by Cliff Rold
It’s been a month and change since the last update and plenty of changes have taken place. This exercise in keeping track of boxing’s confusing title picture, and the statistics that accumulate along the way, also comes with a new feature.
Previously, the records for consecutive lineal title defenses have been recorded. However, with few clear lineal kings, it also makes sense to see if anyone is chasing the record for a particular sanctioning body.
To address that, the consecutive title defense records in each division, for each full sanctioning body title, is now tracked and recorded. Hope the readers enjoy.
On to the update.
Super Middleweight: Callum Smith’s win over George Groves meant a new WBA and Ring Magazine titlist.
Middleweight: BoxingScene never stopped recognizing the lineal claim of Saul Alvarez, even with a failed test for Clenbuterol. The man who beat the man is now the first man to beat Gennady Golovkin. TBRB and Ring align now with the lineage and Alvarez wins the WBC middleweight belt for the second time and WBA belt for the first.
Welterweight: Shawn Porter won his second major welterweight title, defeating Danny Garcia for the vacant WBC strap. He was previously the IBF titlist.
Lightweight: Jose Pedraza defeated Raymundo Beltran for the WBO belt and is now a titlist in two divisions. Pedraza will face WBC titlist Vasyl Lomachenko in a unification bout next.
Flyweight: In a fight of the year candidate, and maybe the best fight in Japan since Akira Yaegashi-Pornsawan Propramook, Kosei Tanaka won a title in his third weight class in only his twelfth fight with a decision over Sho Kimura. The 23-year old Tanaka matches the feat of lightweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko and gets there without a loss to date.
Last Update: August 24, 2018
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
