Josh Padley’s big win over Mark Chamberlain in September gave him two straight victories in the junior welterweight division.
But that’s not where he wants to remain.
“I’m not going to stay at 140, because them lads are definitely a bit bigger,” Padley (15-0, 4 KOs) said in an interview with Regan Slaymaker of International Boxing News. “We’ve made the decision to stay at 135 now. We’ve got rankings in pretty much everyone but the WBA after that win. I make it comfortably. I still feel strong in there.”
Padley vs. Chamberlain, which was on the undercard of Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium, was initially expected to be at lightweight, according to Padley. But then with a few weeks to go before the bout, he was notified that the weight limit instead would be 140.
Chamberlain was also undefeated at the time, coming in with a record of 16-0 (12 KOs). This was his third straight appearance on a Riyadh Season card, so Chamberlain could’ve been perceived as the house fighter.
But instead it was Padley, an 28-year-old from Armthorpe, Yorkshire, England, who scored a knockdown in the eighth round and took the win by unanimous decision. Now he is looking to capitalize on the victory. As Padley referenced, he is ranked within the top 15 — and therefore eligible for a title shot — with the WBO (No. 11) and IBF (No. 13). The WBC, meanwhile, has him just on the outside at No. 16.
The IBF titleholder is Vasiliy Lomachenko while the WBO belongs to Denys Berinchyk. As for the WBA and WBC, those are in the hands of Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson.
“There’s a lot of names in there now and a lot of eyes on the 135 weight division,” Padley said.. “It’s a stacked-out division. Good action from it. A lot of people watch it and follow it.”
Two potential names mentioned to Padley were lightweights Gary Cully (18-1, 10 KOs), who is scheduled to face Maxi Hughes in December; and Sam Noakes (15-0, 14 KOs), who finished Gianluca Ceglia in eight rounds in September.
Padley isn’t leaning in any direction at the moment.
“We just have to wait and see what’s best for us,” he said.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing”, is available on Amazon.
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