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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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MACAU – NOVEMBER 23: Jessie Vargas of the United States punches Antonio DeMarco of Mexico during the WBA world super lightweight title fight at The Venetian on November 23, 2014 in Macau, Macau. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
MACAU – NOVEMBER 23: Jessie Vargas of the United States punches Antonio DeMarco of Mexico during the WBA world super lightweight title fight at The Venetian on November 23, 2014 in Macau, Macau. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images) /

7. Jessie Vargas (28-2-1, 10 KOs)

Vargas seemed to be underrated by boxing fans for a while, as he isn’t quite elite, but he is a B/B+ level fighter.

Vargas only lost twice in his career, once to Manny Pacquiao and once to Tim Bradley (despite coming very close to knocking Bradley out in the final round of their fight). While a loss is a loss, if you are going to lose twice, doing so to two future Hall of Famers is better than losing to journeymen.

Vargas’s best wins are agains Antonio Demarco and Sadam Ali, which is not an insane resume, but certainly not a bad one.

Vargas’s place in boxing is probably best summed up by his last fight, a draw with Adrien Broner. The two of them are guys that should not be considered the top tier of the division, but certainly are no slouches either. Like Lamont Peterson, if you can beat Vargas, and beat him convincingly, you are a pretty darn good boxer.

At 29 years old, Vargas is still relatively young, and he figures to be in some solid fights going forward. Winning a rematch with Broner or defeating someone else on this list would figure to move him up the rankings, setting him up for a big fight against one of the top guys in the division.

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