The welterweight division has been extremely frustrating so far this year as the top three guys, Errol Spence, Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter all remain inactive with no fights even on the schedule. The division's stagnation has prompted Boxingtalk to do some spring cleaning, deleting from the ratings big names as Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman, Amir Khan and a few others who haven't fought since 2019. On the plus side, Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz, David Avanesyan, Eimantis Stanionis, Daniyar Yeleussinov, Michael McKinson and Conor Benn have provided some excitement since we last updated these ratings. Here is the Boxingtalk top fifty at 147 pounds:

 

1. Errol Spence, Jr. -The IBF/WBC champion proved he can still perform at the highest level when he defeated Danny Garcia, on December 5th. Spence's tremendous 2019 campaign featured wins over then-WBC champ Shawn Porter and four-division title holder Mikey Garcia and narrowly earned him the top spot in Boxingtalk's welterweight rankings over Terence Crawford. No fight scheduled.

 

2. Terence Crawford- "Bud" easily defeated junior middleweight Kell Brook on November 14th. Crawford would likely be favored over Spence, but maddeningly, there is no indication the two top dogs want to fight each other. No fight scheduled.

 

3. Shawn Porter- His last four outings were wins over two top ten guys, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, a top twenty guy (at the time) in Sebastian Formella plus a competitive loss to Errol Spence, the #1 guy. An easy choice for the third spot. No fight scheduled.

 

4. Jaron Ennis - Wins over Juan Carlos Abreu, Bakhtiyar Eyubov and now Seregy Lipinets has this Philadelphian's stock on the rise. Ennis has the talent to rule over this division for years to come.

 

5. Vergil Ortiz - Perhaps this rating is a bit high compared to the Texan's resume, but Ortiz has been stepping up his opposition level with each fight. His last fight was an exciting win over former 140-pound title holder Maurice Hooker. Last August, Ortiz dominated and stopped Antonio Orozco, who had previously gone the distance with 140-pound title holder Jose Carlos Ramirez. 

 

6. Yordenis Ugas- Rebounded from a loss vs. Porter with a win over previously unbeaten Omar Figueroa. This Cuban has been thrown in tough, and has won nine of his last ten, with the loss coming to Porter. No fight scheduled. 

 

7. Danny Garcia -The former two-division champ hasn't had a top quality win in several years now, but other than Ortiz and Ennis, no one has done enough to move ahead of Garcia. No fight scheduled. 

 

8. Mikey Garcia - Four-division champ defeated Jessie Vargas at the end of February 2020 for his first welterweight win. Recently did a television interview where he looked overweight and said he hasn't been in the gym in months. No fight scheduled.

 

9. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov - A nightmare for announcers as well as opponents, this Uzbeki defeated Javier Flores last minth, and before that, he punished proud ex-champ Luis Collazo. He has consistently beaten a very respectable level of boxers. 

 

10. Egidijus Kavaliauskas - Gave Terence Crawford a rough night and holds a valuable 2018 win over David Avanesyan. Defeated repsectable Mikael Zewski in September. No fight scheduled.

 

11. David Avanesyan - Avanesyan is riding high off his 2021 win over Josh Kelly. After losing to Kavaliauskas in 2018, this Russian had a huge 2019, winning and defending the European championship in the hometown of Spain's highly regarded Kermin Lejarraga. 

 

12. Jamal James - Minnesotan has six wins in a row since 2016 loss to Yordenis Ugas. His most recent win came in August vs. top-twenty Thomas Dulorme for WBA interim belt. No fight scheduled. 

 

13. Eimantas Stanionis - The biggest riser in this ranking period, moving up from #41 due to three big wins since last September: Justin Deloach, Janer Gonzalez and Thoms Dulorme. 

 

14. Custio Clayton - Undefeated Canadian probably deserved the win over Sergey Lipinets, but even with the draw verdict, he still proved he belongs in the top twenty mix at welterweight. No fight scheduled. 

 

15. Daniyar Yeleussinov -  2016 Olympic champion had an incredible amateur run that year. He blitzed former unified 140-pound champion Julius Indongo in November to enter the top 15. No fight scheduled. 

 

16. Michael McKinson: This British boxer extended his run to six straight quality wins, 20-0 overall, with a recent win over previously undefeated Chris Congo. His last six opponents had had a combined record of 83 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws before they fought him. 

 

17. Sergey Lipinets - He lost to Jaron Ennis but this former IBF 140-pound champ remains in the top twenty based on a win over Lamont Peterson and a draw with Custio Clayton. His other loss is to Mikey Garcia.  

 

18. Maurice Hooker - Former WBO 140-pound champ lost to Vergil Ortiz in a firefight and injured his hand in the process. We're guessing Mo will be out at least until the fall.

 

19.  Jesse Vargas - Hasn't fought since losing to Mikey Garcia in February 2020 and recent rumblings of a comeback date have not panned out. It looks like he'll wait for his phone to ring rather than actively campaign. Still, he's a difficult night for anyone.

 

20. Rashidi Ellis - Undefeated, with good wins over Eddie Gomez in November 2019, and Alexis Rocha in October 2020. No fight scheduled. 

 

21. Conor Benn - Exciting British fighter became a contender with wins over Sebastian Formella and an 82-second TKO over Samuel Vargas. The Vargas stoppage was a bit premature, but Benn still has lots of upside.

 

22. Adrien Broner - Former four-division champ was brought back against Jovanie Santiago in a fight where he was supposed to look good, Instead, he barely eked out a win and did not throw very many punches. Even this #22 rating seems a bit generous after such a lukewarm performance. No fight scheduled. 

 

23.  Thomas Dulorme - Puerto Rican has only one win snce 2017 but it was against previously unbeaten Terrell Williams; Lost to Jamal James in August 2020 and again in 2021 to Eimantis Stanionis. At this pont, Dulorme seems consigned to gatekeeper status.

 

24. Alexander Besputin - Was suspended for PED use in 2019 but returned in 2021 with a win over Viktor Plotnikov that restores him to fringe contender status.

 

25. Josesito Lopez - This warrior claimed the last spot in the top 25 with a December win over Francisco Santana. No fight scheduled but will certainly get a big fight soon.

 

26-40: 26. Brian Ceballo; 27. Jovanie Santiago; 28. Chris Van Heerden; 29. Lewis Crocker; 30. Jesus Ramos; 31. Omar Figueroa (inactive but fight scheduled for May); 32. Josh Kelly; 33. Julius Indongo; 34. Aram Amirkhanyan; 35. Abel Ramos; 36. Luis Collazo; 37. Ivan Golub; 38. Taras Shelestyuk, 39. Sebastian Formella; 40. Thulani Mbenge.

 

41-50: 41. Alessandro Riguccini; 42. Janelson Bocachica; 43. Ivan Redkach; 44. Alexis Rocha; 45. Juan Carlos Abreu; 46. Liam Taylor; 47. Alberto Palmetta; 48. Karen Chukhadzhian,  49. Jabulani Makhensi; 50; Giovani Santillan.

 

Others: 51. Radzhab Butaev;  52. Ahmed El Mousaoui; 53. Fazliddin Gaibnazarov; 54. Rico Mueller.

 

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES: Pacquiao 4>OUT due to 18 months' inactivity; Thurman 9>OUT due to 18 months' inactivity; Ennis 17>4 (defeated Lipinets); Avanesyan 16>11 (defeated Kelly); Stanionis 41>13 (defeated DeLoach, Gonzalez and Dulorme);  Yeleussinov 30>15 (defeated Indongo); McKinson 21>16 (defeated Kongo); Ellis 23>20 (defeated Rocha); Benn IN at 21 (defeated Formella and Vargas); Broner IN at 22; Besputin RETURNS at 24; Santiago IN at 27; Lopez 29>25 (+Santana); Khan 26> OUT, Robinson 28>OUT, Guerrero 34>OUT, Williams 35>OUT all due to inactivity.