By Ken Hissner: With WBC & IBF World Welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence’s stoppage of WBA World Welterweight champion Yordenis “54 Milagros” Ugas at the AT & T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas Saturday the welterweight division is getting closer to unification.
It looks like WBO World Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, 38-0 (29), will be meeting Spence, Jr. 28-0 (22), next.
He made his fifth defense in December stopping former WBC & IBF champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter, 31-4-1, who announced his retirement after that fight.
At lightweight, Crawford made two defenses, and at super lightweight six defenses. He is promoted by Top Rank.
Spence in May of 2017 won the IBF title knocking out Kell Brook, 36-1. He made four defenses before stopping Porter for his WBC title.
Next, he defeated former WBC champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, 36-2, in 2020. He went sixteen months without a fight before stopping Ugas. He is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Suffering from a severe car accident hasn’t seemed to slow down the former Olympian Spence. Except for the seventh round when he was driven into the ropes without it being called a knockdown he won every round over Ugas.
Another is former WBA and WBC champion Keith “One Time” Thurman, 30-1 (22), still active and highly ranked also coming of an injury. In February he came back with a win over Mario Barrios, 26-1.
Moving up from super lightweight is the only unified champ today in Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor, 19-0 (13), coming off a close win in February defeating Jack “El Gato” Catterall, 26-1. He is promoted by Top Rank.
Another top contender is EBU Welterweight champ Russian David “Ava” Avanesyan, 29-3-1 (17), out of the UK. In March he stopped Finland’s Oskari Metz, 15-0.
He is promoted by Frank Warren.
Also, there’s unbeaten Vergil Ortiz, Jr., 18-0 (18), who last fought in August stopping Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas, 22-1-1. He is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Then there is WBA World Welter champ Eimantas Stanionis, 14-0 (9), of Lithuania, who in April defeated Radzhab “No Mercy” Butaev, 14-0, of Russia.
Finally, there’s possibly the most avoided boxer in the division in Philadelphia’s Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 28-0-1ND (26). He last fought in October scoring a first-round knockout over Thomas Dulorme, 25-5-1. He is scheduled to fight Custio “War Machine” Clayton, 19-0-1 (12), in May.
