Super Middleweight: 2011, Oct 3-9

In a fight advertised at Middleweight but actually contested almost halfway to the 168 pound limit, #15 Andy Lee erased the memory of his stoppage loss to Bryan Vera by dominating the rugged fringe contender to what should have been a shutout decision.  It was like Lee had a magnet attached to his right hand, because he couldn’t miss Vera’s iron chin.  Lee advances to #11 in the rankings (not bad for a guy that’s really a middleweight), while Vera slumps down to #15.

 

Here are The Ring’s top 10 for comparison purposes:
1) Andre Ward
2) Carl Froch
3) Lucian Bute
4) Mikkel Kessler
5) Robert Stieglitz
6) Sakio Bika
7) Glen Johnson
8) Arthur Abraham
9) Thomas Oosthuizen
10) George Groves

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: None
1) Andre Ward (45-124-124)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- UD12 #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: 12/17/2011- vs. #2 Carl Froch
Ward-Froch has been rescheduled for December 17 in Atlantic City.
2) Carl Froch (45-277-277)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- W(MD12) vs. #12 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: 12/17/2011- vs. #1 Andre Ward
See Ward’s comments above.
3) Lucian Bute (45-286-286)
Last Fight: 7/9/2011- KO4 Jean Paul Mendy (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. #12 Glen Johnson
Bute passed up Mikkel Kessler for a potentially slightly easier night with #12 Glen Johnson in early November.
4) Mikkel Kessler (45-356-356)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. #5 Robert Stieglitz
The Stieglitz bout is now official, and will be in Copenhagen.
5) Robert Stieglitz (26-110-110)
Last Fight: 4/9/2011- W(DQ10) vs. Khoren Gevor (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. #4 Mikkel Kessler
See Kessler’s notes above.
6) Thomas Oosthuizen (5-18-66)
Last Fight: 9/3/2011- UD12 #9 Aaron Pryor, Jr.
Next Fight: Unknown
Oosthuizen is one of the most accomplished fighters out there that nobody has ever heard of.
7) Arthur Abraham (5-102-102)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. Unknown Opponent
Abraham is scheduled to return to the ring on November 5, probably in a catchweight fight between 160 and 168, and probably against a tune-up-type opponent.
8) Dimitri Sartison (5-62-66)
Last Fight: 7/31/2010- UD12 Khoren Gevor (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison badly injured his knee in training and will be out until about October.  He will be given adequate time to schedule a fight thereafter without being removed.  I probably won’t even consider removing him until February.
9) Peter Quillin (5-23-23)
Last Fight: 7/23/2011- TKO5 Jason LeHoullier (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. Craig McEwan (UNR)
Quillin will fight Craig McEwan on the Angulo-Kirkland undercard in Cancun on November 5.
10) Sakio Bika (5-5-235)
Last Fight: 11/27/2010- L(UD12) vs. #2 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
11) Andy Lee (1-30)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera
Next Fight: Unknown
Exorcised whatever demons he had left in his career with the win over Vera, and is now ready to move on like the sure-fire contender he was originally seen as.
12) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (1-22)
Last Fight: 9/3/2011- L(UD12) vs. #10 Thomas Oosthuizen
Next Fight: 12/10/2011- vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR)
Pryor looks to rebound from his momentum-halting loss to Oosthuizen with another tough fight against human highlight reel Adonis Stevenson in October.
13) Glen Johnson (1-48)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- L(MD12) vs. #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. #3 Lucian Bute
With no apparent buzz leading up to the announcement, Johnson suddenly had a fight signed with Bute for November.
14) Isaac Chilemba (1-66)
Last Fight: 3/26/2011- UD12 Vikapita Meroro (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Chilemba seems to be toying with the idea of moving up to 175.  We’ll have to see if he ultimately takes that route or not.
15) Bryan Vera (1-35)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- L(UD10) vs. #15 Andy Lee
Next Fight: Unknown
Totally outclassed by Lee in the rematch of a fight he won last time around.
16) Librado Andrade (6-6)
Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Still appears to be well on the downside of his career, but with his past success he only needs to stay active and win to stay in the rankings at this point.
17) Jesus Gonzalez (6-13)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
With a fairly comfortable win over a generally solid and much bigger opponent, Gonzalez finds his way easily within the top 20.
18) Ezequiel Maderna (6-31)
Last Fight: 8/28/2011- TKO3 Jorge Rodriguez Olivera (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
19) Jesse Brinkley (6-66)
Last Fight: 4/29/2011- L (TKO3) vs. Peter Quillin (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Brinkley’s career now appears a shambles after he was destroyed by rising star Peter Quillin.
20) George Groves (6-20)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- W(MD12*) vs. #20 James DeGale
Next Fight: 11/5/2011- vs. Paul Smith (UNR)
Groves and Smith were originally scheduled to fight December 17, but perhaps because of a conflict with Ward-Froch, it has been moved up to November 5.

 

The Week Ahead:  Nothing major on tap for this week.
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