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Boxing welterweight division rankings: Spence, Crawford top stacked weight class

By Matthew Saljanin

FRISCO, TX - JUNE 16: Errol Spence Jr. knocks out Carlos Ocampo in the first round of a IBF Welterweight Championship bout at The Ford Center at The Star on June 16, 2018 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FRISCO, TX - JUNE 16: Errol Spence Jr. knocks out Carlos Ocampo in the first round of a IBF Welterweight Championship bout at The Ford Center at The Star on June 16, 2018 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Amir Khan celebrates winning the Super-Welterweight Contest against Phil Lo Greco at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Amir Khan celebrates winning the Super-Welterweight Contest against Phil Lo Greco at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images) /

8. Amir Khan (32-4, 20 KOs)

Fair or not, Khan is mostly known for having a “glass chin.” I for one think his lack of defense also played a role in his knockout losses, but his chin certainly is not the best either.

Khan has the skills to be one of the top fighters in the world, and the only reason he is not in the top five of the welterweight ranks are because of the previously mentioned chin/defense.

He was outboxing Danny Garcia, only to get caught with a monster left hook that changed the fight and eventually led to Khan being stopped.

He was also outboxing Canelo Alvarez early in their fight, until being knocked out with one punch (although Khan moved in weight for the fight, I’m not sure he would have survived that punch even if it was thrown from someone in his weight class).

He also lost a decision victory over Lamont Peterson in a very close fight, which is telling of Khan. In my opinion, if he was an elite fighter, he would have beaten Peterson, and relatively easily. A case can be made to have Peterson ahead of Khan due to the head to head record, but that was seven years ago, and I feel Khan has done more since then, especially at welterweight.

Speaking of his accomplishments at welterweight, Khan has some solid wins over Luis Collazo, Devon Alexander and Chris Algieri. Not the best resume out there, but solid enough for him to crack the top 10 in combination with his boxing ability.

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