Ring Ratings Update

Juan Diaz becomes a player in the 140-pound decision with his controversial victory over Paulie Malignaggi.

Although many observers disputed Juan Diaz’s unanimous decision over Paul Malignaggi on Saturday, beating the top 140-pound contender announced the former unified lightweight titleholder’s arrival to the junior welterweight division.

The controversial bout, which took place in Diaz’s hometown of Houston, was fought at a 138 1/2-pound catchweight but any weight above the lightweight limit of 135 pounds is technically a junior welterweight bout.

And Diaz’s performance against Malignaggi, whose only losses prior to Saturday were gutsy outings against Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton, suggests that he can be a player in the deep and talented 140-pound division.

If you think Diaz lost the fight, you’re not alone, but most fans, regardless of their personal scorecards, could see that the 25-year-old college grad was competitive with the former 140-pound titleholder. And any fighter who can hang with the sharp and motivated version of Malignaggi that showed up to battle Diaz deserves to be in the junior welterweight mix.

As far as THE RING is concerned, both fighters are.

Diaz and Malignaggi, who likely gained more fans with Saturday’s loss than he did for any of his victories, are smack dab in the middle of THE RING’s junior welterweight Top 10.

Ahead of them in THE RING’s rankings are two-time titleholder Timothy Bradley (the No. 1-rated contender), former champ Ricky Hatton (No. 2), and newly minted beltholders Amir Khan (No. 3) and Devon Alexander (No. 4).

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, Diaz’s promoter, brought up three of those four names as possible future opponents for the former lightweight standout.

“Assuming (Diaz) wins, it will open doors in the 140-pound weight class,” Schaefer told RingTV.com before the Malignaggi fight. “The next fight for Juan could be Ricky Hatton, if Hatton wants to continue fighting, or it could be a younger fighter like (Amir) Khan or Timothy Bradley.

“One thing about Juan is that he doesn’t do tune ups. He only wants to fight the best.”

Before and shortly after Saturday’s fight, Bradley’s co-promoter Gary Shaw told RingTV.com that he would make a fight with Diaz “in a heartbeat.”

“I’m sure Richard would want the fight to take place in Texas but I’d want it in Los Angeles and he may see the potential of staging Bradley-Diaz at a venue like Staples Center,” Shaw continued. “Bradley would bring in his fans from the Southern California area and Diaz could tap into the Mexican fan base. It would be a huge fight and an exciting one for the fans.”

Some of the contenders below Diaz and Malignaggi would also make for entertaining matchups -- with either fighter.

The winner of Friday’s showdown between THE RING’s No. 7-rated contender Juan Urango and former beltholder Randall Bailey, and No. 9-rated slugger Marcos Maidana are in the market for high-profile opponents like Diaz and Malignaggi.

So where are Diaz and Malignaggi ranked in THE RING’s 140-pound rankings? Read the Ratings Update and find out.

RATINGS UPDATE

The major fights of this past weekend caused significant changes in the 130-, 135-, 140- and 168-pound divisions.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT:

Karoly Balzsay (No. 7 last week) slipped to No. 10 following his 10th-round TKO loss to Robert Stieglitz, who debuted at No. 7. Stieglitz’s entrance and Balzsay’s demotion pushed out Denis Inkin (No. 10 last week), who lost to Balzsay in his most recent bout.

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT:

Diaz entered at No. 5 as a result of his decision over Malignaggi (No. 5 last week). Malignaggi dropped only one notch because of the controversial nature of the decision. Urango slid from No. 6 to No. 7, and Andreas Kotelnik from No. 7 to No. 10 in the realignment.

LIGHTWEIGHT:

Diaz (No. 1 last week) exited to campaign at 140 pounds. His move up in weight elevated everybody rated No. 2 through No. 10 one rung each and made room for Antonio DeMarco to come aboard at No. 10.

“Should Juan Diaz decide to drop back down to lightweight, THE RING would rate him accordingly,” RING Editor Nigel Collins said. “But as he entered the ring as a welterweight, after re-hydrating, a return to 135 pounds seems unlikely at this point.”

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT:

Robert Guerrero jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 on the strength of his dominating decision over Malcolm Klassen, who tumbled from No. 2 to No. 5. Humberto Gutierrez debuted at No. 9, thanks to his decision over Sergey Gulakevich (No. 9 last week), who exits. Guerrero’s advancement also forced down Cassius Baloyi from No. 5 to No. 6, Jorge Linares from No. 6 to No. 7 and Nicky Cook from No. 7 to No. 8.