Junior middleweight and featherweight were highlighted this week by PBC on two separate cards. The fights did not have much impact at 126, but I almost completely reshuffled the top of 154 based on the weekend’s results. There was also some movement at the sport’s lowest weight class. Plus, where does Antonio DeMarco fit in now?
Showtime’s junior middleweight tripleheader has major implications for my divisional rankings. Given his second consecutive spectacular knockout over a good talent, I have elevated Jermell Charlo to #2 past Miguel Cotto. I know there will be some controversy here, but I just think he is a better fighter than the current version of Cotto at the tail end of his career. Likewise, Jarrett Hurd jumps two spots from five to #3 on the heels of his career best win over Austin Trout. I think Hurd definitely out muscles Cotto while the win Trout win is simply better than anything former number three Demtrius Andrade has ever done.
Conversely, Erickson Lubin free fell five spots from eleventh to #16. His talent is still too much to drop him any lower. Tony Harrison holds at #12 following his easy comeback win on the off television undercard too. I couldn’t punish Terrell Gausha for losing to #1 Erislandy Lara as expected either and I left him at #24. Finally, Austin Trout had long ago timed out of the rankings, but I returned him to #6 despite the loss.
The FOX card didn’t end up impacting anything at featherweight. Both Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares held their positions of #1 and #4 respectively while Andres Gutierrez held at #20 following his brave defeat. Antonio DeMarco did return to the rankings at junior welterweight with his first round stoppage of Eddie Ramirez though. I slotted him in at #19.
Also at junior welterweight, Ismael Barroso’s knockout of Fidel Maldanado Jr knocked Maldanado right out of the rankings while Barroso now comes in at #20.
George Groves’s marginally more difficult than expected fourth round stoppage of Jamie Cox doesn’t impact his #3 rankings. I did sneak Cox in at #25 following his valiant effort, however. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was sitting there before and I think Cox would beat him on heart alone. That would likely be a good fight, actually. #24 Blake Caparello also won in Australia and held position.
Super flyweight Daniel Lozano picked up his second consecutive revenge win, this one over Ricardo Rodriguez. This recent success launches Lozano from twentieth to #15, but the loss drops Rodriguez from nineteenth to #23. Similarly at light flyweight, Felix Alvarado stopped Teeraphong Utaida and moved himself from twelfth to #9 while the Thai fighter fell from fifteenth to #19.
In a career sustaining win, longtime 112 and 115 lb titleholder Omar Narvaez defeated Russian Nikolai Potapov by stoppage at 42 years old. That brings the Argentinian into the bantamweight rankings all the way up at #9. The man is having remarkable late career success in a weight range where a lot of fighters a decade younger are really starting to fade. Karim Guerfi also successfully defended his European title at the weight and climbed one spot to #23.
Finally, at lightweight, #14 Yvan Mendy took yet another easy fight at home in France that doesn’t impact his standing while Mexican prospect Carlos Diaz Ramirez, better known as Chuko Diaz, broke into the rankings at #22 partially due to the division’s weakness in that range. I wish Mendy would try to fight on world level again at some point.
