Undisputed Welterweight Champion in 2020!

Breaking down the welterweight division, with so many notable names and different champions, I have come to the conclusion, providing all the match-ups (we hope) happen, we should get an undisputed welterweight champion for the first time in the in the era of four titles. The one man, to hold all the belts. The last champion to come close, was Floyd Mayweather beating Manny Pacquiao for the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on May 2, 2015. Kell Brook, the other remaining champion, was the IBF holder, beating Shawn Porter on 16 Aug 2014, before losing to Errol Spence Jr on 27 May 2017. Floyd disappointingly fought Andre Berto (a voluntary defence) instead of fully unifying, on Sep 12, 2015. Mayweather actually did win the IBF and IBO titles beating Zab Judah on Sep 12, 2015. You can argue he never lost the IBF title in the ring, however he never held all titles simultaneously. The last man to come close behind Mayweather was the man he beat, Zab Judah, beating Corey Spinks on Feb 5, 2005 for the WBA, IBF and WBC titles. The WBO title was never unified, it was held by Antonio Margarito from 16 March 2002 to 14 July 2007. With that history lesson out of the way, I'll break down the schedule of what I hope should happen. Shawn Porter is fighting Danny Garcia for the vacant WBC title on Aug 25, 2018. The WBC title was stripped from Keith Thurman, due to his inability to defend the title within the WBC rules. Spence has publicly said, there are already talks for him to fight the Porter-Garcia winner. With Haymon an advisor to Spence, Porter, Garcia and Thurman, expect Spence to fight the winner n 6 months time. If for some reason there is a delay, they should hopefully fight this time next year. That leaves Keith Thurman, still the WBA champion, his return is set for 2018-08-04. Expect a soft fight for Keith's return and expect him to face the winner of the Porter/Garcia-Spence winner not long after their bout. I fully expect Spence to beat the Porter/Garcia winner and frankly he is the only fighter pursuing all the belts. Expect him to come hard at Thurman, a man he has already been chasing for a long time. I imagine Haymon will gladly serve Thurman on a platter for Spence, for a three belt unification in late 2019 or early 2020. That leaves WBO champion Crawford to play his role and take out any challengers Top Rank will offer him. The most high profile fight he can potentially take is the Pacquiao-Matthysee winner. Oddly enough, they are fighting for the WBA Regular title on Jul 15, 2018. I fully expect near the end of 2020, with all other champions, top contenders and mandatory challengers out of the way, Spence and Crawford will be the last two standing for a 4 belt (5 if you count the regular title) unification bout to decide the undisputed welterweight championship. I may as well call how I think the fight plays out going this far along, Spence UD12 Crawford in Las Vegas on PPV. Will bump this in 2 years time :) Thanks for reading! Good post. Agree with everything, except I'm insure about what Thurman does. Dude can retire, and I wouldn't be surprised. Waste of a lot of momentum he had....

we need to face it that we're never gonna have a long reigning champ of any division. 4 titles is too much to have to make mandatories once a year when fighters at the most think fighting twice a year is staying active. I still can't pinpoint when the WBO became a real title. Was it when DLH was gifted a decision over Sturm?

I seriously doubt we will get one boxer holding all the belts at welterweight. That almost never happens these days. Everything fell into place for Crawford and he did it but look how rare that is. We have I think 17 different weight classes and as far as I know Crawford is the only boxer to completely unify any weight class in many years. That makes the odds against having one welterweight champion with all belts about 17 to 1. You may have a welterweight who is clearly the best and better than any other welterweight. That's doesn't mean he will completely unify 147. Today's boxing politics make this almost impossible.

You guys are dreaming. If Keith doesn't come back healthy I think Spence moves up without fighting any of these guys. If Keith is healthy I expect a Thurman vs Spence match to occur in 2019 maybe 2020. Crawford won't fight these guys for a LONG time since he can hide behind Arum. Spence isn't getting first crack at Porter v Garcia winner, Thurman is still in line there with the WBC. Haymon can't force any fights, please let me know what big fights Haymon has forced the fighters he manages to perform in.

If Crawford comes out on top, he will have become the Undisputed Champion at 140 and 147.

Good post bro. I have it playing out very similiar to yours if not exact the same. Only diff i see is Spence knocking out Crawford by 10. Thanks bro. Spence is an absolute killer at 147. I can easily see Bud fighting off the back foot in survival mode if he feels Spence's power.

In an ideal world this would make perfect sense, and I agree with everything you’ve mentioned here. I just really fear for Thurman with all these injuries and worry that we might not see him at his absolute best ever again. And also taking into consideration that the IBF could call a mandatory at any time during this process to f*ck the whole process up. It just seems like the sanctioning bodies want nothing to do with having an undisputed champion, even though boxing NEEDS it. I hope I didn’t kill your buzz with this, like I said if it does play out like you’ve posted here, I’ll be a very happy man as some great fights there. Definitely the most competitive in the division. Other than that great post this. Very informative and enjoyable to read.. Kudos bro. I should have noted, this will occur if the sanctioning bodies allow it. Meaning there are no issues with mandatory challengers, exceptions allowed if needed along with any step-a-side deals. You're spot on about Thurman, he is integral to all of this. I personally reckon he won't be the same fighter, we will tell from his next fight. He has had a tough run with injuries as well as being involved in a car accident. It's why I mentioned, Haymon might just say enough is enough and force the fight to happen. Appreciate the kind words bro, right back at you with your post!

Good post bro. I have it playing out very similiar to yours if not exact the same. Only diff i see is Spence knocking out Crawford by 10.

Breaking down the welterweight division, with so many notable names and different champions, I have come to the conclusion, providing all the match-ups (we hope) happen, we should get an undisputed welterweight champion for the first time in the in the era of four titles. The one man, to hold all the belts. The last champion to come close, was Floyd Mayweather beating Manny Pacquiao for the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on May 2, 2015. Kell Brook, the other remaining champion, was the IBF holder, beating Shawn Porter on 16 Aug 2014, before losing to Errol Spence Jr on 27 May 2017. Floyd disappointingly fought Andre Berto (a voluntary defence) instead of fully unifying, on Sep 12, 2015. Mayweather actually did win the IBF and IBO titles beating Zab Judah on Sep 12, 2015. You can argue he never lost the IBF title in the ring, however he never held all titles simultaneously. The last man to come close behind Mayweather was the man he beat, Zab Judah, beating Corey Spinks on Feb 5, 2005 for the WBA, IBF and WBC titles. The WBO title was never unified, it was held by Antonio Margarito from 16 March 2002 to 14 July 2007. With that history lesson out of the way, I'll break down the schedule of what I hope should happen. Shawn Porter is fighting Danny Garcia for the vacant WBC title on Aug 25, 2018. The WBC title was stripped from Keith Thurman, due to his inability to defend the title within the WBC rules. Spence has publicly said, there are already talks for him to fight the Porter-Garcia winner. With Haymon an advisor to Spence, Porter, Garcia and Thurman, expect Spence to fight the winner n 6 months time. If for some reason there is a delay, they should hopefully fight this time next year. That leaves Keith Thurman, still the WBA champion, his return is set for 2018-08-04. Expect a soft fight for Keith's return and expect him to face the winner of the Porter/Garcia-Spence winner not long after their bout. I fully expect Spence to beat the Porter/Garcia winner and frankly he is the only fighter pursuing all the belts. Expect him to come hard at Thurman, a man he has already been chasing for a long time. I imagine Haymon will gladly serve Thurman on a platter for Spence, for a three belt unification in late 2019 or early 2020. That leaves WBO champion Crawford to play his role and take out any challengers Top Rank will offer him. The most high profile fight he can potentially take is the Pacquiao-Matthysee winner. Oddly enough, they are fighting for the WBA Regular title on Jul 15, 2018. I fully expect near the end of 2020, with all other champions, top contenders and mandatory challengers out of the way, Spence and Crawford will be the last two standing for a 4 belt (5 if you count the regular title) unification bout to decide the undisputed welterweight championship. I may as well call how I think the fight plays out going this far along, Spence UD12 Crawford in Las Vegas on PPV. Will bump this in 2 years time :) Thanks for reading! In an ideal world this would make perfect sense, and I agree with everything you’ve mentioned here. I just really fear for Thurman with all these injuries and worry that we might not see him at his absolute best ever again. And also taking into consideration that the IBF could call a mandatory at any time during this process to f*ck the whole process up. It just seems like the sanctioning bodies want nothing to do with having an undisputed champion, even though boxing NEEDS it. I hope I didn’t kill your buzz with this, like I said if it does play out like you’ve posted here, I’ll be a very happy man as some great fights there. Definitely the most competitive in the division. Other than that great post this. Very informative and enjoyable to read.. Kudos bro.