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Philippines, 07 Mar 2026 |
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Unofficial Unification Tournament Brewing For Welterweights By Ralph Rimpell PhilBoxing.com Sat, 07 Mar 2026  Almost three years ago back in 2023, Terrance “Bud” Crawford then the WBO welterweight champion (147lbs), met Errol Spence Jr. the then unified WBA/WBC/IBF welterweight champion for supremacy at 147lbs at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. Both fighters were undefeated at the time. Crawford was 40-0 and Spence was 28-0. They were the last two men standing in the division. Both wanted the bragging rights of who was the better fighter, both wanted each other’s championship belt(s), and both wanted the multimillion dollar pay day from a fight of that magnitude. The buzz was in the air that the fight would be something special to remember. Crawford, the underdog (according to Oddsmakers) would go on to knockout the favored Spence in 7 spectacular rounds and claim supremacy at 147lbs. Crawford became the first welterweight to simultaneously hold all 4 major titles as Undisputed in the 4 belt era of the WBA, WBC, WBO, & IBF to add to his then growing list of boxing accomplishments. Crawford would later vacate his titles for greener pastures and a higher profile opponent named Canelo Alvarez in the supermiddleweight division where he would also win another Undisputed crown by defeating Canelo two years later. Crawford’s welterweight titles would go on to be fought for and won by top contenders that waited for an opportunity to fight for the titles. Currently 4 fighters each own a fraction of the undisputed crown Crawford vacated. Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) is the WBA champion, Devin Haney (33-0-1NC, 15KOs) is the WBO champion, and Louis Crocker (22-0, 11KOs) is the IBF champion. Almost 2 weeks ago Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (25-2-1NC, 20KOs) joined this group of champions with a spectacular performance by defeating now former champion Mario Barrios for his WBC welterweight title. Because of Garcias popularity on social media, Matinee teen looks, and the fact he actually can fight when he is 100% mentally and physically in shape, has injected a renewed spotlight on the welterweight division much like when Crawford fought spence, arguably more so. There is a lot of talk as to whom will fight whom. Who is Rolando “Rolly” Romero? Romero is the current WBA welterweight champion. He is the former WBA jr welterweight champion (140). Romero revitalized his career after losing his title badly from a vicious knockout to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz with a surprising 12 round decision against the current hottest fighter in boxing, Ryan “King Ry” Garcia. Who is Louis Crocker? Crocker is the IBF welterweight champion who hails from Ireland. Not much is known about him in America as all his fights have been fought across the pond (Atlantic Ocean) in Ireland or England. Reports are he is a tough fighter but more importantly he owns the coveted IBF belt which the other three champions no doubt covet if they hope to become undisputed. Who is Devin Haney? Devin Haney is the current WBO welterweight champion. He already has an undisputed lightweight title (all 4 belts) on his resume because he unified his WBC title back in 2022 when he defeated George Kambosos for his WBA, WBO, and IBF titles. Haney moved up one division and defeat Regis Prograis for his WBC jr welterweight title. After a loss with multiple knockdowns during a fight with Ryan “KingRy” Garcia was overturned to a “No Contest” due to a positive test for “Ostarine” a performance enhancing substance (PED). Haney later moved to the 147lbs division and had a spectacular performance when he defeated Brian Norman Jr. to capture the WBO welterweight title. Haney is talking about a possible rematch as he contends Ryan Garcia cheated because of his use of a PED, which Garcia has denied. As of the writing of this article, there is a talk of a unification/rematch for Garcia and Haney which is arguably one of the biggest fights in 2026, but the two fighters have not come to financial terms for an announcement to be made. Rumors are that Haney wants financial parity with Garcia due to their history and his loss to Romero, which Garcia has not agreed to. So, it appears that Haney will now face WBA champion Romero on May 30th which makes sense because Romero has a belt and if Haney defeats Romero his negotiating position will be even more stronger. If Romero beats Haney, Romero’s negotiating position for a Garcia fight would also be stronger as well. Therefore, it’s a must win for both Haney and Romero. Both fighters have everything to gain and everything to lose. In the interim Garcia could face IBF champion Louis Crocker which would make sense for him as well. If Garcia defeats Crocker and then has possession of the both the WBC and IBF titles it would indeed be a “Big Fight” for all the marbles (all 4 major ) between Garcia and the winner of Haney vs Romero who would simultaneously hold the WBO and WBA title. This appears to point to an imminent unification tournament for late 2026 or early 2027. A unification tournament is when all the fighters in the 4 major sanctioning bodies fight each other until there is one champion holding all 4 titles. Though not officially announced it appears an unofficial unification tournament is brewing in the welterweight division. This Writer can’t wait for Haney vs Romero to be announced and subsequent unification matches. Boxing Notes It appears that Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz are not fighting on the proposed date of April 18, 2026. Based on recent news outlets, Ortiz is still in litigation with his Promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Ortiz and Ennis have been ordered to Arbitration in September. Now there is talk of Ennis fighting IBF 154lbs champion Josh Kelly or WBA/WBO 154lbs champion Xander Zayas who has already expressed a willingness to fight Ennis. The more lucrative fight for Ennis would be to fight former undisputed 154lbs champion Jermell Charlo who has actively campaigned to fight either Ennis or Ortiz. Charlo has stated on internet Platform he wants to fight either fighter…Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 is finally happening on September 19, 2026, which is 11 years after their first match! This Writer always wanted to see the rematch. Both fighters appear to have enough in the proverbial tank to give Fans a good fight when they “run it back” (rematch), as the expression goes. ***Ralph Rimpell is a writer based out of New York and is a Boxing Correspondent for Philboxing.com. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree from City University of New York. He has been a Boxing Writer for over ten years having written for several top boxing websites on the World Wide Web. Before becoming a writer, Ralph's passion was for professional wrestling until he realized professional wrestling was entertainment and not a real sport. It was at that time the 1984 US Olympic team made up of future stars such as Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, etc. entered the professional ranks and signed with promotional outfit Main Events.It was also at that time a young exciting Heavyweight originally hailing from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson also turned professional and became the face of boxing. Young boxing fan Ralph just couldn't get enough of boxing as a large part of it was being broadcast on "free TV". As time went on, Ralph felt boxing writers were not being forthcoming with their boxing coverage, opinion pieces, interviews, etc. So Ralph decided to write an article and submitted it to a Boxing website thinking it would be deleted and ignored by the Editor. To Ralph's surprise his article was posted on their website and the readers embraced it. The rest is history. "I thank God for the Internet because it has created opportunities for writers like myself who likely would not have been given an opportunity to write for print publications. I hope someday soon to expand my role in Boxing on different levels." -- Ralph Rimpell Contact: RLuvsboxing@aol.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.  |
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