The Road to the Welterweight Crown runs through Shane Mosley

As 2010 begins, the Welterweight division is in disarray.  This is in sharp contrast to the way things were a year ago.   Back then, we were looking forward to the Margarito-Mosley fight.  Most people expected Margo to win.  If he had, he would've most likely been crowned the guy to beat at 147 pounds, or at least he would've been as close as anyone in a long time to become that.

Paul Williams was still hanging around welterweight though, so Margo would've have had to deal with him sooner or later to clear all doubts.  But even that situation would've been much easier to disentangle when compared to the way things stand today.   However, things not always happen as expected in boxing.
2009 saw a lot of surprises happen at welterweight: plastergate, the arrival of Pacquiao, the return of Mayweather, and the involuntary idleness of Mosley after dismantling Margarito, to name a few.

In the last weeks of 2009 we came close to seeing a fight agreed upon by what most people see as the top two guys in the division.  It would've made an easy job of finally finding the undisputed welterweight champion, right?

Wrong.

Even if the megafight that shall not be named had been agreed upon, there's a strong case to be made that it would still have fall short of identifying the true welterweight king.   Let's start by looking at Pacquiao.  For the sake of argument, assume all his achievements so far, or at least the ones at welterweight, are 100 percent legit. He did beat Miguel Cotto, and took one of the alphabelts from him, which in theory makes him worthy of part of the welterweight crown.

But there's the little detail of the catch-weight left to consider.  That contest was held at 145 pounds, which is not the official welterweight limit.
The only other fight Pacquiao has had at this weight was against De la Hoya in December 2008.   It was impressive to watch and surprised everyone, even his own fans, due to the nature of the victory.

But De la Hoya, even if he was still able to bring in the big money, was not a top ten welterweight.   For those who rate Pacquiao above every other fighter in the division, they have a strong case for it, but it doesn't mean he should be called the undisputed champion.  He still has not earned it the right way.
Looking now at Mayweather, who is rated by most as the number two within the division, one can't help but wonder if his spot is really deserved.

The last time Mayweather fought a legit welter was November 4, 2006. That's right, he fought Carlos Baldomir over three years ago.   Since then, he has fought De la Hoya at super welterweight; then Hatton, who never was a legit welter; and then he fought lightweight champ Marquez at whatever weight they happened to arrive at the fight.

Is that the record an undisputed 147 pounds champ should have?

No.

So what can be done about this situation?   The answer is not clear.
What is clear is that the road to the crown runs through Mosley.  

Other potential events linger on the horizon that threaten to muddle things even more. Namely, the return of Antonio Margarito.
Bob Arum plans to get him in the ring on the undercard of Pacquiao-Clottey.  No one knows what kind of shape he will appear in, or even who will be his opponent. The question of the weight at which he will reappear also remains, since he claimed after the Sugar-style trashing he received a year ago that he struggled to make 147 pounds for that fight.

But if he reappears at 147 and gets one or two impressive wins over top ten competition before the year is done, he could make a strong case for at least calling out the top guys, whoever they happen to be at the time. And such call would have to be heeded.

It looks unlikely that any others could interfere this year at the top levels of the welterweight division.   Miguel Cotto seems to be setting his sights on light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.

Cotto has been fighting top opposition for too long, and he's had grueling wars, which earns him the right to sit back (or even out) for a while.   Unfortunately, this also means he gives up the right to be considered when talking about the upper echelons of the welterweight division.

On the other hand, Paul Williams and his promoter still tell anyone within earshot that the Punisher is willing to drop down to welterweight if any worthy opponent happens to show up.   The truth is, it would probably be a mistake for Paul to attempt it. The last time he weighed in for a welterweight fight was in June 2008.

Since then, he has added considerable mass to his tall body frame, and would probably suffer the consequences if he attempted to make 147 for a fight against a top ten welter.

So that's the way things stand at welterweight as of now.  We may not like the fact that the megafight for the ages has been scrapped (at least for now), but there are many interesting storylines running through the division that will hopefully intersect at several points, and make it worthwhile for those who follow the sport.

There are many opportunities for exciting, intriguing matches to be made.   Even if 2010 ends with no clear undisputed welterweight champion, things should have cleared up a bit by then, since they couldn't get much worse than they are now.

On a final note, this discussion about finding the true welterweight king shouldn't be taken as entirely negative.   If anything, it is a testament to the depth of the field and the potential for fierce competition that could develop in 2010.
It is rare when the highly subjective pound-for-pound list seems to be backed by more consent than the path to follow in crowning the champion of one division.
The top of pound-for-pound lists can be reached by general acclaim, but in a division like welterweight in an era like today, it may take nothing short than a full sweep to be called the undisputed champion.

Now that would be an achievement for the ages.

by Rafael Garcia Quinones