Top Five Potential Opponents For WBC Featherweight Champion Bruce ‘Shu-Shu’ Carrington

Who is next for WBC featherweight champion Bruce Carrington? On Saturday night, Carrington won a 12-round unanimous decision over Rene Palacios at Cleveland’s Wolstein Center.

Carrington, 18-0 (10 KOs), won the vacant belt in January, stopping Carlos Castro. The 29-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, who trains with Kay Koroma in Las Vegas, looks the part of a future star for Top Rank. He is a marketable fighter who, in a short time, could find his way to a world title and main event big venues like Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden. That said, he had a professional performance on Saturday, winning and showing his toughness. It was a win-today, look-good-tomorrow type performance that great world champions pull off, and then rekindle their luster with their next fight.

So what is next for Carrington?

Naoya Inoue 

Record: 33-0 (27 KOs)

Why: A match-up with the best fighter in the world

Carrington did what he needed to do, but he didn’t stand out enough to land an Inoue fight. Carrington has called for Inoue if he moves up to featherweight, with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez as a potential Inoue foe; I don’t see how Carrington could land this fight. This is mostly included for SEO purposes.

John Riel Casimero 

Record: 36-5-1 (25 KOs)

Why: A popular pressure fighter

Casimero would be a clever next opponent. Casimero has a large following and is one of the fights that got away from Inoue. If Carrington could face Casimero, it would set the stage for bigger fights and show how he handles a pressure fighter of Casimero’s class.

Rafael Espinoza

Record: 28-0 (24 KOs)

Why: The best featherweight champion (probably)

Espinoza is a 6-foot-tall pressure fighter with power. He is a big ask for Carrington, especially since Carrington appeared to be hit in the body. As a fight fan, this would be great to see, as it pits two of the best, but realistically Carrington should probably opt for one of the other champions before Espinoza.

Brandon Figueroa

Record: 27-2-1 (20 KOs)

Why: A champion, and preps for Espinoza

Figueroa holds the WBA belt after stopping Nick Ball. He is a pressure fighter, though a bit less versatile than Espinoza. If Carrington’s endgame is facing Espinoza, this is a great test of how he would handle Espinoza’s nonstop pressure.

Angelo Leo

Record: 26-1 (12 KOs)

Why: The best fight for Carrington

Leo is the division’s underrated belt holder, and Carrington is seeking unification bouts. If the two were to meet, it would be a 50-50 fight that would elevate one to fringe stardom. It is the most obvious and compelling unification bout.

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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