Terence Crawford’s retirement today leaves four titles now vacant at 168, with the division in need of a new king.
It’s a good thing the belts have to be broken now because there is no one fighter in control of the super middleweight division. We’ve seen with Canelo Alvarez holding the four belts that he hasn’t been fighting the best since 2021.
Top fighters like David Benavidez and David Morrell were frozen out, while Canelo picked and chose beatable opposition. Crawford being allowed to skip, move up two divisions and jump to the front to fight Canelo for his titles was another example of how toxic it has become. The section was ruled by an aging king who had stopped fighting risky battles years ago.
Now that the titles have been separated, we can see younger talent get the chances they deserve. We will see quality fights, not mismatches like we have seen repeatedly since Canelo held the belts.
It’s a shame that the titles were separated two years ago when Benavidez and Morrell were still at 168. We would have seen some excellent fights with those two holding belts.
Heirs to the throne
- Osley Iglesias
- Hamzah Sheeraz
- Lester Martinez
- Christian Mbilli
- Diego Pacheco
- Jose Armando Resendiz
- Jaime Munguia
Of those fighters who will compete for the new King of the division, Cuban-born Osleys Iglesias stands out as the best of the bunch. He has the height, reach, strength and skills to dominate the 168-lb division. If the IBF mandates, Osleys will fight for that belt against one of the brave souls willing to take the risk of fighting him.
By looking at the released belts, one can get a good idea of ​​which fighters will win the titles. Here are Chris Williams’ picks for the titles to be won:
- IBF – Osleys Iglesias
- WBC – Christian Mbilli
- WBO – Diego Pacheco
- WBA – Canelo Alvarez
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Last updated on 16/12/2025
