Boxing's Best Divisions

Stacked divisions in boxing come and go. This is intended to be a snapshot of boxing's best divisions.

Junior Welterweight:
Hopefully Amir Khan and Tim Bradley will fight for supremacy of the division this summer. Devon Alexander, Marco Maidana, Andriy Kotelnik, and Zab Judah and in the next group. Lamont Peterson, Lucas Matthysse, and Victor Cayo are capable as well. Erik Morales just had a good showing against Maidana at 140. Victor Ortiz just moved up to welterweight and won a belt. There's even talk that lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez might move up into this division. And they're all fighting each other!

Featherweight:
Juan Manuel Lopez recently lost to veteran Orlando Salido, which temporarily puts a halt to the superfight in the division featuring Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa. But Chris John is an undefeated beltholder with some good wins, including over Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez's younger brother, Rafael, gave Lopez a good fight at featherweight last Fall. Daniel Ponce De Leon has resurrected his career since a first round KO loss to Lopez in 2008. And Celestino Caballeros can make some noise in the division if he fights at 126.

Bantamweight:
The winner of Showtime's bantamweight tournament, if the final between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares takes place, could fight Nonito Donaire to determine the champion in this division. Vic Darchinyan got a much-needed impressive win over Yonnhy Perez last weekend. Fernando Montiel was blown out by Donaire last February, but he is a contender. Anselmo Moreno is also capable.

Super Middleweight:
Showtime's Super Six tournament is in the semifinal round. Andre Ward is the favorite, but the tournament has helped the stocks of Carl Froch and Glen Johnson as well. The winner of the Super Six would likely face Lucian Bute in order to determine the best in the division. Mikkel Kessler is also a good fighter. If Andre Dirrell gets healthy, he could also participate in big fights. This division is also linked with the light heavyweights where the champ Jean Pascal, Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson, and Tavoris Cloud fight. Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez might have to move up to 168 to find a major fight. Two undefeated British prospects, James Degale and George Groves, fight next month and Edwin Rodriguez is a hot American prospect.

Lightweight:
Juan Manuel Marquez is the champion in this division. Humberto Soto is a beltholder. Robert Guerrero might be the best in the division. Brandon Rios is a force. Urbano Antillon is exciting to watch. So is Michael Katsidis. And the Miguels, Acosta and Vasquez, are good too.

Heavyweight:
This division is not deep. But both Klitschko brothers have legitimate challenges this summer. Wladimir will fight David Haye in July for the championship and Vitali will face Tomasz Adamek in September for a belt. Both fights could infuse excitement into the division.