New faces at the top of the welterweight division

By Boxing News - 10/31/2013 - Comments

bradley2By Lavon Shepard: With much surprise the welterweight division has seen a mix up at the top of the ranks over the last year and a half. Prior to 2013 most fans and experts had Floyd Myaweather, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manual Marquez at the top of the division but a lot has changed in the last year. One constant has been Mayweather. His reign at the top of boxing has been nothing short of historic. Hate him or love him at 45-0, there’s no argument whose been the best boxer of this generation.

However, the change over the last couple years is due to the performances of the other two fighters in the top 3. Manny Pacquiao is trying dig his way out of a losing streak after two defeats, one from Tim Bradley and the knockout he received from Juan Marquez. Should he lose in his upcoming bout with Brandon Rios in November, you can pretty much close the book on the Filipino’s storied career. On the other hand Marquez moved up to #2 after his knockout of Pacquiao last year and was soaring high. Unfortunately upon meeting Timothy Bradley on Oct 12 his momentum was abruptly halted by suffering a loss to a superior boxer who he couldn’t hit. Who knows whats next for Marquez, only time will tell but it looks like were approaching the end of his hall of fame career.

So who has moved up you ask? One obvious answer is the fighter who beat two out of three of the top fighters, Timothy Bradley. Combine his wins over his Top Rank mates, with his victories over former and current champions Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, Nate Campbell, and Junior Witter to name a few, his resume backs his claim as not only the #2 fighter in the division but top 3 in the pound for pound rankings. After his war with `Siberian Rocky` Ruslan Provodnikov, Bradley proved he had the heart and skill of a champion. The Russian pushed him to the brink of destruction with heavy handed blows that at times had him out on his feet and eventually put him on the canvas in the closing seconds of the fight. Bradley proved his mettle though, by out boxing Provo throughout most of the fight with his speed and foot work. Nominated for fight of the year his dance partner’s stock has risen as well.

After almost pulling off the upset of the year Provodnikov went on to face Mike Alvarado, who himself is one the best in the 140-147 weight classes as shown in his wars with Brandon Rios. By winning the fight in brutal fashion stopping Alvarado in the 10th round Provo announced his arrival to boxing’s elite. Based on his battle with Bradley; taking him closer to defeat than any other fighter, and his dominance over Alvarado, I have Provodnikov at #3 in the welterweight division.

Its going to take a great `boxer` to beat Provo and the two who can, are the only fighters I have ahead of him. Broner might have a shot but I haven’t seen enough from him yet, besides the showboating. Danny Garcia comes close but if it comes down to brawling I give the edge to Provo because he can take as much as he gives and keeps coming forward.



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