Great Eight: Our list of champions could look radically different this year

The proliferation of titles makes it difficult for all but the most astute fans to determine the cream of the boxing crop.

That’s why Boxing Junkie came up with its “Great Eight” feature, which names the best fighter in each of the original eight weight classes –heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.

Heavyweight includes cruiserweight (and the WBA and WBC’s bridgerweight), light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight and so on down to flyweight, which includes junior flyweight and strawweight.

In this installment of “Great Eight,” we point out that the list could look radically different this year.

Start with the heavyweight division. “Great Eight” champion Tyson Fury is set face Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia. The winner will be our champion barring something unforeseen. And an expected rematch will also have a direct impact on the championship.

Then there’s 175 pounds, at which unbeaten titleholders Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol — our champion — appear headed for a showdown for the undisputed championship in late spring or summer.

“Great Eight” middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, a junior middleweight belt holder, doesn’t have a fight set but a significant challenge could be on the horizon.

A potential rematch between welterweight champ Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. seems to be losing steam, which could open the door to a Charlo-Crawford fight at 154 pounds this year. Crawford probably would be favored even though he would be moving up in weight.

And if Crawford makes a full-fledged move from 147 to 154, that would create a “Great Eight” vacancy at welterweight. Ennis, the second best 147-pounder, and the top fighters at 140 — Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, et al — will battle to become our new champion.

The next three weights seem less likely to change.

Lightweight champion Gervonta Davis has a firm hold on the “Great Eight” championship, although a few 135-pounders — Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko and perhaps Frank Martin and William Zepeda — could push “Tank.” He also could decided to move up to 140.

Naoya Inoue also has firm control of the featherweight championship. He has been untouchable at junior featherweight and would still quality for the same position if he moves up a division, which could happen this year.

And bantamweight champ Juan Francisco Estrada, who fights at junior bantamweight, has talked about moving up in weight. That means he could still hold his “Great Eight” position. The Mexican is far more accomplished than anyone at the higher weight.

And, finally, “Bam” Rodriguez just became flyweight champion by stopping Sunny Edwards but he has said he plans to move back up to junior bantamweight, which would create an opening here. Could Edwards, perhaps the second best 112-pounder, fill the void? Or will 108-pounder Kenshiro Teraji take the top spot?

So, in summary, it’s easy to imagine a championship list that looks like this in 2024:

• Heavyweight — Usyk
• Light heavyweights — Beterbiev
• Middleweight — Crawford
• Welterweight — Ennis (or Haney or Lopez)
• Lightweight — Davis
• Featherweight — Inoue
• Bantamweight — Estrada
• Flyweight — Edwards

Stay tuned.

Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions:

HEAVYWEIGHT

Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) – Fury’s reign as the top man here is in jeopardy, as he’s scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia. He’ll have to perform better against Usyk than he did against Francis Ngannou to win.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) – The 175-pound titleholder gave another strong performance last month, shutting out overmatched Lyndon Arthur. Artur Beterbiev’s KO of Callum Smith on Jan. 13 could set up a showdown between the two best 175-pounders of the era.

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) – The 154-pounder came up short against 168-pound champ Canelo Alvarez but he remains the best at 160 and 154. He wants to fight pound-for-pound and welterweight king Terence Crawford, who would take Charlo’s place in this division with a victory.

WELTERWEIGHT

Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) – Crawford, coming off his epic beat down of Errol Spence Jr., could be poised to move up to 154 to challenge titleholder Charlo, which would create an opening here. Only talented Jaron Ennis would appear to be a genuine threat at 147.

LIGHTWEIGHT

Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – “Tank” remains the most-complete fighter at 135 and 130 but boxing wizards Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko might have something to say about who reigns in Great Eight before all is said and done. Now we need to see these pivotal matchups.

FEATHERWEIGHT

Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) – Inoue gave another dominating performance against Marlon Tapales on Dec. 26, stopping the Filipino in the 10th round to become undisputed champion in a second weight class. Can anyone compete with him? Murodjon Akhmadaliev might have the best chance.

BANTAMWEIGHT

Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) – The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer from Mexico didn’t fight last year but he presumably will get back to work soon. “Bam” Rodiguez called him out for what could turn out to be a passing-of-the-torch matchup but Estrada has talked about moving up in weight.

FLYWEIGHT

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) – Rodriguez supplanted Edwards as champion here after leaving no doubt about who is the best 112-pounder in the world. However, he has said he plans to move up to junior bantamweight. We’ll wait until he schedules a fight to remove him.