Heavyweight: 2011, May 16-22
Showtime showed love for one American heavyweight while strangely ignoring another. Prospect Seth Mitchell looked very good and very fit for an American heavyweight when he disposed of Nicaraguan journeyman Evans Quinn in the first round on ShoBox Friday. Farhood and company couldn’t shut up about how Quinn had quit and didn’t put any sort of effort out and how this wasn’t any kind of showing for Mitchell as a result. I didn’t see it that way, though. Mitchell worked an overmatched Quinn over on the ropes with a hard extended combination, hurting the journeyman badly with that assault before landing to the back of the head and forcing Quinn to the canvas. The announcers made the point that Quinn could have gotten up (I agree), but he was being badly battered by a bigger and stronger guy with loads more talent. Farhood underestimated the amount of punishment that Quinn took en route to quitting. Mitchell looks to me like a sure top-10 contender in the future.
5) Ruslan Chagaev 6) Eddie Chambers 7) Alexander Dimitrenko 8) Denis Boystov
9) Robert Helenius
10) Chris Arreola
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (99-312-312)
Last Fight: 9/11/2010- KO10 #6 Samuel Peter Next Fight: 7/2/2011- vs. #2 David Haye
Now there’s a definite date and venue for Klitschko-Haye: July 2 in Hamburg. Now all we have to do is see if Wlad’s “injury” stays healed and if Haye decides to actually show.
1) Vitali Klitschko (136-136-136)
Last Fight: 3/19/2011- TKO1 #10 Odlanier Solis
Next Fight: 9/10/2011- vs. #7 Tomasz Adamek
Originally it appeared that Vitali would fight a no hoper in July and act as the understudy for his brother’s fight with Adamek in September, but somewhere along the line he decided to fight Adamek instead.
2) David Haye (59-113-113)
Last Fight: 11/13/2010- TKO3 Audley Harrison (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/2/2011- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
With his mandatory with Ruslan Chagaev out of the way due to hepatitis and Wlad’s fight with Chisora apparently contingent on whether the Champ feels like it at any given moment, Haye has once again signed on to fight Wlad. With the contract signed, the odds of the fight actually happen have increased to about 50-50 in my estimation.
3) Eddie Chambers (14-111-111) Last Fight: 2/11/2011- UD12 Derric Rossy (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Dropped and decisioned Derric Rossy, moving him ahead of Alexander Povetkin, who’s been slumming lately. 4) Robert Helenius (7-7-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- KO9 #6 Samuel Peter
Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Unknown Opponent
Helenius is scheduled to return on June 25, with the most likely opponent being former contender Sergei Liakhovich. 5) Alexander Povetkin (7-186-186) Last Fight: 12/18/2010- UD8 Nicolai Firtha (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Povetkin-Chagaev now looks very likely. 6) Ruslan Chagaev (7-235-235) Last Fight: 11/19/2010- UD8 Travis Walker (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown See Povetkin’s comments above.
7) Tomasz Adamek (16-56-56)
Last Fight: 4/9/2011- UD12 Kevin McBride (UNR)
Next Fight: 9/10/2011- vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko
Time for Adamek to get serious, as he faces a live opponent for the first time in a long stretch this September.
8) Tony Thompson (16-51-51)
Last Fight: 11/20/2010- TKO4 Paul Marinaccio (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/27/2011- vs. Maurice Harris (UNR)
Finally decided to fight someone with a pulse. We’re probably still not talking about a top-10 worthy fight, but Thompson will reportedly fight fringe contender Maurice Harris on Friday Night Fights in late May.
9) Juan Carlos Gomez (16-51-51)
Last Fight: 12/4/2010- TKO4 Harold Sconiers (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Treading water like nobody’s business.
10) Odlanier Solis (22-22-51)
Last Fight: 3/19/2011- L (TKO1) vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko Next Fight: Unknown If anyone doubted the legitimacy of Solis’ injury, he is awaiting surgery for a torn ACL and meniscus. He wants a rematch, which of course seems unlikely- though I’d actually be interested.
11) Alexander Dimitrenko (8-18) Last Fight: 3/26/2011- TKO12 Albert Sosnowski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dimitrenko is being targeted by Helenius, but the EBU has ordered a European title match between him and #15 Jean Marc Mormeck.
12) Chris Arreola (8-113)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- KO3 Nagy Aguilera (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/27/2011- vs. Kendrick Releford (UNR)
A new-look, slimmed down Arreola beat the solid Nagy Aguilera in impressive fashion and then signed on to fight journeyman Releford just 3 days later. Arreola now looks at least as hungry as he does well-fed.
13) Denis Boytsov (8-100)
Last Fight: 11/19/2010- KO2 Mike Sheppard (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Probably safe to say at this point that his plan to fight stateside in May is not coming to fruition.
14) Dereck Chisora (8-35) Last Fight: 9/18/2010- TKO9 #20 Sam Sexton Next Fight: Unknown Now that Hasim Rahman bailed on Tyson Fury, the all-British showdown between Chisora and Fury appears back on track. 15) Jean Marc Mormeck (8-51) Last Fight: 12/2/2010- SD12 #19 Timur Ibragimov Next Fight: Unknown Now appears more likely to fight Dimitrenko than Povetkin, for the European title.
16) Samuel Peter (7-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- L(KO9) vs. #16 Robert Helenius
Next Fight: Unknown
We’ll have to see if and how Peter rebounds from his latest knockout loss- this one more brutal than the last. If the relatively young (30) Nigerian decides to forge on, he’ll have to overcome the reality of being treated as a stepping stone at least for tall up-and-comers. 17) Kubrat Pulev (2-27) Last Fight: 5/7/2011- TKO5 Derric Rossy (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Rossy is no longer a great feather in the cap, but he’s still good enough to move Pulev up a couple rungs.
18) Francesco Pianeta (2-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- TKO3 Ivica Perkovic (UNR) Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Jens Krull (UNR)
Cancer survivor Pianeta is staying busy, but not against credible opposition. 19) Ray Austin (2-51)
Last Fight: 12/17/2010- L(DQ10) vs. #17 Odlanier Solis Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Bermane Stiverne (UNR)
Austin will fight Haitian fringe prospect Bermane Stiverne in St. Louis on June 25 in what figures to be a very silly excuse for a title eliminator, even by alphabet standards. 20) Timur Ibragimov (7-46) Last Fight: 12/2/2010- L(SD12) vs. #18 Jean Marc Mormeck Next Fight: Unknown Appears to be taking a bit of a break after his considerable momentum was halted by Jean Marc Mormeck.
The next night, the same network failed to televise #12 Chris Arreola, who came in at an astonishingly-fit 234 pounds- 16.5 pounds lighter than when he lost a close fight to Tomasz Adamek last year. Arreola reportedly looked great in the ring, knocking out Nagy Aguilera (who owns a win over a fading Oleg Maskaev) in just 3 rounds. You’d think Showtime could have televised this kind of fight (which amounts to an excellent FNF main event-type fight), especially since they only televised the one fight in the end- Ward vs. Abraham. It seems that they don’t like to mix their Super Six or Bantamweight Tournament fights with unrelated undercard fights for some reason, regardless of quality.
While both were impressive, neither Arreola or Mitchell was in against tough enough competition to advance in the ranks.
For Comparison, here are the Current Ring Magazine Heavyweight Rankings: Champ: Wladimir Klitschko 1) Vitali Klitschko 2) David Haye 3) Tomasz Adamek 4) Alexander Povetkin
5) Ruslan Chagaev 6) Eddie Chambers 7) Alexander Dimitrenko 8) Denis Boystov
9) Robert Helenius
10) Chris Arreola
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (99-312-312)
Last Fight: 9/11/2010- KO10 #6 Samuel Peter Next Fight: 7/2/2011- vs. #2 David Haye
Now there’s a definite date and venue for Klitschko-Haye: July 2 in Hamburg. Now all we have to do is see if Wlad’s “injury” stays healed and if Haye decides to actually show.
1) Vitali Klitschko (136-136-136)
Last Fight: 3/19/2011- TKO1 #10 Odlanier Solis
Next Fight: 9/10/2011- vs. #7 Tomasz Adamek
Originally it appeared that Vitali would fight a no hoper in July and act as the understudy for his brother’s fight with Adamek in September, but somewhere along the line he decided to fight Adamek instead.
2) David Haye (59-113-113)
Last Fight: 11/13/2010- TKO3 Audley Harrison (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/2/2011- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
With his mandatory with Ruslan Chagaev out of the way due to hepatitis and Wlad’s fight with Chisora apparently contingent on whether the Champ feels like it at any given moment, Haye has once again signed on to fight Wlad. With the contract signed, the odds of the fight actually happen have increased to about 50-50 in my estimation.
3) Eddie Chambers (14-111-111) Last Fight: 2/11/2011- UD12 Derric Rossy (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Dropped and decisioned Derric Rossy, moving him ahead of Alexander Povetkin, who’s been slumming lately. 4) Robert Helenius (7-7-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- KO9 #6 Samuel Peter
Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Unknown Opponent
Helenius is scheduled to return on June 25, with the most likely opponent being former contender Sergei Liakhovich. 5) Alexander Povetkin (7-186-186) Last Fight: 12/18/2010- UD8 Nicolai Firtha (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Povetkin-Chagaev now looks very likely. 6) Ruslan Chagaev (7-235-235) Last Fight: 11/19/2010- UD8 Travis Walker (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown See Povetkin’s comments above.
7) Tomasz Adamek (16-56-56)
Last Fight: 4/9/2011- UD12 Kevin McBride (UNR)
Next Fight: 9/10/2011- vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko
Time for Adamek to get serious, as he faces a live opponent for the first time in a long stretch this September.
8) Tony Thompson (16-51-51)
Last Fight: 11/20/2010- TKO4 Paul Marinaccio (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/27/2011- vs. Maurice Harris (UNR)
Finally decided to fight someone with a pulse. We’re probably still not talking about a top-10 worthy fight, but Thompson will reportedly fight fringe contender Maurice Harris on Friday Night Fights in late May.
9) Juan Carlos Gomez (16-51-51)
Last Fight: 12/4/2010- TKO4 Harold Sconiers (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Treading water like nobody’s business.
10) Odlanier Solis (22-22-51)
Last Fight: 3/19/2011- L (TKO1) vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko Next Fight: Unknown If anyone doubted the legitimacy of Solis’ injury, he is awaiting surgery for a torn ACL and meniscus. He wants a rematch, which of course seems unlikely- though I’d actually be interested.
11) Alexander Dimitrenko (8-18) Last Fight: 3/26/2011- TKO12 Albert Sosnowski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dimitrenko is being targeted by Helenius, but the EBU has ordered a European title match between him and #15 Jean Marc Mormeck.
12) Chris Arreola (8-113)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- KO3 Nagy Aguilera (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/27/2011- vs. Kendrick Releford (UNR)
A new-look, slimmed down Arreola beat the solid Nagy Aguilera in impressive fashion and then signed on to fight journeyman Releford just 3 days later. Arreola now looks at least as hungry as he does well-fed.
13) Denis Boytsov (8-100)
Last Fight: 11/19/2010- KO2 Mike Sheppard (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Probably safe to say at this point that his plan to fight stateside in May is not coming to fruition.
14) Dereck Chisora (8-35) Last Fight: 9/18/2010- TKO9 #20 Sam Sexton Next Fight: Unknown Now that Hasim Rahman bailed on Tyson Fury, the all-British showdown between Chisora and Fury appears back on track. 15) Jean Marc Mormeck (8-51) Last Fight: 12/2/2010- SD12 #19 Timur Ibragimov Next Fight: Unknown Now appears more likely to fight Dimitrenko than Povetkin, for the European title.
16) Samuel Peter (7-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- L(KO9) vs. #16 Robert Helenius
Next Fight: Unknown
We’ll have to see if and how Peter rebounds from his latest knockout loss- this one more brutal than the last. If the relatively young (30) Nigerian decides to forge on, he’ll have to overcome the reality of being treated as a stepping stone at least for tall up-and-comers. 17) Kubrat Pulev (2-27) Last Fight: 5/7/2011- TKO5 Derric Rossy (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Rossy is no longer a great feather in the cap, but he’s still good enough to move Pulev up a couple rungs.
18) Francesco Pianeta (2-51)
Last Fight: 4/2/2011- TKO3 Ivica Perkovic (UNR) Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Jens Krull (UNR)
Cancer survivor Pianeta is staying busy, but not against credible opposition. 19) Ray Austin (2-51)
Last Fight: 12/17/2010- L(DQ10) vs. #17 Odlanier Solis Next Fight: 6/25/2011- vs. Bermane Stiverne (UNR)
Austin will fight Haitian fringe prospect Bermane Stiverne in St. Louis on June 25 in what figures to be a very silly excuse for a title eliminator, even by alphabet standards. 20) Timur Ibragimov (7-46) Last Fight: 12/2/2010- L(SD12) vs. #18 Jean Marc Mormeck Next Fight: Unknown Appears to be taking a bit of a break after his considerable momentum was halted by Jean Marc Mormeck.
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