Jamal James: The wildcard of the welterweight division
The welterweight division has hosted a tremendous depth of talent throughout the history of boxing. We all can name numerous upper echelon fighters etched in the history books of the 147 pound division. Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr are just a few.
For every great fighter, there’s always the fighter who came up short of that elite title. From Ike Quartey and Vernon Forest, to Ricardo Mayogra, most would consider these fighters a notch or more under the names mentioned above.
The fighter I’m about to talk about still has a question mark by his name. At least, he will until such a time we receive more answers to important questions.
Jamal James
Jamal “Shango” James (25-1, 12KOs) is an often overlooked welterweight contender that boxing simply appears to have forgotten about. Standing at 6’2, the orthodox fighter who hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota is slowly rising his way through the welterweight ranks.
Up to this point, he has tasted defeat only once in his career. Top welterweight contender Yordenis Ugas won their bout via unanimous decision back in August 2016.
Shango is currently ranked #5, #11 and #13 by the WBA, WBC and IBF respectively. He’s fought some very good, respectable fighters along the way in Wale Omotoso, Juan Carlos Abreu, Diego Chaves and the aforementioned Yordenis Ugas.
Closing in on his first title opportunity, he’ll be facing former WBC lightweight champion Antonio Demarco on July 13, in his hometown. A win here will put him further in the minds of not only the fans, but also the welterweight champions.
With his height, a 70-inch reach and solid boxing skills, James is on his way from being forgotten, to a guy who has the physical attributes to give any of the four welterweight champions a run for their money!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
