be an interesting bout to get one of them into the hunt for bigger and better things once again.
8. Luis Carlos Abregu – Who doesn’t like to see this guy fight? He’s a fight fan’s dream… game-changing power with a chin that puts him in enough trouble that he is forced to break it out and swing for the fences. He’s clearly not on par with the top three guys in the division, but with a few more fights and some more experience under his belt it will be interesting to see how far he can climb.
9. Alfonso Gomez – Gomez has strung some wins together since the one-sided loss to Miguel Cotto. It’s enough to sneak him onto this list, but one would think he doesn’t have much more room to climb in this competitive scene. A fight with Abregu would be great for both men.
10. Carlos Quintana – Quintana has had a rough go of it against top-flight fighters, excluding his surprising upset win over Paul Williams in their first encounter. Cotto broke him down, Williams KO’d him in 1 in the rematch and Berto outclassed him in their recent affair.

Fighters not included

• Antonio Margarito: Has yet to fight since his year-long suspension and still very much has an uncertain future.
• Kermit Cintron: His name keeps on getting tossed into the mix at welterweight, but for the last few bouts he has been plying his trade in the junior middleweight division.
• Paul Williams: He says he’s still a welterweight… but really?
• Saul Alvarez: Keep your eyes peeled for this kid, he’s on the rise.

More Boxing Weight Division Rankings:

• 135-140 lbs – Boxing Junior Welterweight Rankings
• 147-154 lbs – Boxing Junior Middleweight Rankings

Written by: Jake Emen