Photo: Vincent Ethier.
I’ve been passionate about the 168-pound division since 2009, during Lucian Bute’s journey where people argued over who was the best between him and Jean Pascal. The Super Six, which to this day remains the best idea since the invention of the mouthpiece. All this love I have for a weight division has been questioned since December 15, 2018, a dark day when Saul Alvarez defeated Rocky Fielding in just 3 short rounds and thereby began the paralysis of a weight division.
I even think that some boxers, like David Benavidez, David Morrell, or even Christian Mbilli here, won’t waste their careers waiting for someone who gets all the privileges from the four sanctioning bodies, more concerned with calculating percentages that the Redhead brings rather than respecting their rather simple rules on mandatory defenses.
Even though I no longer trust anyone, some positive points have emerged. The IBF has just named William Scull a mandatory challenger; historically, the IBF is the one that respects its own rules the most.
One day… Canelo will retire, relinquish his titles at 168, or the four associations will eventually put pressure on him. One reason I’m also excited is that EOTTM is armed for war in this division. I would even dare to say that Camille Estephan is the most powerful promoter in the 168-pound division… he just needs a little help from the four associations.
Let’s talk about EOTTM
Christian M’Billi is ranked WBC1, WBA1, IBF3, and WBO4. If it weren’t for Canelo Alvarez, he would have already fought for a world championship several times. If things drag on, he has two options: his compatriot Kevin Sadjo, ranked in three associations, the fight is risky, but 20,000 French fans would show up to watch. Eddie Hearn mentioned wanting to push for an elimination fight between M’Billi and Diego Pacheco. Diego is a 6’4″ monster, a real 50/50 fight that I want to see.
Erik Bazynian is more than ready, with 32 career victories and rankings that speak for themselves WBC3, WBA2, IBF5, and WBO3. He has beaten solid names like Marcelo Coceres, Alantez Fox, and Ronald Ellis. EOTTM isn’t afraid to bring back former opponents when they’ve been competitive. My choice: to match him against Rohan Murdoch in the coming months. An additional motivation to want to do better than M’Billi and a way to showcase it internationally, the Australian is still ranked 17th by Boxrec.
I receive emails from Europe telling me that we have no idea how good Osleys Iglesias is. This would be the home run of recent years in Canada. Cuban style with power in both hands, someone in his circle told me they would immediately agree to send him against David Morrell if the phone rang. In the meantime, he will face Marcelo Coceres, a perfect opponent for a Montreal debut.
With this trio and all the rankings already obtained by EOTTM, Camille Estephan must stay up at night hoping things will unlock in the 168-pound division. Sooner or later, the four major associations will have to issue an ultimatum to Saul Alvarez. On that day, we could end up with three world championships to organize… it’s lucky that the Olympic Stadium roof is under renovation, it could come in handy in the coming years.
If my enthusiasm is so high, it’s also because of the presence of David Benavidez, David Morrell, Billy Joe Saunders, Demetrius Andrade, and Jaime Munguia in the division. Add to that Diego Pacheco, Edgar Berlanga, Bektemir Melikuziev, and Pavel Silyagin and we have all the ingredients to create the strongest division in boxing right now. I haven’t even mentioned the Charlo brothers getting beaten in turn by Canelo or Terence Crawford’s presence at 168 for a fight.
In summary, EOTTM is equipped to stay up for years to come in one of the strongest divisions in boxing right now, a little help from the four presidents and we would get mandatory challenger fights and world championship fights within 120 days.
To think that all this depends on Canelo Alvarez…
