If Terence Crawford is gone from 154, Yoenis Tellez is in pole position to replace him

ORLANDO – For Leon Margules, Sunday’s WBA championship rankings meeting was one-stop shopping.

The president of Warriors Boxing came to the meeting that WBA General Advisor Oliver Gomez described as “tranquil” with three mission statements:

–Position his former light-heavyweight champion Yuniel Dorticos of Cuba for a title fight against newly unified champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

–Move his 154-pound fighter Yoenis Tellez toward prime position to slide past current WBA champion Terence Crawford and former champion Jermell Charlo for the belt.

–Affirm his middleweight Yoenli Hernandez as the heir apparent to champion countryman Erislandy Lara of Cuba.

Three checkmarks later, Margules took delight in what he accomplished.

With his fighters linked to Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, Margules’ most interesting takeaway from the afternoon at Caribe Royale resort was moving the 24-year-old Tellez 9-0 (7 KOs) so close to a belt in boxing’s most stacked division.

These rankings meetings are so often a valuable forum to witness how the sausage of boxing is made, to observe the chess moves that some of the sport’s most astute players can maneuver to maximize their fighter’s worth.

Margules inspected the landscape of the 154-pound division that includes four-division champion Crawford, former undisputed champion Charlo, unified (WBC/WBO) champion Sebastian Fundora, IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and gifted contenders Vergil Ortiz Jr., Serhii Bohachuk and former three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.

His window of opportunity for Tellez exists in the WBA, which has a reputation for working well with the PBC. 

Tellez, by virtue of six victories since the start of 2023, climbed the WBA junior-middleweight ratings to No. 2, just behind another mostly anonymous fighter with a thin resume, Germany’s Abbas Baraou 16-1 (9 KOs).

Baraou’s handler first told the rankings committee that “the division has stalled” since Crawford, 37, after winning the WBA belt August 3 by narrow unanimous decision over former champion Israil Madrimov, has expressed little more than a singular focus on moving up in weight to fight three-belt super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in a pay-per-view match pitting two four-division champions.

Former undisputed champion Charlo has gone missing since cashing out in fighting for Canelo money last year, a one-sided trouncing by unanimous decision.

“I don’t think Charlo will ever again fight at 154 pounds, and I don’t think Crawford will ever defend his belt,” Margules said.

So after Baraou’s representative lobbied to participate in an interim title fight at 154 pounds, Margules stepped toward the stage of WBA administrators and said, “We certainly want to do something with the title.” And WBA’s Gomez expressed affirmation that those two fighters are now at the front of the line to replace Crawford when his departure arrives.

Despite winning the WBA belt this year, Nebraska’s Crawford was absent from the convention, although he attended the recent WBO and WBC conventions, which were conducted in Puerto Rico, and Germany, respectively.

“Some champions don’t come,” Gomez said in excusing Crawford. “It’s December, the holidays, and people make plans … .”

Margules kept his date to advocate for his fighters, and the results were pleasing.

In the case of veteran Dorticos, aka, the “KO Doctor,” the 38-year-old previously had a purse bid set up for September with Mexico’s Ramirez before a step-aside deal was made that moved Ramirez to a unification against WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith, whom Ramirez defeated by unanimous decision last month in Saudi Arabia.

“It was a good deal,” Margules said.

By appearing before the WBA Sunday, Margules won approval for the WBA to pen a letter to Ramirez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, to begin negotiations with Dorticos and make a fight within 90 days.

“Either they make the fight or it goes to purse bid,” Margules said of the process that would allow any promoter, including his or PBC-linked TGB Promotions, to stage the fight.

One final victory came when Margules won a request to gain a title eliminator for 27-year-old middleweight Hernandez 6-0 (6 KOs), who fought four times this year to fuel his rankings rise right behind the 41-year-old Lara, who successfully defended his belt twice this year, sending former two-division champion Danny Garcia to retirement.

While two other middleweight contenders, Ian Green and unranked Marcus Taylor, made personal pleas to the commission – “Whoever you choose me to fight, I won’t say no,” Taylor said in an impassioned talk that drew applause – it was Hernandez who secured his spot.

Margules does not expect Lara to fight a young countryman at this stage of his career – “he obviously is looking for bigger money,” Margules said of Lara – but however it plays out, Hernandez is there to press for an opportunity to win a belt or cash in some step-aside funds.

“I’m fine with all that,” Margules said, packing up his belongings and exiting toward a Sunday night convention gala that he’ll likely relish.

The WBA’s Gomez said he’s surprised more managers and promoters don’t take the opportunity of the rankings meetings to influence their spots.

One prominent fighter lawyer joked Sunday that he’s seen representatives address committees and explain that “because the fighter’s mom makes delicious oatmeal cookies,” they deserve a better position.

Another powerful promoter told a BoxingScene writer last week that the process is so random and haphazard it might be better to head to nearby DisneyWorld and provide a ranking of favorite rides for readers who’ll ultimately vacation here.

WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Jr. admitted to BoxingScene this weekend that the rankings process can be improved unilaterally in boxing.

“Sometimes it gets hot in here. This one was calm,” Gomez said.