The Ring Magazine’s list of top ten fighters in the light welterweight division seemingly threw the followers into a tailspin. Probably boxing’s most spirited weight class, the 140-pound is made up of some top-notch talents. If not all, many are for sure future Hall of Famers. During the last few months, the division witnessed some significant changes. As a result, a cascading effect on the ranking became inevitable.
With Devin Haney designated as a ‘champion in recess’, Alberto Puello, Jose Valenzuela, Teofimo Lopez, and Liam Paro currently hold the four primary titles. So fans often miss the celebrated magazine’s standings. Nevertheless, the update was sufficient for many followers to pen a few thoughts.
And the top spot goes to…
The list starts with Teofimo Lopez. Now that’s understandable. Last year, ‘The Takeover’ defeated Josh Taylor to grab the WBO and the Ring titles. Ever since he has defended his titles twice, although at the price of some piercing criticisms. Despite his absence from the ring and the WBC’s decision to make a ‘champion in recess’, Devin Haney remains a divisional heavyweight.
Jack Catterall‘s movement to third place could be due to his recent victories, including the latest one over Regis Prograis. Another champion, WBO belt holder Liam Paro, holds the fifth place, just above Puello, the WBC titlist.
However, what seems to have surprised many was the placement of WBA champion Jose ‘El Rayo’ Valenzuela. In tenth place, he stands way below some of the fighters who lost their recent fights. Putting his career back on track, ‘El Rayo’ defeated Isaac Cruz on the Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov card to claim his first world title.
But there’s a slight problem; a fix is needed
Understandably, quite a few fans seemed unconvinced; let’s check what they had to say.
“Rayo 10??” Asked this fan. They felt that his record, especially the win over ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, ranks way above what some of the fighters accomplished. “He has a better win than the last 5 guys,” the fans said. But the following fan decided to take things in their own hands and propped up a fresh ranking. It is as follows: “I’d put Liam at 2, Valeria at 3, and Puello/Ramirez at 4. Catterall at 5 and Hitchens at 6.”
Another user suggested a change in place, pulling up Jose Valenzuela to a much better position. They said, “Switch Rayo with Ramirez, then it’s good.” Barring for the place allotted to Valenzuela, overall the list seemingly met the next follower’s expectations. “This is solid, except Rayo is a little too low.” They said.
Outside of the ‘El Rayo’ confusion, one fan felt that it was an opportune time to suggest a matchup. “ Teofimo Lopez VS 1️⃣ Devin Haney .” Then some recommendation for the fighter from ‘Down Under’: “Liam Paro should be number one.”
So there it goes. Just to reiterate, it is just standard ranking from an organization. Outside of the four major belts and the Ring there’s one put up by BoxRec and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) also.
More so, it’s fruitless to treat the list as a fixture for keeps. Apart from the title defense between Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins on December 7 this year, fans could expect a range of exciting lineups slated for 2025. Thus, ranking and placings would undergo further changes.
