Lineal Junior Featherweight World Champions
[122lbs]
Lineal Junior Featherweight Champion:
Naoya Inoue (2023 - Present)
1. Rigoberto Riasco (1976) Panama
2. Royal Kobayashi (1976) Japan
3. Dong-Kyun Yum (1976 - 1977) South Korea
4. Wilfredo Gomez (1977 - 1983) Vacated. Puerto Rico
5. Paulie Ayala (2002 - 2003) Vacated. USA
6. Israel Vazquez (2005 - 2007) Mexico
7. Rafael Márquez (2007) Mexico
8. Israel Vazquez (2007 - 2009) Vacated. Mexico
9. Nonito Donaire (2012 -2013) Philippines
10. Guillermo Rigondeaux (2013 - 2022). Abandoned. Cuba
11. Naoya Inoue (2023 - Present) Japan
The junior featherweight division briefly appeared in the early 1920s, and although there were several titlists, the precise weight limit was hazy, and no fighter stamped his mark as the true champion. Then, in 1976 the WBC revived the weight class, setting 122lb as the upper limit, with Rigoberto Riasco knocking out Waruinge Nakayama to claim the sanctioning body’s belt, and become the first internationally accepted world champion.
Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Gomez had a sensational run as champion between 1977 – 1983, which boosted the popularity of the new division. After Gomez vacated, there was a long break in the Lineal Championship until Israel Vazquez restored clarity with a victory over Oscar Larios; his rivalry with Rafael Marquez produced a thrilling junior featherweight trilogy (their 4th and final fight was at featherweight), and fights worthy of being considered the best of the decade.
Following Guillermo Rigondeaux’s long reign (2013 - 2022) - which had begun when he dethroned Nonito Donaire - and eventual abandonment of his Lineal Championship, Naoya Inoue, “The Monster,” from Japan, brought some excitement back to the 122lb division. First, Inoue thrashed Stephen Fulton in July 2023, and then stopped Marlon Tapales in round 10 of their clash on December 26, 2023, to become the new junior featherweight king.
1922
In the early 1920s Charlie Beecher and Jack “Kid” Wolfe gained recognition as titlists in the newly created, Junior Featherweight division. Wolfe has gained some popularity as being the first champion in the division (10), following his victory over Joe Lynch in September 1922, however, the New York State Commission (7) “ruled that the fighters could not enter the ring with that understanding because Charlie Beecher is recognised as the junior featherweight champion.” Certainly, Beecher’s claim to the title had been well publicised for several bouts before Wolfe/Lynch fought. On January 15, 1922, prior to Beecher’s fight with Eddie Brady, The Standard Union (New York) reported:
“Opportunity is knocking at Edie Brady’s door. The little East End lad will have the opportunity of a lifetime when he clashes with Charlie Beecher, junior featherweight champion, at the Broadway Club to-morrow night, in a scheduled twelve round battle.” (6)
Beecher was advertised as the “Junior Featherweight Champion” for his bout with Frankie Garcia in July 1922 (12), which he lost via an unofficial newspaper decision, meaning his title was not at stake. Beecher eventually lost his title to “Red” Chapman on points over 10 rounds, on December 19th, 1922 (9).
The weight limit for Junior Featherweight during this period was vague. While 122lbs had been set for Wolfe/Lynch, Lynch had weighed in at precisely the 118lbs (8) Bantamweight limit, and Beecher’s title fights did not have consistent weight limits.
Beecher had defeated “Kid” Wolfe via a newspaper decision on April 20, 1920, but as titlists, the pair did not fight each other. “Red” Chapman and Benny Gould (the fighters that took the titles from Beecher and Wolfe), also, did not fight each other, meaning a true champion was never crowned during this era, and soon, the division fizzled out.
1976
Rigoberto Riasco won the vacant Championship by knocking out Waruinge Nakayama in the 9th round of their contest on April 3, 1976. Titles: WBC (4).
1977 - 1989
In November 1977 the WBA crowned its first titlist, followed by the IBF in 1983, and then the WBO in 1989 (5).
1983
Wilfredo Gomez vacated the Championship in April 1983 (13) (5), to move up in weight. His last fight at 122lbs was a victory over Lupe Pintor on December 3, 1982.
2002
Paulie Ayala defeated Clarence Adams by 12-round unanimous decision on February 23, 2002, to fill the Lineal Championship vacancy. This bout was also for the vacant Ring Magazine 122lbs title.
May 2001 Ring Magazine junior featherweight ratings: #1 Marco Antonio Barrera, #2 Clarence Adams. Ayala was ranked #1 at bantamweight. On April 7, 2001, Barrera moved up to featherweight to fight Naseem Hamed; he never returned to the 122lb weight class.
In the May 2002 edition of Ring Magazine, Clarence Adams and Paulie Ayala were ranked at #1 and #2, respectively, at junior featherweight.
On November 16, 2002, Ayala stepped up in weight to fight Erik Morales for the vacant WBC Featherweight Title, losing by 12-round unanimous decision.
2003
Ayala had his second bout at featherweight, beating Edel Ruiz by 10-round split decision on November 14, 2003; LBC recognises the Lineal Championship as being vacant from this date. Ayala had one more fight - losing to Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight, in 2004, before retiring.
2005
Israel Vazquez defeated Oscar Larios via 3rd round TKO on December 3, 2005, to win the vacant Championship. Titles: Ring/WBC. Prior to the contest Larios was rated #1, and Vazquez was rated #3 (behind #2 rated Mahyar Monshipour), in The Ring’s November 2005 ratings (1). Boxing Monthly had the fighters ranked in the same order (November 2005 edition). East Side Boxing (14) previewed the fight, stating:
“There is no question in anyone’s mind that this battle will decide supremacy in the 122-pound division. Ring Magazine, the “Bible of Boxing,” already has given its imprimatur to the matchup and will recognize the winner as the world’s best junior featherweight fighter.” Boxing Scene also recognized Larios/Vazquez III as the start of a new lineage (15). Vazquez’s Championship credentials were further cemented on March 1st, 2008, when he defeated rival, Rafael Marquez for the second time. Before this fight Vazquez and Marquez were the top two rated Junior Featherweights in the world, as per The Ring (June 2008 edition), and they were ranked #1 and #3 respectively by Boxing Monthly (March 2008 edition).
2009
Israel Vazquez vacated the Championship in May 2009. His last fight at 122lbs was his 12 round split decision victory over Rafael Marquez in what was the third clash between the pair. As per The Ring (online), June 3, 2009:
“He (Israel Vazquez) suffered a serious eye injury while defending The Ring junior featherweight championship against Rafael Marquez on March 1, 2008, an injury that eventually required several surgeries. As has frequently been explained in The Ring and on RingTV.com, we do not drop fighters, regardless of whether they are champions or contenders, from the ratings if their inactivity is due to a legitimate injury. When Vazquez announced during a live conference call, in late-May 2009, that he had been medically cleared to resume fighting, he also relinquished The Ring 122-pound title in order to compete in the 126-pound division.” Boxing Scene reported (3):
“While Ring’s belts don’t always correspond to the proper lineage of the world titles, in this case there was no doubt. His letting go of the Ring title symbolically released his lineal claim as well. Vasquez was the champion. He is no longer.”
2012
Nonito Donaire defeated Toshiaki Nishioka via 9th-round TKO, October 13, 2012 - Donaire and Nishioka were the top two junior featherweights in the TBRB rankings at the time of this bout. Titles: Ring/TBRB/WBO.
Nishioka was ranked #1 by Ring, TBRB and Boxing Monthly. Donaire was ranked #3 by Ring, and #2 by the TBRB and Boxing Monthly (The Ring - December 2012 edition, TBRB – October 11th 2012 ratings, Boxing Monthly - September 2012 edition).
2022
In 2022, Guillermo Rigondeaux’s abandonment of the 122lbs crown, left the Lineal Championship vacant.
2023
Naoya Inoue Vs Marlon Tapales, December 26, 2023, for vacant Lineal Championship. Ratings, #1 - #4: Ring (Naoya Inoue, Marlon Tapales, Stephen Fulton, Murodjon Akhmadaliev), TBRB (Inoue, Tapales, Akhmadaliev, Fulton), ESPN (Inoue, Fulton, Luis Nery Tapales), Bad Left Hook (Inoue, Fulton, Tapales, Nery). Inoue: WBC/WBO. Tapales: WBA/IBF. Vacant Ring and TBRB titles also at stake. Inoue defeated Tapales via 10th-round KO.
References:
(1) The Ring (2005) Ratings Analysis. April 2006 edition.
(2) The Ring (2009) The Ring fights back. June 3, 2009. Link: https://www.ringtv.com/121197-the-ring- fights-back/
(3) Rold C. (2009) Boxing Scene. Lopez Vs Caballero. June 4, 2009. Link: https://www.boxingscene.com/lopez-vs-caballero-new-fight-122--20244
(4) The Miami Herald (1976) WBC honors new champion. May 2, 1976.
(5) Mullan H. et al (2018) The ultimate encyclopaedia of boxing. Sevenoaks. Printed in Dubai.
(6) The Standard Union (New York) Eddie Brady gets chance against Breecher to-morrow. January 15, 1922.
(7) The St. Louis Star and Times Jack Wolfe defeats champion Joe Lynch in tame fistic bout. September 22, 1922.
(8) Brooklyn Times Union (1922). Kid Wolfe outpoints Lynch all the way. September 22, 1922.
(9) The Boston Globe (1923) Rush of class for Boston bouts. November 5, 1923.
(10) Chicago Tribune (1987) We are the champions. July 24, 1987.
(11) Andre S. and Fleischer N. (1983) A pictorial history of boxing. Hamlyn. Printed in Great Britain.
(12) The Houston Post (1922) Page 5. July 17, 1922.
(13)Wainwright A. (2018) The Ring (online) Wladimir Klitschko and the world title bout, title-reign kings. April 25, 2018. Link: https://www.ringtv.com/494964-wladimir-klitschko-and-the-world-title-bout-title-reign-kings/
(14) East Side Boxing (2005) Israel Vazquez ready for Oscar Larios. October 25, 2005. Link: https://www.boxing247.com/weblog/archives/106232.
(15) Donovan J. (2009) Crowning and recognizing a lineal champion – part III. February 19, 2009. Link: https://www.boxingscene.com/crowning-recognizing-lineal-champion-part-iii--18518.
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