Can we talk about how absolutely crazy the 140 division has been recently? Just last night we saw the WBA strap change hands once again from Rayo to GAR and saw Puello narrowly keep the WBC belt against Sandor Martin as well as Subriel Matias stopping Gollaz. The WBA title has yet to be successfully defended since Josh Taylor held it with Rolly Romero winning the belt from a ridiculous stoppage of Ismael Barroso followed by Rolly getting battered by Pitbull followed by Pitbull getting schooled by Rayo followed by Rayo getting mugged by GAR. Japanese mandatory Andy Hiraoka is yet to get his shot at the title. The WBO interim title was passed recently too, switching hands from Catterall to Barboza, each man recently beating the old guard of 140 in lacklustre performances against Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis, and Jose Ramirez. Barboza outpointed Catterall and has been made the division's top dog off of this win in some rankings I've seen. Barboza will get his chance to finally challenge for a title and the lineage against Teofimo later this year though it's unsure if Teo won't back out and try to fight Usyk instead with the way Teo's head works. Speaking of Teofimo, he's probably the only lineal champ in the sport right now not recognised the cream of the crop in his own division, and rightfully so after a string of uninspiring performances against the likes of Jamaine Ortiz, Sandor Martin, and failing to stop Steve Claggett. The WBC title was won by Devin Haney in a clinic against Regis Prograis but became vacant when Devin got beat up by an overweight Ryan Garcia. Alberto Puello then won the vacant WBC title with a contentious decision over GAR and defended it with another contentious decision over Sandor Martin. The IBF title changed hands from hard-hitting boogeyman Subriel Matias to Aussie upstart Liam Paro and now resides with Brooklyn-native Richardson Hitchins who got his title shot off the back of a controversial decision of Gustavo Lemos. Then you have to account for all the contenders at 140 like the aforementioned Hiraoka and Barboza, as well as Dalton Smith, Adam Azim, Oscar Duarte, Tito Mercado, Khariton Agrba, or Movladdin Biyarslanov. 140 has been a wonderful mess since Josh Taylor vacated his belts and the division is stacked with talent but has no clear ruler.
The division is really hot right now with the amount of top fighters and title holders. Historically speaking Light Welterweight has never been the most appreciated even during the eras of Cervantes, Locche, Benitez, Pryor, Chavez, Taylor, Whitaker, Tszyu. This is probably the most stacked I've seen from 140 in awhile. Stoked for Puello vs Matias this coming Saturday.
I agree. 140 is definitely one of the sweetspots in the sport right now. It hasn't been this good since the early 2000's.