Perhaps not the most prestigious of divisions but deep enough to have a solid top 10 I believe. Interested to see how you folks would rank some of the ATGs who have passed through this division. As well, if Inoue can beat Junto and Akhmadaliev at 122 would that establish him as the GOAT of 122?
Wilfredo Gomez is by far and away the greatest super bantam/junior feather of all time - lineal champ from 1977 to 1983, 18 title fights, 18 wins, 18 kayos - beat bantamweight champs Carlos Zarate and Lupe Pintor in his biggest wins at the weight as well as future champs like Leonardo Cruz and Juan Meza. Was probably at his absolute peak between 1977 and 1980 but was still good enough to keep winning and winning impressively even after his defeat up at featherweight against Salvador Sanchez in 1981.
Erik Morales would probably be my number 2 pick behind Gomez. He beat a tough but aging champ in Daniel Zaragoza as well as some decent competition such as Junior Jones and Wayne McCullough. His biggest win was against Marco Antonio Barrera - yes, he was somewhat fortunate to get the nod but he fought brilliantly (as did Barrera) and made his 9th and final defense in that fight over a 2 1/2 year reign.
Marco Antonio Barrera, Daniel Zaragoza and Kennedy McKinney would round out my top 5, I think. There’s not that much between them - Barrera beat McKinney in a classic and was unlucky to lose to Morales but lost twice clearly to Junior Jones; Zaragoza showed remarkable longevity, holding the title three times between 1988 and 1997; McKinney held straps on two occasions - he was at his best in his first title reign but had a great win over Barrera’s conqueror Junior Jones to take his second title.
I forgot Vuyani Bungu - he probably deserves a top 5 slot, maybe in place of McKinney, who he beat twice.
My top ten. 1. Wilfredo Gomez. 2. Erik Morales. 3. Marco Antonio Barrera. 4. Daniel Zaragoza. 5. Guillermo Rigondeaux. 6. Kennedy McKinney. 7. Israel Vasquez. 8. Nonito Donaire. 9. Vuyani Bungu. 10. Jeff Fenech. I decided not to include Inoue, since he is still active. However I'm pretty sure he will wind up in the top three. Maybe even oust Gomez from the number one spot. Manny Pacquaio is probably also in the top 5, but he didn't have much fights in the weight class and decided not to include him.
Gomez is in a class of his own at 122. Perhaps a bigger gap than youll see in any other division. Fenech would be H2H #2 at 122. I'd pick Fenech over Morales and Barrera.
Nowhere. They were bantamweights. And Tatsuyoshi would rank nowhere remotely close to the all time bantamweights.
No love for Celestino Caballero? He's got a a couple very solid wins over Ponce De Leon and Mathebula at 122.
For what it's worth, here's my top 10 from 2000 onwards, where I did the proper research and analysis: 1. Israel Vazquez 2. Guillermo Rigondeaux 3. Oscar Larios 4. Marco Antonio Barrera 5. Naoya Inoue 6. Celestino Caballero 7. Stephen Fulton 8. Manny Pacquiao 9. Rafael Marquez 10. Carl Frampton Did not have time yet to really dive into the 90s and 80s - and at this pace I might never actually get there, ha.
