Featherweight (126 pounds)
Rafael Espinoza (28-0, 24 KO), Bruce Carrington (17-0, 10 KO), Angelo Leo (26-1, 12 KO), and Brandon Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KO) are the four champions in this intriguing division.
The newest featherweight champion is Figueroa, who won his version of the title on February 7 by traveling to Liverpool, England and knocking out hometown hero Nick Ball (23-1-1, 13 KO) in the twelfth round.
Espinoza, at 6′ 1″ with a reach of 74 inches, is the premier champion in the eyes of many. He made his mark at featherweight by upsetting heralded Olympian Robeisy Ramírez and then doing so a second time.
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington is the youngest and most talkative current champion. He became the WBC featherweight champion by knocking out Carlos Castro on the undercard of Stevenson-Lopez.
Angelo Leo defeated Luis Alberto Lopez to earn a championship in a second weight class. He successfully defended the belt against Tomoki Kameda last May, winning by majority decision. Leo will make his second defense against IBF mandatory challenger Ra’eese Aleem (23-1, 12 KO).
Hopefully some of these featherweight champions can start fighting each other to prove who is the top man at 126 pounds. It seems to start happening one weight class up.
Super Featherweight (130 pounds)
Emmanuel Navarette (39-2-1, 32 KO) and Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez (29-1, 27 KO) square off on February 28th in a Mexican super featherweight unification bout. Navarrete’s WBO and Nunez’s IBF titles will be on the line when the two men compete in Glendale, Arizona.
The other two champions at 130 pounds are Jazza Dickens (36-5, 15 KO) and O’Shaquie Foster (24-3, 12 KO). Dickens will face Anthony Cacace (24-1, 8 KO) in Dublin on March 14. Cacace, Ireland’s first ever super featherweight world champion, will be looking to become a two-time champion against Dickens.
As for Foster, he has his eye on the winner of Saturday night’s Navarette-Nunez unification fight. Foster recently told DAZN News, “That would be one of my biggest wishes of this year. It would be a great opportunity to fight the winner of one of those guys. It would be three belts on the line. Finally, we would have some movement at 130 (pounds).”
After Saturday night, the outlook of the 130-pound division will be much clearer. At lightweight it can be quite a while longer than that.
Lightweight (135 pounds)
To put it simply, this section is in a state of flux. The top two fighters in most lightweight rankings will likely never fight at lightweight again, with Shakur Stevenson moving up to 140 pounds and beyond, and Gervonta Davis doing whatever he does with his life.
Abdullah Mason (20-0, 17 KO) and Raymond Muratalla (24-0, 17 KO) are the two official champions in this division. Mason, aged just 21, defeated Sam Noakes in a thriller to win the vacant WBO Championship.
An interesting name in this division is Floyd Schofield (19-0, 13 KO). Schofield is talented but has been snakebitten before big fight opportunities. He had to pull out of fights with JoJo Diaz and Shakur Stevenson with a broken wrist and an illness, respectively. According to reports, Schofield will face Lucas Bahdi (20-0, 15 KO) for the vacant WBA version of the lightweight championship.
The IBF has ordered Albert Bell (28-0, 9 KO) and Andy Cruz (6-1, 3 KO) to face each other in a title eliminator bout, with the winner getting a title shot. Cruz, a decorated amateur, suffered his first professional loss in his last fight against Muratalla, but gave a good account of himself.
A couple of guys who can factor into the championship picture at lightweight are Noakes, who looked good against Mason in a losing effort, as well as William Zepeda (33-1, 27 KO), the push fighter whose only loss came against Shakur Stevenson.
Sometimes the lower weight classes can get lost in the shuffle without a big name to generate awareness. But the featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight divisions are loaded with talent and feature compelling fights that fans will enjoy.
