STEVE’S SOAPBOX MEDIOCREWEIGHT By Steve Kim
T he middleweight division is one of the most storied in boxing history. The likes of Harry Greb, Stanley Ketchel, Sugar Ray Robinson, Marvin Hagler and Bernard Hopkins are just some of the names in this lineage. It’s one of the sport’s original weight classes, before the juniors and supers arrived, and carries a certain mystique with it. But where have you gone, William Joppy and Keith Holmes, much less Gennadiy Golovkin? Right now, I don’t think I have ever seen this division so devoid of marquee talent or notable names. Yeah, yeah, I
Alimkhanuly is the leader at 160 but lacks a big-name nemesis.
know, I’m now the old guy on the beat, and perhaps I do occasionally go all Statler and Waldorf. But just look at the current Ring Magazine middleweight rankings:
There’s not a lot of glamor in what is traditionally one of the sport’s glamor divisions. As you look at this lot of 160-pounders, you see some familiar names mixed in with relative unknowns. The Ring championship is currently vacant. And it’s justified because, quite frankly, nobody has done anything worthy enough to earn it. But if there is someone who might make a move, it’s Alimkhanuly,
1. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly 2. Carlos Adames 3. Hamzah Sheeraz 4. Erislandy Lara 5. Chris Eubank Jr.
6. Etinosa Oliha 7. Kyrone Davis 8. Troy Isley 9. Shane Mosley Jr. 10. Denzel Bentley
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