Two years ago, people thought Catterall would be the champion, but when Taylor won in 2021, it seemed like a turn of events. This year though, after he defended his belts against Catterall and won, they thought he was invincible again.
Taylor planned to drop back down to 138 pounds but because of the controversies and a public outcry for a rematch, he remained at 140 pounds for at least one more fight. There’s been no deal set into place yet, but Taylor is in talks for an November 26 rematch with Catterall.
With the WBA, WBC and IBF titles unoccupied, Taylor removed them prior to fighting for the vacant position of the WBO title. He will probably defend his title against Catterall November.
“I will continue to do whatever it takes to be in a position to make the rematch with Jack Catterall happen,” Taylor, who owns wins over Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis in unification bouts, told Sky Sports last week.
The belt-holder: Alberto Puello Miguel Berchelt was a newcomer to the world of boxing until he made his way to the top by claiming a vacant title. He won in a split-decision against Batyr Akhmedov.
There is a skilled boxer that’s been promoted by the company PBC. He could end up fighting for IBF title next year, which means he may fight the winner of Subriel Matias and Jeremias Ponce.
The contenders: Jack Catterall Catterall was an underdog when he fought Taylor, but he showed that he could compete with the best fighters in 140 pound weight class.
Catterall’s punches consistently reached Taylor’s first, and he dictated the pace with his jab. Did the Englishman finally put together a good performance against a champion who underestimated him?
Catterall should have a chance to prove that he’s not just a temporary fighter, but one here to stay.
Teofimo Lopez As one of the most dominating boxers in the world, anyone would be a skeptic after Lomachenko’s defeat.
The Lopez camp had a tumultuous pre-fight preparation for the George Kambosos Jr. fight. They presented a less than spectacular performance after that.
Lopez was floored in the first round, but later rallied to KO his opponent. However, he still lost the championship via decision. ESPN named this upset of the year.
Lopez fought with a tear in his esophagus, but after recovery, he debuted as a 140-pound fighter in an August match against Pedro Campa. Lopez failed to impress and won the fight by TKO, or technical knockout via seventh-round hit. He boxed again on Dec. 10 in New York and was soundly defeated.
Ryan Garcia Following his victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, Orlando Lopez has been doubted. He was recognized as one of the best boxers in the world when he won, but now people find him difficult to take seriously.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding Lopez’s camp. When the fight happened, there was drama.
John Lopez was knocked-out in the first round. He then came back to beat Christopher Kambosos but lost his four 135 pound titles after a decision was made. The fight was later named ESPN’s Upset of the Year.
Lopez has fought with a tear in his esophagus, but has made his 140-pound debut and will hopefully be matched with better competition soon.
Subriel Matias Matias is a fighter from Puerto Rico with a strong and powerful pressure. He might be one of the best-kept secrets in boxing.
Earlier in his career, Matias faced adversity when he lost a fight. The tragic thing was that the opponent died after this fight. Since his professional and lone loss, Matias has avenged himself by winning that one last time.
Matias might soon get the title Taylor and Puello have. He will likely win a championship belt for being the top fighter this fall.
Regis Prograis Outside of a close decision loss, Prograis has cruised through the competition. Since losing his title, Prograis has had difficulty landing a fight that is meaningful to him. Now he has a chance to regain his title.
Prograis and Zepeda have been ordered to fight for the vacant WBC title, which used to belong to Jose Ramirez. However, Ramirez decided to choose his wedding over the title shot.
Prograis should be in more meaningful fights next year, starting with Ramirez.
Jose Pedraza His inability to break through at 130 pounds has only been made more apparent at the junior welterweight level, even though he always puts on competitive fights. The most recent example of this was a draw with Richard Commey on Saturday.
Pedraza, who just beat Commey, was on a shortlist to fight Lopez. His tournament hopes increased after defeating a fighter ranked above him in the rankings. The Puerto Rican boxer has lost before to both Jose and Lomachenko at 135 pounds but beat Ramirez closely in his fight at 140 pounds.
Richard Commey After having a listless performance against Lomachenko in December, the power-puncher from Ghana got redemption after beating Pedraza with a draw.
Commey lost his belt to Lopez in a second-round TKO. Now in the 140-pound weight class, he could find himself fighting Pedraza for a rematch.
Jose Ramirez The former unified champion defeated Pedraza in March and it is likely his only fight in 2022. He will be married in October, and opted to not fight Zepeda in a rematch to the vacant title because he’s too busy.
If Mikey can defeat Khabib, he will have a great chance to regain his belts. After Mikey’s performance against Taylor, it seems like he could give any fighter a difficult time.
In this fight, Ruslan Chagaev (the fighter) beat Zepeda through a disputed decision. Along with this, he also beat Maurice Hooker and Viktor Postol
Jose Zepeda In 2019, Zepeda lost to Jose Ramirez. Since then he has won five fights, including a fight against Pedraza.
The October fight against Josue Vargas was Zepeda’s 4th successful title defense of his IBF belt. He beat Ivan Baranchyk in the ESPN 2020 Fight of the Year.
He is scheduled to fight Prograis in a second fight for the title on Aug. 30 and if no deal can be struck, a purse bid will happen.
Arnold Barboza Fan-favorite,Arnold Barboza, is campaigning for a match with Teofimo Lopez. There have yet to be any statements from Golden Boy Promotions on his opportunity.
His most experienced opponent is Danielito Zorrilla, but he has not faced anyone with Lopez’s skill level. In his last fight, he won by decision.
Gary Antuanne Russell 
