By Mark Hepplestall: After another loss for Anthony Mundine and looking at the world rankings, we must ask who are the current world champions? Well after some research I can say Manny Pacquiao holds the WBC light middleweight title and is number 1 in the world, Miguel Cotto holds the World Boxing Association (WBA) version and is number 2 in the world, IBF version is held by Cornelius Bundrage and is number 7 in the world and WBO is held by Serhiy Dzinziruk who is 26th in the world. While the titles that are not world recognized including the IBO title is held by Zaurbek Baysangurov and is 17th in the world. It seems weird that the world champions are ranked lower then some of the best contenders in the division.
It seems that the majority of the people who hold the world titles in this division come from other weight divisions and find this weight class as a stepping stone to bigger pay days in either the welterweight division or the middleweight division. Key people who fall under this catergory include WBA and WBC title holders Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. Unfortunately because of this stepping stone action the world titles get passed around like a peace pipe around the division.
However soon some of the best contenders at light middleweight will be taking over and cleaning out the division of old past it boxers that just want a few more matches before their last big payday, usually in another division then light middleweight.
Here are the best contenders in the division who should be challenging for major honours soon.
1: Alfredo Angulo, he is the best contender of all the contenders in the division even though he is only a veteran of 20 fights with only one loss to Kermit Cintron by unanimous decision. Angulo is only 28 years old and as number 3 in the world will have his pick of world titles to fight for.
2: Ryan Rhodes, he fought the majority of his career at middleweight but is a total different prospect at light middleweight; he is currently undefeated at light middleweight taking on the best boxers from the UK and Europe. He has KO’d the last 6 out of 8 opponents and was recently only overlooked for a shot at the WBC title because the WBC thought Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito would sell better then Ryan Rhodes Vs Antonio Margarito. Rhodes is 8th in the world behind the likes of the older veterans like Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron and Antonio Margarito. His best option would be to purse a fight with Cornelius Bundrage who hasn’t fought in 4 months and will be due a mandatory soon, also at the age of 37 isn’t getting any better and will be the first of the champions to lose and call it a day.
3: Saul Alvarez, maybe the biggest hot prospect for such a long time, this guy is only 20 years of age and is a veteran of 36 fights with only a draw to his name in his early career. The opposition maybe less than great but have been on the increase more recently with big wins over Carlos Baldomir and Lovemore N’dou. Also considering his pro debut was in 2005 you can see this guy has a great career in front of him in many divisions.
4: Vanes Martirosyan is never in a dull fight and will pose the top 10 some serious questions in the next year. At the age of 24 he has time to fight the fringe contenders and show the public his ability unlike the majority of the top 10 who are veterans and need to make or break their title credentials in one match.
5: Yuri Foreman, recently lost his title to Miguel Cotto in a fight that was competitive until Foreman ruptured knee cartilage and attempted to fight on. This guy has all the skills needed to succeed but his injury could be worrying. It’s obvious that this will not be the final title fight Foreman will fight in but at the age of 30 does he have time to make a significant impact? I say yes and in 1 years time when all is healed he would be good enough to fight all the prospects above and world title holders
Honourable mentions to fighters such as Anthony Mundine who tried to make the comeback but failed today in Australia to overcome a 10 fight novice.
Sergio Mora who has tried to conquer the world scene but has failed time and time again, even though sometimes the judges may have saved his oppositions blushes more recently (Shane Mosley)
Lukas Konecny who has more recently started taking on the best in Europe yet is not close to a title shot and at the age of 32, time is slipping away fast. Best option for Konecny is to hope Ryan Rhodes wins a world title and gives him a shot as a home coming fight in the UK.
Sam Webb is the dark horse of the Light Middleweight division with 19 wins and 1 loss via obscure disqualification, he spent too much time as an amateur where he was the ABA champion and has recently captured the British title as a professional. But at the age of 29 he needs a big 2011 and needs to conquer Europe fast. Webb Vs Konecny may be the best option for both and would improve both of their world title chances.
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