Junior Welterweight feels like one of the least talked about and discussed weight classes at the moment on social platforms and boxing circuits. There is a lack of interest from fans around this weight class for various reasons. The fact that the division has seen undisputed champs like Taylor and Crawford in recent years, has given the best fights one after another but still, the division never got the hype it deserved and never rose to its peak in terms of popularity amongst fans. One of the reasons I feel for the lack of popularity is that the division lacks a PPV star who is capable of running the division on his own and bringing a lot of attention. Also, the popularity of Junior Welterweight has been squashed due to its surrounding divisions in lightweight and welterweight which garners so much attention.
One thing is for sure division might lack a PPV star but in terms of competitive matchups like Taylor-Lopez, Prograis-Matias and Taylor-Prograis rematch and many more, the division has a lot to offer and bring the excitement around the division back. Also, Teofimo Lopez moving to this weight class and the remaining lightweights following would bring much-needed hype to the division as they bring a lot of noise. Let’s talk about the landscape of the Junior Welterweight division as things stand.
Josh Taylor:- He has the best resume as of now in the division. His big wins over Prograis and Ramirez which made him undisputed in 18 fights go to show incredible accomplishment such early in his career. He was the best fighter in the division, however, that narrative changed since his last fight against Catterall which was extremely controversial. Considered one of the biggest robberies in boxing, The fact that Compubox favoured every stat in the fight in favour of Catterall, also Taylor was knocked down in the eighth round, despite that the decision went in favour of Taylor, it was bound to be controversial. With his next fight being against Teofimo a worthy and credible opponent, it’s an exciting 50-50 fight. This fight would also show how much has Taylor left or a lot was taken out of him in that Prograis fight which was evident in his performance against Catterall. I would have liked Taylor to have done the rematch against Catterall before Teofimo fights but you can’t blame Taylor since Teofimo is a big-money fight. After the Teofimo fight, he needs to fight Catterall in a rematch and show who is the better fighter of the two. Since Taylor has vacated all his belts except the WBO, he can target his rematch against Prograis which would be a unification fight and considering how much of a close fight it was 1st time around, the rematch against Prograis must happen at some point. Whether Taylor is still the guy in the division we will know after all these matchups.
Regis Prograis:- Prograis is the most called-out fighter at 140. At one point everyone at 135 like Tank, Teofimo, and Ryan was calling out Prograis and wanted to fight him. Probably they respect his skills so much that they know beating Prograis which is no joke would earn them massive respect among fans and the boxing circuit. Prograis is an excellent throwback fighter, his style is a reminiscence of how guys used to fight back in the day. He is also underrated and his career hasn’t hit the heights he deserves yet. With Prograis it’s all about high risk and low reward, that’s why he is not able to get the kind of fights he would like. Since his only loss to Taylor in his career which was a very close fight, Prograis has been on a rebuild in his quest to become an undisputed champ. He has won his last 4 fights with all coming by stoppage. Especially his last win coming to Zepeda whom he stopped and made a statement for the rest of the division. He was chasing the Ramirez fight, however, he could not get the fight done due to Ramirez wanting to go another route. Prograis throughout his career is looking for that great and worthy opponent that would elevate him to the next level of stardom which he rightfully deserves. That opponent in my opinion is Matias. With him being a free agent now, he should target the Matias fight which would also be a unification fight. Matías is gaining a reputation for being the boogeyman of the division and the kind of destructive puncher Matias is, Prograis should fight him next. if Prograis can beat Matias, it would be quite a statement by Prograis and he would then become the boogeyman of the division. After that, he could target the rematch with Taylor to avenge his only loss in his career or even a matchup with Teofimo if Teofimo beats Taylor.
Subriel Matias:- Matias is an absolute monster and a knockout artist. Has had 20 fights so far in his career, out of which won 19 fights by knockout, a 94.7 % KO ratio and suffered only 1 loss. Also avenged his only loss by fighting Ananyan in a rematch and stopping him. Matias has been rising the ranks and making quite a name for himself by defeating undefeated fighters and taking theirs 0’s with opponents like Hawkins, Jukembayev and Ponce. Currently, he is the most destructive and dangerous fighter in the division. The effect his punches have on his opponent is scary. It’s not how he is beating these guys, he is forcing their corners to step in and stop the fight, which says volumes about how dangerous of a fighter Matias is. I see him being the most avoided guy in the division right now. All Matias is missing from his resume is top names, I don’t see right now any champion looking to unify the division by fighting Matias other than Prograis. Prograis is the only champion in my opinion who I feel would be ready to take that risk and fight Matias. With Matias throwing shade at Prograis by giving statements like “I’m Going To Send You To The Hospital!” looks like there is a kind of rivalry brewing between the two. One thing is for sure, Matias-Prograis has the potential to be one of the greatest fights of all time and it could turn out to be one the most violent fights of all time, considering both guys are known to not back down and go toe to toe and ready to risk it all. With him not wanting to fight Puello considering they both are under the same promotions, it would be an easy fight to make but he doesn’t want to make that fight, only options left for him to unify are either Taylor or Prograis. With Taylor having his next few fights already planned in Teofimo and Catterall, looks Like the only option left for Matias is Prograis. So let’s get it on.
Jose Ramirez:- Ramirez was the unified champ at 1 point and it was between him and Taylor on who the best was at junior welterweight. Since their clash in which Ramirez suffered his first and only loss, it’s been 2 years since that clash and Ramirez has only fought twice which shows his inactivity. Also, the kind of opponents he has faced since the Taylor fight has drawn wide criticism. He has fought Commey and Pedraza who are not even fighting at their natural weight class. Ramirez is a very good fighter who has beaten the likes of Zepeda, Hooker and Postol in his career and was close to being undisputed. However, the rebuilding process for Ramirez since the Taylor defeat hasn’t gone the way he would have liked. He was offered the Prograis fight which he passed on and rather ended up fighting Commey which doesn’t do any good for him. At this moment. Ramirez feels like a forgotten fighter in the division, he needs to get back in the mix and fight big names and remind the division of how good of a fighter he is.
Teofimo Lopez:- Lopez is the wildcard entry in the list. Since Lopez’s victory over Lomachenko where he unified the division and surprised fans and critics around the world with his performance. His career has been on the slide. Lost all his lightweight belts to Kambosos. Then choose to jump to a higher weight class, and was expected to take the Junior Welterweight division by storm considering he was seen as too big of a lightweight but his quest to greatness by competing in a higher weight class hasn’t gone as per plan. He has fought twice at this weight class and in his last fight against Sandor Martin, he didn’t looks impressive, was knocked down in the fight and was outboxed. It was a very close fight and he won a Split decision but not everyone saw it that way. However there is one thing about Lopez that needs to be respected, doesn’t go after easy fights, and tries to fight the best opponent out there no matter which weight class he is fighting in. Did it by facing Lomachenko at lightweight, now doing the same by facing a former undisputed champ in Josh Taylor. It’s a very good fight, the fact that Lopez wants to jump straight back in against the likes of Taylor speaks volumes about Lopez. Sees something in Taylor which makes him believe he could beat Taylor. If he manages to beat Taylor, the sky is the limit for Teofimo, he can continue his quest for greatness by facing the likes of Prograis, and Matias at light welterweight or even jump to welterweight which he has in his mind at some point.
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