Terence Crawford’s retirement today leaves four titles now vacant at 168, with the division in need of a new King.
It’s good that the belts should be fractured now, as there isn’t one fighter in control of the super middleweight division. We saw with Canelo Alvarez holding the four belts that he wasn’t fighting the best since 2021.
Top fighters like David Benavidez and David Morrell were frozen out, while Canelo picked and chose beatable opposition. Crawford being permitted to skip move up two divisions and skip to the front of the line to fight Canelo for his titles was another example of how poisonous it had become. The division had been ruled by an aging King who had stopped taking risky fights years ago.
Now that the titles are separated, we can see younger talent get the shots that they deserve. We’ll see quality fights, not mismatches like we’ve seen repeatedly since Canelo held the belts.
It’s too bad the titles were separated two years ago when Benavidez and Morrell were still around at 168. We would have seen some excellent fights with those two holding belts.
Heirs to the throne
- Osleys Iglesias
- Hamzah Sheeraz
- Lester Martinez
- Christian Mbilli
- Diego Pacheco
- Jose Armando Resendiz
- Jaime Munguia
Of those fighters who will be vying for the new King of the division, the Cuba-born Osleys Iglesias stands out as the best of the bunch. He’s got the height, reach, power, and skills to dominate the 168-lb division. As the IBF mandatory, Osleys will be fighting for that belt against one of the brave souls who are willing to take the risk of fighting him.
In looking at the freed-up belts, one can get a good idea of which fighters will win the titles. Here’s Chris Williams’ picks for the titles that will be captured:
- IBF – Osleys Iglesias
- WBC – Christian Mbilli
- WBO – Diego Pacheco
- WBA – Canelo Alvarez
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Last Updated on 12/16/2025
