Part three will finish with featherweight through flyweight.
Part One may be found here.
Junior Middleweight
Sebastian Fundora vs Charles Conwell.
Fundora is the top contender and should receive a shot against the winner of unified champion Jermell Charlo's defense against Tim Tszyu, which will happen sometime this year.
Considering that Charlo rarely fights, Fundora should get his try in 2024.
Fundora's late-round KO of Erickson Lubin last year was a contender for fight of the year and Fundora vs Charlo, Tszyu, or a Lubin rematch all would be good choices but I'm giving someone a chance that deserves it and just might upset the apple cart if he is able to get that chance.
Former Olympian Charles Conwell hasn't signed with any of the major promoters and as a result, hasn't moved as quickly up the ratings as his talent indicates.
Conwell is coming up the hard way and while Fundora will be favored, I'm betting that Conwell has a breakout performance on tap and might foil the best-laid plans for Fundora and PBC.
I doubt that fight happens anytime soon as Fundora would be unlikely to face a fighter of Conwell's quality with a title shot around the corner but should Fundora win in his title fight, he will eventually have to face Charles Conwell.
Welterweight
Jaron Ennis vs Vergil Ortiz
Of course, the fight in the division to be made is Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford for all four belts in the division but until that fight can actually be signed, I'm tired of talking about it.
Ennis vs Ortiz pairs arguably the two biggest punchers in the division, Ennis holds a lesser title with the IBF and Ortiz could win a WBA minor title in the spring with a win over the rugged and undefeated Eimantis Stanonis.
Ennis lost a little shine with a dull yet dominant decision win over Karen Chudkhadzhian in his last fight and should Ortiz defeat Stanonis, that win would be the biggest for either fighter in their career.
Should Errol Spence decide to stay at 154, where his scheduled next fight against Keith Thurman will take place, Ennis will be elevated to IBF champion and the winner of Ortiz-Stanonis will be promoted to WBA champion, so there is no reason for this clash to happen this year.
This would be a bigger fight two years from now than it would be today but it could be just as big in 2025 as Spence-Crawford would be today, these two fighters could be that good.
Junior Welterweight
Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall winner vs Regis Prograis
Taylor was the undisputed champion and bully of the division after unifying titles with close and exciting wins over Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez until February 2022 when Taylor defended his four titles against his WBO mandatory challenger, Jack Catterall.
After twelve rounds that saw Catterall knock down Taylor and most watching thought Catterall deserved the decision, it was Taylor winning a controversial decision that a year later is still disputed.
Taylor was so stung by the criticism that he slowly dropped three of his four titles to fight Catterall again, the rematch has been delayed for various reasons, and is now scheduled for June.
In the meantime, Prograis mowed through the always-tough Jose Zepeda to win the WBC title that Taylor returned and looked so good doing so that many believe that it is Prograis that now is the best fighter at 140 pounds.
Prograis-Taylor would be a rematch of a very good fight with the loser improving since the defeat.
Prograis-Catterall wouldn't be as thrilling but still with high skill and high stakes.
The issue making such a fight is that neither Taylor nor Catterall is allowed into the U.S. due to their promotional connections with Daniel Kinahan, so Prograis would have to again to travel to the U.K, where he lost to Taylor and he may not be willing to do that.
Lightweight
Isaac Cruz vs William Zepeda
The lightweight division is heavy at the top and the top four fighters in the division are scheduled to face each other in the next few months with undisputed champion Devin Haney against Vasyl Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis battling Ryan Garcia as Shakur Stevenson waits in the wings.
Isaac Cruz and William Zepeda (along with Frank Martin) are on the next level of contenders and a Cruz-Zepeda matchup would pair two good punchers that are not shy about throwing plenty of bombs either in a battle of countrymen.
Zepeda is undefeated and won a decision over former junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz for his best career win while Cruz has crushed his two recent opponents since losing a close decision to Gervonta Davis in the most difficult fight of Davis's career.
I think Cruz hits a little harder and Zepeda is a bit more versatile, so I think Zepeda has the edge if the fight goes the distance.
I doubt that this fight happens anytime soon as Cruz is with PBC and Zepeda works with Golden Boy but it could happen in 2024 if Devin Haney decides to leave the division and with four titles vacant, it's possible that it could happen for a vacant title.
Junior Lightweight
Emmanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez
This fight was scheduled for the vacant WBO title and was canceled when Valdez suffered a back injury in training.
Navarrete won the title by stopping the surprisingly stern Liam Wilson in nine rounds but was knocked down in the fourth and rocked in the sixth, which raises questions about Navarrete's chin against naturally larger boxers.
Valdez was dominated in losing his WBC title to Shakur Stevenson last April and between the back injury and what will be an over-a-year layoff by the time this fight happens, so there are questions to be answered about each combatant.
Both men fight for Top Rank and the fight is planned for later this year.
This series will conclude next time with the featherweight division through the flyweights.
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