On January 7th in New York City, Carlos Baldomir shocked the boxing world by upsetting welterweight champion Zab Judah. In turn, the welterweight division got shaken up like an earthquake. Instead of Judah winning as expected, and a possible match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. to see who the 147 pound king would be, we got a shake-up that opened the division wide open. Moments after Baldomir's win, everyone and their brother seem to awaken and call out Baldomir. Suddenly, Baldomir became a wanted man, because most  everyone sees Baldomir's new title as a very attainable title. The welterweight division awoke out of a slumber, and now is filled with possibilities. Could we see an older veteran like a Arturo Gatti, a young stallion like Antonio Margarito, or even a young prospect like Joel Julio possible challenge and seriously contend for a true welterweight title? Well on January 7th, all these scenarios became a possibility.

     As soon as Carlos Baldomir had his first post fight interview as a world champion, he took little time to announce who he'd like to fight. The main guy Baldomir mentioned was Oscar de la Hoya. Baldomir will have a lot of possibilities, but Oscar probably won't be one of them. De la Hoya, who has been fighting at 154 pounds, is reportedly looking to fight Ricardo Mayorga for his WBC title.  But, there are still plenty of scenarios, most of which wouldn't have existed otherwise.

    Just look at Arturo Gatti. Gatti has made good money in the sport, and seems to be most avid about winning titles. After losing to Floyd Mayweather, Gatti was probably going to have to wait awhile. But, with Baldomir winning the welterweight title a door opened for Thunder Gatti. Gatti put it best after his recent fight with Thomas Damgaard when he said, that 'Baldomir's got something I want and I got something he wants.' What Gatti meant was Baldomir has the belts he wants, and by fighting Gatti, Baldomir would get what he wants, and that is a big money fight. This scenario seems like the most likely scenario, and if it does come to pass, Gatti will have the opportunity to become a three time world champion. But, there are other possibilities  out there as well.

    Another viable scenario for Baldomir would be fighting the division's top fighter in Antonio Margarito. Margarito has expressed interest, especially since Floyd and Oscar have not looked his way. The Ring belt might be the bargaining chip that Margarito has been looking for to land a big fight. The money would not be as good for Baldomir as the Gatti scenario, but it would be a big fight.

    Other scenarios that opened up are for younger fighters, who now can see themselves winning a world title in a more wide open division. Guys like Joel Julio, Mark Suarez, and even Kermit Cintron could make their way into the title picture now that division is so wide open. You could also see some of the talented 140 pounders move up and take stab at it. Miguel Cotto could be an interesting scenario, especially when you look at how much trouble he has had making weight at 140.

    Baldomir's upset rocked the 147 pound division, and opened up a lot of possibilities. It should also bring new found excitement to the division, now that Zab Judah is probably gone from the picture, at least the title picture for now. The coming months should be fun, and the welterweight division should definitely be one to keep an eye on.

02-03-2006