This weekend saw a changing of the guard in the lightweight as Teofimo Lopez delivered on his promise of a "Takeover" against now-former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. Here is Boxingtalk's detailed look at the 135-pound division:
1. Teofimo Lopez - The Takeover happened on October 17th, when Lopez backed up his pre-fight talk by soundly defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko. For the record, Boxingtalk gave Lopez nine of the twelve rounds. With Lopez's move to junior welterweight a question of when, not if, here's hoping he sticks around at lightweight to face Gervonta Davis next (unlikely). A fight vs. Haney would also be a fan's dream, but that could happen at 140.
2. Vasiliy Lomachenko - Lomachenko gave away the first six rounds vs. Lopez and then failed to score a knockdown. He also lost the final round to Lopez, making a decision win impossible. Underwent shoulder surgery shortly after the loss, so a Lomachenko return is unlikley before April 2021.
3. Gervonta Davis - The former 130-pound champion has had only two fights at 135 pounds- a win over Francesco Fonseca in 2017 when he failed to make the super featherweight limit, and more recently, a solid win over the fading Yuriorkis Gamboa. The WBA lightweight title Davis holds is a secondary one, as Lopez now holds top recognition with the WBA as well as with the WBO and WBC. NOTE: Davis will be moving up to #2 when the rankings are updated due to his KO win over Leo Santa Cruz
4. Devin Haney - Undefeated Haney has beaten a couple of top twenty types, but no one who can be considered a true contender. He defeated Yuriorkis Gamboa easily in November but the WBC belt he holds is purely a paper title, with even Lopez calling it an "e-mail title" because Haney never beat a real champ before the WBC awarded him the belt.
5. Javier Fortuna - (inactivity warning) Had two solid wins in 2019, but more importantly, the Dominican Fortuna deserves a top ten ranking based on a 2018 split-decision loss to then-undefeated, then-IBF lightweight champion Robert Easter. [NOTE: Defeated Antonio Lozada (the guy who beat Felix Verdejo) in November.]
6. Jorge Linares - former three-division titlist from Venezuela returned to lightweight in February with a dominant performance against Carlos Morales. Also holds a 2017 win over Luke Campbell.
7. Richard Commey - The loss to Lopez will follow this warrior from Ghana because it was his most publicized fight, but the second-round loss does not erase the good work Commey did earlier in 2019 (wins over Isa Chaniev and Rey Beltran). He deserves another big fight.
8. Luke Campbell - 2012 Olympic champion exceeded expectations with a reasonably competitive distance loss to Lomachenko in August 2019. Next up, a much-anticipated bout vs. #11 Ryan Garcia.
9. Lee Selby- Former IBF featherweight champion lost his title to Josh Warrington in 2018, and promptly jumped up two divisions. In 2019, Selby beat Omar Douglas and former title holder Ricky Burns. This Welshman can legitimately call himself a lightweight contender. NOTE: Lost to George Kambosos in an IBF eliminator,Oct. 31st.
10. Diego Magdaleno -This Mexican warrior got a big win against Austin Dulay in February, which gave him a boost in the rankings. NOTE: Magdaleno was knocked out by Isaac Cruz Gonzalez (20-1-1) on October 31st.
11. Ryan Garcia - Just 21 years of age, and a social media favorite, Garcia has two straight explosive first-round knockouts, but his resume is just a tad light for a top ten ranking. On December 5th, Garcia is in for a real test vs. Luke Campbell, with a win propelling him into the top ten.
12. Alberto Machado - Former WBA 130-pound title folder from Puerto Rico moved up to lightweight in December with a win, and has now announced his intention to remain in this division.
13. James Tennyson - Northern Irishman lost a 2018 title shot in the 130-pound division to Tevin Farmer but moved up with four wins in 2019, including two quality ones to close out the year. On August 1st, he stopped Gavin Gwynne for vacant British title, but already seems to have vacated it in search of something bigger.
14. Masayuki Ito - (Inactivity warning) Former WBO 130-pound champion is 2-1 in world title fights. Since losing to Jamel Herring, he moved up and has one win in this division. Has a fight booked vs undefeated Hironori Mishiro in December.
15. Yvan Mendy - The French Mendy split two fights with Luke Campbell, lost to Edis Tatli, defeated Francesco Patera and has five straight wins since the Campbell loss.
16. Denys Berinchyk - A member of the legendary Ukraine 2012 Olympic team, he beat Jeff Horn and Anthony Yigit en route to a silver medal. In October 2020, he defeated Viorel Simion to enter B-talk's top 20.
17. Emmanuel Tagoe - He is based in Ghana, where it is nearly impossible to attract top-tier opposition, but after losing his pro debut, Tagoe has beaten everyone put in front of him, so he has clearly earned a title shot, or at least an eliminator. Tagoe is 31-1 with his only pro loss coming in 2004... He falls out of the top ten due to inactivity with his last fight coming in July 2019... get this man a big fight, stat!
18. Francesco Patera - (inactivity warning) From Belgium, Patera is the reigning European champion and is on a run of four quality wins. However, he's lost to Mendy and split with Tatli. He had an interesting test scheduled for March vs. Italy’s Devis Boschiero that got cancelled but is back on for December.
19. Jon Fernandez - He came to the USA in 2018 from his native Spain, and lost to O'Shaquie Foster at 130 pounds, but he's been unbeaten since making the jump to lightweight, including a stay-busy win in early 2020.
20. George Kambosos - Australian up-and-comer showed he is ready to contend after a split-decision win over former title holder Mickey Bey in December. Next up is ex-IBF featherweight champ Lee Selby. A win over Selby puts Kambosos in or very near the top ten. NOTE: defeated Selby, Oct. 31st.
21. Hector Tanajara - January win over Juan Carlos Burgos elevates this Texan into the the top 25.
22. Felix Verdejo - Former heavily hyped prospect from Puerto Rico looks to be back in form following a summer manhandling of previously undefeated Wil Madera. Verdejo's now 29-1 and is 27 years old. It's surprising Top Rank didn't bring him right back.
23. Zaur Abdullaev - A Devin Haney victim, this Russian got a big win over former BT #27 Pavel Malikov in August. He's scheduled to face undefeated Roman Andreev next, with a B-Talk top 20 slot for the winner.
24. Yuriorkis Gamboa - Former featherweight champ is coming back from an achilles tendon injury in a loss to Gervonta Davis to face Devin Haney. Prediction: A Haney blowout.
25. Michel Rivera - Undefeated Dominican got on the board with a February stoppage over gatekeeper Fidel Maldonado, Jr. Considering his early fights were at home in the Dominican Republic, his team has done an excellent job getting high-quality opposition. NOTE: defeated Ladarius Miller, Oct. 31st.
26-40: 26. Liam Walsh (inactivity warning), 27. Maxi Hughes, 28. Georgi Chelokhsaev NOTE: lost at 140, 29. Edis Tatli (inactivity), 30. Ladarius Miller NOTE: failed to make weight, Oct. 31st, then lost to Michel Rivera, 31. Isa Chaniev, 32. Shuichiro Yoshino, 33. Dejean Zlaticanin (inactivity warning), 34. Gustavo Daniel Lemos, 35. Isaac Cruz Gonzalez NOTE: knocked out #10 Diego Magdaleno, Oct. 31st, 36. Roberto Ramirez NOTE: lost to William Zepeda, 37. Ricky Burns (inactivity warning), 38. Rolando Romero, 39. Jackson Marinez, 40. Elnur Samedov
41-47: Esneiker Corera, Emiliano Marsili, Masayoshi Nakatani (inactivity), Frank Urquiaga, Roman Andreev, Pavel Malikov, Romero Duno
CHANGES SINCE JULY 29th: Lopez 2>1 (+Lomachenko); Tagoe 9>17 (Inactivity); Barthelemy 13>OUT (moved up in weight); Tennyson 21>13 (+Gwynne); Tatli 16>29 (Inactivity); Berinchyk 35>16 (+Simion); Abdullaev 37>23 (+Malikov); Malikov 27>46; Hughes IN at 27 (+Kotoshigov); Walsh IN at 26 (recognizing win over Hughes); Chelokshaev IN at 28 (+Shakhnazaryan); Yoshino 39>31 (+Hosokowa); Nakatani 33>OUT (inactivity); Ndongeni 36>OUT (-Dlomo); Romero IN at 38 (disputed win over Marinez); Marinez IN at 39.
Watch list: Gervonta Davis defeated Leo Santa Cruz; Isaac Cruz Gonzalez defeated Diego Magdaleno; Michel Rivera defeated Ladarius Miller; George Kambosos defeated Lee Selby; Devin Haney defeated Yuriorkis Gamboa; Roman Andreev defeated Pavel Malikov; Georgi Chelokhsaev moved up to 140 and lost; William Zepeda defeated Roberto Ramirez; Javier Fortuna defeated Antonio Lozada; Francisco Vargas defeated Otto Gamez; Michael Magnesi defeated Patrick Kinigamazi; Masayuki Ito vs. Hironori Mishiro; Starling Castillo vs. Austin Dulay; Cristian Vazquez vs. Manuel Jaimes; Jamaine Ortiz v. Nahir Albright; Jon Fernandez vs. Abdessamad Nechchad; Masayoshi Nakatani defeated Felix Verdejo; Devis Boschiero defeated Samuel Gonzalez; Michael Dutchover.
