By Daniel Hughes: The world lightweight scene at the moment paints a very wide open picture for fighters looking to get their chance to get ranked, involved and to stake a claim in getting themselves a world title shot at any of the recognized current 135lb champions.
In recent times Terrence Crawford looked to be by a country mile the standout lightweight on the scene and frankly weight issues aside, could and would have dominated and cleaned up the division, if he chose to do so. He has of course moved up to the 140lb division and has left a current crop of lightweight champions that can breathe easier in the fact that keeping their respective belts has become a whole lot easier with Crawford moving on to new challenges.
The current main belt holders are Darleys Perez WBA, Jorge Linares WBC, Mickey Bey IBF and as well as the mess that is the in ‘recess and interim’ fighters with claims to belts Abril, Figueroa and Mathews are all fighters with various holes in their respective games. To be a live contender in the current lightweight scene by looking at what may lie ahead of you should really hold no fears, not one of those fighters named should hold any aura of invincibility to those with ambition further down the rankings.
Richard Commey, Commonwealth and IBF inter-continental title holder (22-0, 20 KO’s) is a fighter that I have written about before and is starting to make his way steadily up the rankings. The unbeaten 28 year old from Accra, Ghana is a fighter I believe you will soon see getting a chance to challenge in the next 12 months any of the names mentioned. The orthodox fighter has as his record suggests an impressive KO ratio, the early part of his career his fights tending to be short and painful for his respective opponents.
Commey is a fighter that I have seen steadily improve, quality sparring has brought him on in his development and that has shown in recent outings. A steady course of a higher level of competition has put him on the fringes now of the world scene. The nature of boxing being about getting the right fights at the right time, for any prospect. He has a confident team around him and is very highly rated by many a shrewd judge inside boxing circles here in the UK. The ability to break opponents down rather than just try to blast them out a facet of his game he has come on in leaps and bounds, that will bode well for me in the tests that lie ahead.
Offers have certainly been put to several fighters on the fringe of the world scene in the UK by Commey’s backers and it seems many have decided to avoid the unbeaten Ghanaian. That tells its own story. It will be worth keeping an eye out for his progress, for the genuine fight fan that enjoys seeing the rise of a fighter that it seems will not be given an easy route to glory.
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