By Robert Addams: Ring Magazine came out with their latest new rankings for welterweight, and they have IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr. at #1, and WBO belt holder Terence Crawford at #2. This is going to upset a lot of boxing fans that feel that Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) should be rated #1 above Spence.
What doesn’t make sense is Ring Magazine has Crawford ABOVE Spence in their pound-for-pound ratings. Crawford is at #4, whereas Spence is at #6. Just going off of that rating, Crawford should be rated above Spence at 147 instead of behind him at #2.
Crawford’s weak resume at 147 hurts him
One rationale for Crawford being ranked below Spence in the Ring Magazine welterweight ratings is the weak resume for the Nebraska native at 147. While Crawford has looked good in his 4 fights since moving up to welterweight, the fact is that he hasn’t fought anyone yet.
It’s kind of the same situation Crawford had at 140. He looked great at light welterweight, but his opponent during his 3 years in the division was arguably Viktor Postol. The lanky 5’11” Postol is a good fighter, but he’s not rated as high as 140-pounders like Regis Prograis, Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez.
At 147, Crawford has fought these fighters:
- Amir Khan
- Jose Benavidez Jr.
- Jeff Horn
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas
If Crawford had faced at least one good welterweight, he’d be ranked #1 in Ring Magazine’s 147-lb rankings. But given the fighters opposition that Crawford has faced, there’s too many unknowns about how good he is in this division. That same applies to Crawford’s time at 140 and 135. He’s beaten a lot of decent fighters, but he never faced the good ones.
Here’s the updated Ring Magazine ratings for welterweight:
1. Errol Spence
2. Terence Crawford
3. Manny Pacquiao
4. Keith Thurman
5. Shawn Porter
6. Danny Garcia
7. Yordenis Ugas
8. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov
9. Sergey Lipinets
10. Egidijius Kavaliauskas
Spence is going to need to get back in the ring, and performing if he wants to keep #1 spot. If he’s not the same fighter after his car crash on October 10, then he won’t stay at #1 for long. However, it would be a pity for Crawford to take his spot if he’s not made major upgrades in the level of opposition he’s facing. He’s got to start fighting good opposition for him to be viewed as a true top 5 welterweight, and thus far he hasn’t done that.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Daniyar Yeleussinov were left off the Ring Magazine list for 147, and they look good enough to beat a number of those fighters. Ortiz Jr. would give Crawford a run for his money, and he might even beat him.
Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9 KOs) hasn’t looked that great since turning pro in 2015, and he’s someone that might not be worthy of a top 10 ranking. Ortiz Jr. would likely beat him quite easily.
