Top 10 lightweight rankings
From the time I started as the boxing writer at USA Today in early 2000 until leaving ESPN in April 2020, I was responsible for the divisional rankings for each outlet. At USA Today, I updated them once a month until leaving in early 2005. At some point during my time at ESPN they became weekly, but I had not done any divisional rankings until I recently did an updated top 10 heavyweights. Reader reaction was overwhelming, which I appreciate. So, I’ve been doing other divisions as they’re in the news. Here are updated rankings for the lightweight division, which had a key fight between Devin Haney and Jorge Linares on Saturday night.
Remember, divisional rankings are mainly based on what a fighter has done in the weight class in more recent times, though not entirely. They are not, however, based on hypothetical outcomes of fights that have not happened.
Note: Results through May 30, 2021
Lightweight (135 pounds)
1. Teofimo Lopez (16-0)
Last: W (UD12) Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oct. 17
Next: June 19 vs. George Kambosos Jr.
Rafael’s remark: The exciting and skilled Lopez quickly went from prospect to contender and then knocked out Richard Commey to win a lightweight world title. But he took his reputation to the next level last fall when he landed the fight he had badly wanted against unified champion Lomachenko and impressively outpointed him to further unify the division and stamp himself not only as the bona fide champion and No. 1 lightweight but he also crashed the pound-for-pound rankings. Next up is a mandatory defense against the tenacious Kambosos in the main event of a Triller Fight Club PPV.
2. Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-2)
Last: L (UD12) Teofimo Lopez
Next: June 26 vs. Masayoshi Nakatani
Rafael’s remark: Lomachenko, the legendary two-time Olympic gold medalist and perhaps the greatest amateur ever, has won world titles in three divisions from featherweight to lightweight, set various records for achieving titles in so few fights and had a spell atop the pound-for-pound rankings. But he barely threw any punches in the first half of the fight with Lopez last fall and lost a clear decision and his titles. After shoulder surgery following the fight, he returns against solid contender Nakatani, whose only loss came against Lopez in a competitive fight.
3. Devin Haney (26-0)
Last: W (UD12) Jorge Linares, May 29
Next: TBA
Rafael’s remark: Haney had easily handled his opposition through his first 25 fights and wanted a serious test. Many thought former three-division titlist Linares would be the man to give him just that test and indeed he was. Haney easily handled him for the first nine rounds and then got hurt late in the 10th round. To Haney’s credit, he survived the crisis, made it to the final bell and retained his world title for the third time. He showed his heart and ring intelligence in doing so and will be a better fighter for it. If unified champion Teofimo Lopez defeats George Kambosos on June 19, the fight to make at 135 pounds is Lopez-Haney.
4. Ryan Garcia (21-0)
Last: W (TKO7) Luke Campbell, Jan. 2
Next: TBA
Rafael’s remark: Garcia has showed that he is more than just a social media darling with good looks with a series of impressive knockouts in his recent fights. No win was bigger than when he survived a knockdown against Campbell and stormed back for the knockout win to claim an interim title. However, a June defense against Javier Fortuna was called off and Garcia was stripped when he announced he was taking a break from boxing to address mental health issues. Hopefully, Garcia will get the help he needs and can resume his career, which is on the ascent. There are many huge fights out there for him when he returns.
5. Gervonta Davis (24-0)
Last: W (KO6) Leo Santa Cruz, Oct. 31
Next: June 26 vs. Mario Barrios
Rafael’s remark: It’s difficult to figure out the proper place to rank Davis at lightweight because he has mainly campaigned at junior lightweight and his next fight is for a secondary title at junior welterweight. But his talent is obvious in and around this weight. He easily won a lightweight belt in a dominating 12th-round knockout of Yuriorkis Gamboa in December 2019 and then scored a massive knockout of Santa Cruz in a fight that was contracted at the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds with belts at 130 and 135 at stake. The fight with Barrios is very intriguing given Barrios’ substantial size advantage.
6. Jorge Linares (47-6)
Last: L (U12) Devin Haney, May 29
Next: TBA
Rafael’s remark: Former three-division titlist Linares is 35 and in the twilight of a 20-year career filled with ups and downs, but he is still dangerous against anybody in the division as he showed against Haney. Even after losing the first three-quarters of the fight, he never stopped trying and mounted a big late rally to win the final three rounds and hurt Haney, who got the biggest test of his young career.
7. Richard Commey (30-3)
Last: W (KO6) Jackson Marinez, Feb. 13
Next: TBA
Rafael’s remark: After a pair of hard-luck split decision losses in 2016 to Robert Easter Jr. in a vacant world title fight and Denis Shafikov in an eliminator, Commey finally won a vacant belt in 2019 and made one successful defense against always tough Ray Beltran. But then Commey lost his title by second-round knockout to Teofimo Lopez in 2019. Commey bounced back from to impressively stop Marinez and set himself up for another significant fight.
8. George Kambosos Jr. (19-0)
Last: W (SD12) Lee Selby, Oct. 31
Next: June 19 vs. Teofimo Lopez
Rafael’s remark: Kambosos has earned his stripes as a sparring partner in Manny Pacquiao’s recent training camps but he also has notched very solid wins in his last two fights, decisions over former lightweight titlist Mickey Bey and former featherweight titlist Lee Selby in the title eliminator that earned him his upcoming shot against Lopez. Kambosos is the underdog, but a live one.
9. Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1)
Last: W (TKO9) Felix Verdejo, Dec. 12
Next: June 26 vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko
Rafael’s remark: Nakatani was unheralded as they come when he arrived in the United States from Japan to face Teofimo Lopez in July 2019. Even though Lopez won that world title elimination bout by decision, Nakatani gave him his toughest fight to that point in a good performance. In his next fight, Nakatani survived two knockdowns and rallied for an upset knockout of Verdejo. Now he gets the chance to face another big name in Lomachenko, who is coming off losing his belts to Lopez in their unification bout.
10. Javier Fortuna (36-2-1)
Last: W (KO6) Antonio Lozada, Nov. 21
Next: July 9 vs. Joseph Diaz Jr.
Rafael’s remark: Fortuna, a former secondary junior lightweight titlist, has faced several quality opponents and has notched three solid wins in a row against Sharif Bogere, Jesus Cuellar and Lozada. Fortuna was supposed to challenge Ryan Garcia for his interim title in July, but when Garcia withdrew and was stripped, it meant finding a new opponent for Fortuna. He instead will face former junior lightweight titlist Diaz, who is moving up in weight, for the now-vacant interim belt.
Photo: Tom Hogan/Triller Fight Club
I’m glad to see Loma ranking in top 5 as many dismissed all his accomplishments based on recent loss.