By Chris Williams: Ring Magazine came up with their updated 135-lb lightweight rankings, and once again, it looks messed up in the eyes of the fans with the guys that they’ve put on their list, particularly in the top five spots.
As usual, they have undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney as their champion, but you can argue that he shouldn’t be the top guy on the list due to how he got his four belts.
I’m not taking anything away from Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) because he’s a good belt-holder, but how he collected his four belts were less than admirable in Chris Williams’ book.
Haney got his WBC belt through an email from the sanctioning body, and then he collected his IBF, WBA & WBO titles from beating George Kambosos Jr. In other words, Haney got his four 135-lb titles the easy backdoor route rather than slogging through the killers one by one in the lightweight division to earn his stripes like other soldiers.
For Chris Williams, Gervonta Davis is the champion at lightweight because he’s considered the best and has a lot more experience against quality opposition than Haney, whose best wins have come against Joseph Diaz and 35-year-old Jorge Linares. You can’t count Kambosos Jr as a quality win because he was a weak champion.
Updated Ring Magazine 135-lb rankings:
Champion: Devin Haney
1. Vasyl Lomachenko
2. Gervonta Davis
3. Ryan Garcia
4 Isaac Cruz
5. Shakur Stevenson
6. Frank Martin
7. George Kambosos Jr
8. William Zepeda
9. Maxi Hughes
10. Keyshawn Davis
Chris Williams’ lightweight rankings
Champion: Gervonta Davis
1. Shakur Stevenson
2. Keyshawn Davis
3. Frank Martin
4 Vasily Lomachenko
5. Jamaine Ortiz
6. William Zepeda
7. Gustavo Lemos
8. Giovanni Cabrera
9. Isaac Cruz
10. Edwin De Los Santos
“They can’t stop saying my name. It feels a lot better,” said Shakur Stevenson to Max on Boxing about his move up to lightweight. “It feels like my natural weight. I feel stronger like I can do what I got to do and I don’t got to lose weight.
“I feel way better. The lightweight division is the top division, and now that I’m here, I’m about to take over. I’m going to be here for a long time.
“Right now, it’s so easy for me to make weight where I don’t got to make weight, and I’m enjoying it that I don’t have to struggle like I did at 130. I’m going to be here for a long time unless I have a huge growth spurt.
“I’m just waiting for these next few fights coming up [Haney vs. Lomachenko & Tank vs. Ryan Garcia] to see what I’m going to do next.
“The majority of the sparring, I got the better,” said Shakur on his sparring with Haney in the past. “I’m not saying that Devin didn’t have good days. Devin had good days too. We sparred each other a lot, but I felt that in the majority of the sparring, I got the better of him.
“I think Devin is very competitive. He’s a competitive fighter, but I feel like I’m on a different level with the skill level and the talent that I’m blessed with than he is. I know he’s a champion and a great fighter, but I feel like I’m a better fighter,” said Stevenson.
