Featherweight (126 pound) Tournament

[HI-TECH Boxing]

126 is one of the deepest divisions in boxing. It is easy to forget how deep the division is because the fighters just seem to be content to do their thing.

Most of these guys have been around the same division for years, yet we have only seen a handful of them actually fight. It's a shame really.

With the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight tournaments currently being contested. It got me thinking how great it would be to have a tournament in this weight class.
And it would be more realistic than having a tournament at say Heavyweight, where there would have to be a crazy amount of money involved.

Most of these guys fight over on the Showtime side of things, so it shouldn't be that difficult to get most of them. Whether they would want to compete or not would be up to them.
Then it'll be up to Top Rank and Golden Boy to let Valdez and Diaz compete.
You would hope they would all want part. Frampton has stated that he doesn't want to fight that much longer, so why not go out fighting the best?
Then he can still move up later, he said he wanted to win another title in a third weight class.

Seeded:
#1-Leo Santa Cruz
#2-Carl Frampton
#3-Gary Russell Jr.
#4-Lee Selby

Unseeded:
Guillermo Rigondeaux (I hope he gets more opportunities after Loma beats him.)
Oscar Valdez
Joseph Diaz Jr.
Abner Mares

Tournament:
Fight #1:(#1) Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez (LSC would probably want Mares, but Valdez would be a more interesting fight.)
Fight #2:(#4) Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Fight #3:Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares (Frampton has already stated he is very much interesting in a Mares fight next)
Fight #4:Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr. (Diaz is Russell's mandatory)

Semi-finals:
Fight #5: Winner of fight #1 vs. winner of fight #2
Fight #6: Winner of fight #3 vs. winner of fight #4

Final:
Finalist #1 (winner of fight #5) vs. Finalist #2 (winner of fight #6)

How would you guys see a tournament at 126 going?
Who would win?
They could start it early next year, for example.

[jas]

rigo if it doesnt take ages as he the elder fighter in the tournament

[mlac]

good thread, Rigo is too old and small, id rather see a talented prospect like kid galahad instead.

Tournament:
Fight #1(#1) Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez (LSC would probably want Mares, but Valdez would be a more interesting fight.) I see Valdez timing him inbetween a leo flurry, Valdez Via TKO.
Fight #2(#4) Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux Selby, is a huge FW, much younger and pretty skilled. He wins a SD/MD on activity

Fight #3:Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares (Frampton has already stated he is very much interesting in a Mares fight next) Frampton UD
Fight #4:Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr. (Diaz is Russell's mandatory) Toughest fight to call, ill go with diaz but russell could easily win.

Semi-finals:
Fight #5: Winner of fight #1 vs. winner of fight #2 Valdez KO selby.
Fight #6: Winner of fight #3 vs. winner of fight #4 Diaz SD over frampton

Final:
Finalist #1 (winner of fight #5) vs. Finalist #2 (winner of fight #6 Valdez TKO Diaz in a FOTY.

[Zaroku]

126 is one of the deepest divisions in boxing. It is easy to forget how deep the division is because the fighters just seem to be content to do their thing.

Most of these guys have been around the same division for years, yet we have only seen a handful of them actually fight. It's a shame really.

With the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight tournaments currently being contested. It got me thinking how great it would be to have a tournament in this weight class.
And it would be more realistic than having a tournament at say Heavyweight, where there would have to be a crazy amount of money involved.

Most of these guys fight over on the Showtime side of things, so it shouldn't be that difficult to get most of them. Whether they would want to compete or not would be up to them.
Then it'll be up to Top Rank and Golden Boy to let Valdez and Diaz compete.
You would hope they would all want part. Frampton has stated that he doesn't want to fight that much longer, so why not go out fighting the best?
Then he can still move up later, he said he wanted to win another title in a third weight class.

Seeded:
#1-Leo Santa Cruz
#2-Carl Frampton
#3-Gary Russell Jr.
#4-Lee Selby

Unseeded:
Guillermo Rigondeaux (I hope he gets more opportunities after Loma beats him.)
Oscar Valdez
Joseph Diaz Jr.
Abner Mares

Tournament:
Fight #1:(#1) Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez (LSC would probably want Mares, but Valdez would be a more interesting fight.)
Fight #2:(#4) Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Fight #3:Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares (Frampton has already stated he is very much interesting in a Mares fight next)
Fight #4:Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr. (Diaz is Russell's mandatory)

Semi-finals:
Fight #5: Winner of fight #1 vs. winner of fight #2
Fight #6: Winner of fight #3 vs. winner of fight #4

Final:
Finalist #1 (winner of fight #5) vs. Finalist #2 (winner of fight #6)

How would you guys see a tournament at 126 going?
Who would win?
They could start it early next year, for example.

Jhonny loves Santa Cruz..& Jhonny Gonzalez...
We were chopping it up the other day, & he said Sal Sanchez & Azuma Nelson would walk down the "top" guys in the featherweight devision right now...

But what does he know....he has vacuum lungs & stays high two four seven....365...

[HI-TECH Boxing]

rigo if it doesnt take ages as he the elder fighter in the tournament

I would choose Rigondeaux. People think I'm just trying to hype him up but I believe in Rigo.
I would even give him a chance against some Super Featherweights like Corrales and Farmer. One of them is a Champion and the other may become Champion before the end of the year.
He may want to stay away from someone like Berchelt, who is bigger and punches harder than Loma though.

I think Rigo can still beat a lot of top guys if given the chance post-Loma

[W1LL]

Quarter-finals
Fight #1: Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez
Fight #2: Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux
Fight #3: Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares
Fight #4: Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr.

Semi-finals
Fight #5: Leo Santa Cruz vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux
Fight #6: Carl Frampton vs. Gary Russell Jr.

Final
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Gary Russell Jr.

Fight of the tournament would be Russell Jr. stopping Frampton. Rigondeaux is gonna be done after Lomachenko, but he could still get passed Selby.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Quarterfinal predictions:
Winners in bold.

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez: This probably the most difficult fight to predict for me. Santa Cruz would be the favorite because of how Valdez has looked recently. Marriaga and Servania gave him problems, but those are fights Valdez should learn a lot from.
I don't think Santa Cruz would outbox Valdez like some people think. It'll be a close fight.
Valdez can't load on every shot against a fighter with incredible stamina like Leo. If he does Leo may take the later rounds and escape with a close decision. Valdez punches harder than anyone Leo has fought. Question would be whether Valdez's shots will have an effect.
50/50 fight. Really difficult to predict. I think Valdez will find a way to pull it off. Valdez likes to fight but he is actually a good boxer when he needs to be. Valdez may not stop him but I wouldn't be shocked if Valdez sends Leo down during the fight. I think Valdez will rise and put on an excellent performance and win a close decision.

Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux: I think Rigo wins this pretty easy. Even though Selby is tall I just don't see him outboxing Rigo and I doubt he could stop him.
Rigo easy win. I can see a stoppage or decision victory. I would lean towards a stoppage.

Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares: I think this would be a competitive fight with a clear winner. I would probably chose Frampton via decision. Both will have their moments, but I think Carl will separate himself in the later rounds.

Gary Russell Jr. vs. Joseph Diaz Jr.: I think Russell would win a competitive fight. Diaz will have his moments because he is a very good boxer himself.
I just feel Russell will get there quicker and more often which will make the difference. Diaz make not have the footwork to trouble Russell. He has good footwork but you need a specific type of footwork and I'm not sure if he has it. What I mean is that Diaz is way more stationary which will only help Russell. Diaz is very solid and I would choose him to beat some of the other guys in the tournament.

[Boxfan83]

126 is one of the deepest divisions in boxing. It is easy to forget how deep the division is because the fighters just seem to be content to do their thing.

Most of these guys have been around the same division for years, yet we have only seen a handful of them actually fight. It's a shame really.

With the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight tournaments currently being contested. It got me thinking how great it would be to have a tournament in this weight class.
And it would be more realistic than having a tournament at say Heavyweight, where there would have to be a crazy amount of money involved.

Most of these guys fight over on the Showtime side of things, so it shouldn't be that difficult to get most of them. Whether they would want to compete or not would be up to them.
Then it'll be up to Top Rank and Golden Boy to let Valdez and Diaz compete.
You would hope they would all want part. Frampton has stated that he doesn't want to fight that much longer, so why not go out fighting the best?
Then he can still move up later, he said he wanted to win another title in a third weight class.

Seeded:
#1-Leo Santa Cruz
#2-Carl Frampton
#3-Gary Russell Jr.
#4-Lee Selby

Unseeded:
Guillermo Rigondeaux (I hope he gets more opportunities after Loma beats him.)
Oscar Valdez
Joseph Diaz Jr.
Abner Mares

Tournament:
Fight #1:(#1) Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez (LSC would probably want Mares, but Valdez would be a more interesting fight.)
Fight #2:(#4) Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Fight #3:Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares (Frampton has already stated he is very much interesting in a Mares fight next)
Fight #4:Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr. (Diaz is Russell's mandatory)

Semi-finals:
Fight #5: Winner of fight #1 vs. winner of fight #2
Fight #6: Winner of fight #3 vs. winner of fight #4

Final:
Finalist #1 (winner of fight #5) vs. Finalist #2 (winner of fight #6)

How would you guys see a tournament at 126 going?
Who would win?
They could start it early next year, for example.

A tournament like this would be the best for boxing,!

[HI-TECH Boxing]

A tournament like this would be the best for boxing,!

No doubt. Most of these guys are on similar level, so we will get several competitive and great fights.

They would have to do it sooner rather than later.

Carl Frampton has already admitted that he won't fight much longer. He joked that he wants to go until he is 35, but he promised his wife, I believe, that he won't fight that much longer. I think he probably has 2-3 more years in him, so he will be 32 or 33 when he calls it a day.

Russell has admitted that he doesn't really love professional boxing. That's probably why he doesn't stay active. I doubt Russell will fight much longer as well. He will probably prefer to help his younger brothers out. Even though he is the most talented of the Russell brothers.

Rigondeaux is 37. I would love to see him get another opportunity after Loma beats him. Obviously he doesn't have a lot of time left.

I believe Mares said he only wanted to fight for 2 or 3 more years. If you notice Mares is already moving onto being a manager.

Valdez and Diaz are the only ones that will fight for several years afterwards, but I'm sure they would love to get an opportunity like this.

As you can see a lot of these guys are already thinking of calling it a day. So why not have a tournament like this?
I seriously doubt it would be expensive either. We are not talking about Heavyweights here. Heavyweights would demand millions of dollars per fight.

A tournament would only take a year a little over a year. The fighters can move on with their careers soon afterwards.
Frampton, LSC, Russell, and Mares have all admitted to wanting to capture titles above 126.
I'm sure Valdez and Diaz will move up later as well.

[soul_survivor]

126 is one of the deepest divisions in boxing. It is easy to forget how deep the division is because the fighters just seem to be content to do their thing.

Most of these guys have been around the same division for years, yet we have only seen a handful of them actually fight. It's a shame really.

With the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight tournaments currently being contested. It got me thinking how great it would be to have a tournament in this weight class.
And it would be more realistic than having a tournament at say Heavyweight, where there would have to be a crazy amount of money involved.

Most of these guys fight over on the Showtime side of things, so it shouldn't be that difficult to get most of them. Whether they would want to compete or not would be up to them.
Then it'll be up to Top Rank and Golden Boy to let Valdez and Diaz compete.
You would hope they would all want part. Frampton has stated that he doesn't want to fight that much longer, so why not go out fighting the best?
Then he can still move up later, he said he wanted to win another title in a third weight class.

Seeded:
#1-Leo Santa Cruz
#2-Carl Frampton
#3-Gary Russell Jr.
#4-Lee Selby

Unseeded:
Guillermo Rigondeaux (I hope he gets more opportunities after Loma beats him.)
Oscar Valdez
Joseph Diaz Jr.
Abner Mares

Tournament:
Fight #1:(#1) Leo Santa Cruz vs. Oscar Valdez (LSC would probably want Mares, but Valdez would be a more interesting fight.)
Fight #2:(#4) Lee Selby vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Fight #3:Carl Frampton vs. Abner Mares (Frampton has already stated he is very much interesting in a Mares fight next)
Fight #4:Gary Russell Jr. vs Joseph Diaz Jr. (Diaz is Russell's mandatory)

Semi-finals:
Fight #5: Winner of fight #1 vs. winner of fight #2
Fight #6: Winner of fight #3 vs. winner of fight #4

Final:
Finalist #1 (winner of fight #5) vs. Finalist #2 (winner of fight #6)

How would you guys see a tournament at 126 going?
Who would win?
They could start it early next year, for example.

Thats a damn fine tournament and it is easy to forget how good the division is because these guys just arent fighting each other or are fighting far too few fights a year. No excuse for the little guys to only fight once or twice a year with maybe 1 in 4 fights being of any quality.

Frampton for example should have gone straight from the loss to Quigg rematch or Selby/Mares fight. No idea why LSC/Mares isn't happening but will fight on the same card, etc.

Btw I'd have Quigg in the tournament rather than Diaz Jr tbh.

Anyway, if the tournament has that format I think Rigo/Selby/LSC win it.