By Lucian Parfitt

For the first time since the anti-climactic De la Hoya-Trinidad showdown in 1999, the division looks set to be illuminated again. This time, with a set of new protagonists mixed perhaps, with some familiar names. The rematch between the skillful but less than glamorous champion Cory Spinks and the under achieving Zab Judah will assure the immediate possession of the undisputed title, but the real buzz in the division stems from the incoming fighters from other divisions.

Without disrespecting Judah or Spinks too much, these incoming fighters will be the real bankable stars of the division. The most bankable of these, Oscar De la Hoya will be the cash cow everyone will be after, but with Kostya Tyszu likely to move up, Floyd Mayweather apparently open to any challenge and Shane Mosley believing (what most in boxing have suggested for a year or so) that he can squeeze his muscular frame back into 147 pounds, the possibilities are endless.

The fact all these big names are moving to 147 pounds could be a mixed blessing for the champion Cory Spinks, whilst names like De la Hoya bring big money opportunities they can also bypass you altogether. Cory Spinks represents a difficult, but less than lucrative proposition for a proven fighter like De La Hoya, who in the past has made multi-millions fighting the Campas’ and Coley’s of this world. A comparable situation is the tight spot Bernard Hopkins used to find himself in. Hopkins was a world champion for years before the Trinidad fight gave him the exposure his skills deserved. But the lesson wealthy fighters like De la Hoya may have taken from this, was that Trinidad was given a lesson by Hopkins, and a brutal one at that.

De la Hoya has expressed his willingness to fight Spinks for the title but what the Golden Boy says and does have not always been the same. Spinks is not capable of the prolonged concussive beatings Hopkins regularly deals out; however, he’s slick, precise and perhaps the most effective fighter of his type since Pernell Whitaker in the early nineties. Given Oscar’s earlier troubles with an ageing Whitaker and the young Shane Mosley (first fight), combined with his recent performances, make a win over Spinks no certainty.

De la Hoya could choose to go after a third fight with Mosley which will obviously be mentioned with their simultaneous move to welterweight, but the public are hardly clamoring for that fight after the disappointment of their second meeting. The fight that would really capture the imagination would be Oscar verses Kostya Tyszu, whose stock has never been higher after his destructive performance against the respected Sharmba Mitchell. More money would certainly be in the pot for this one and Oscar may relish fighting a man who is essentially a lightweight, especially after mixing it with the world’s baddest middleweight in his last fight. Though Tyszu’s accurate punching is by no means anything to look forward to.

In the time being though, Spinks Judah II will be a big fight for the boxing purists, but not the far reaching spectacle for all sports fans that De la Hoya is capable of delivering. Whilst these big names moving simultaneously to the welterweight division is undoubtedly exciting, they have to be willing to make the big fights, (maybe at the detriment to their already swelling bank accounts) and most importantly give the current champion respect. To be the best welterweight in the world, all roads lead to the winner of the February 5th rematch. Oscar and company take note.