Light Heavyweight: 2012, Feb 13-19
This past week was quiet in the division after a big loud blow-out of a week last time around.
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. #2 Chad Dawson Hopkins and Dawson will square off- hopefully to a conclusion this time- on regular HBO in late April.
1) Jean Pascal (39-139-139)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Pascal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight. Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (61-298-298)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins See Hopkins’ notes, above. 3) Tavoris Cloud (61-129-129)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo After Showtime inexplicably nixed Gabriel Campillo as a headlining opponent for Cloud at the end of 2011, HBO has picked up the fight for the February 18 undercard of Williams-Ishida. As a hardcore boxing fan, I recognize that Cloud-Campillo is a MUCH bigger fight than the main event. 4) Gabriel Campillo (18-86-86)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud See Cloud’s notes, above. 5) Nathan Cleverly (18-106-106)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Tommy Karpency (UNR) Cleverly’s next opponent is American journeyman Tommy Karpency. A bit of a disappointment. 6) Karo Murat (20-20-41) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo Next Fight: Unknown I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine. 7) Tony Bellew (18-18-18) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #18 Danny McIntosh Bellew will face McIntosh in Liverpool on April 14. 8) Beibut Shumenov (2-82-86) Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Shumenov’s attempts to get a fight with Cleverly have apparently failed. Shumenov wants to unify the alphabet titles, but he appears to be the odd man out in a lot of those fights. This might be an ideal time for a rematch with Campillo if he can’t get a unification at this point. 9) Yusaf Mack (2-50-86)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far. 10) Dmitri Sukhotski (2-2-68) Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February. 11) Isaac Chilemba (2-2) Last Fight: 2/3/2012- UD10 #16 Edison Miranda Next Fight: Unknown Chilemba, a former super middleweight, now has the highest ranking of his career at either weight after beating fringe contender Miranda. 12) Eduard Gutknecht (2-41) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12* vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Gutknecht received a bit of a gift decision at the expense of Uzelkov, and he takes a hit in the ratings as a result. 13) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (2-2) Last Fight: 3/4/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #8 Eduard Gutknecht Next Fight: Unknown Deserved much better than a unanimous decision loss against Gutknecht, and is rewarded for it in my rankings. 14) Adrian Diaconu (2-249)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown A quality fighter, Diaconu is nevertheless slipping in the rankings simply because he never wins against anyone above the journeyman level. He ought to try and find some kind of mid-range fringe contender just to get a decent win, because fighting journeymen or top contenders isn’t working out for him.
15) Ismayl Sillakh (2-57) Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal, and the two are currently in negotiations. 16) Cornelius White (2-9) Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD6 #16 Yordanis Despaigne Next Fight: Unknown White, who was blown out in one round by prospect Don George at super middleweight early in 2011, may be a fluke. But at least for one night, he looked a lot better against former top amateur Yordanis Despaigne than did established fringe contender Edison Miranda. 17) Zsolt Erdei (2-65) Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card, including his fight with Cloud. 18) Danny McIntosh (2-86)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title. 19) Edison Miranda (2-9) Last Fight: 2/3/2012- L(UD10) vs. Isaac Chilemba (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Miranda was winning the fight with Chilemba before suffering a cut that appeared to really throw him off. Hopefully he can bounce back from this setback. 20) Jesus Gonzales (2-32) Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR) (at SMW) His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Bernard Hopkins (39-297-297)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. #2 Chad Dawson Hopkins and Dawson will square off- hopefully to a conclusion this time- on regular HBO in late April.
1) Jean Pascal (39-139-139)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Pascal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight. Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (61-298-298)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins See Hopkins’ notes, above. 3) Tavoris Cloud (61-129-129)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo After Showtime inexplicably nixed Gabriel Campillo as a headlining opponent for Cloud at the end of 2011, HBO has picked up the fight for the February 18 undercard of Williams-Ishida. As a hardcore boxing fan, I recognize that Cloud-Campillo is a MUCH bigger fight than the main event. 4) Gabriel Campillo (18-86-86)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud See Cloud’s notes, above. 5) Nathan Cleverly (18-106-106)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Tommy Karpency (UNR) Cleverly’s next opponent is American journeyman Tommy Karpency. A bit of a disappointment. 6) Karo Murat (20-20-41) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo Next Fight: Unknown I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine. 7) Tony Bellew (18-18-18) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #18 Danny McIntosh Bellew will face McIntosh in Liverpool on April 14. 8) Beibut Shumenov (2-82-86) Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Shumenov’s attempts to get a fight with Cleverly have apparently failed. Shumenov wants to unify the alphabet titles, but he appears to be the odd man out in a lot of those fights. This might be an ideal time for a rematch with Campillo if he can’t get a unification at this point. 9) Yusaf Mack (2-50-86)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far. 10) Dmitri Sukhotski (2-2-68) Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February. 11) Isaac Chilemba (2-2) Last Fight: 2/3/2012- UD10 #16 Edison Miranda Next Fight: Unknown Chilemba, a former super middleweight, now has the highest ranking of his career at either weight after beating fringe contender Miranda. 12) Eduard Gutknecht (2-41) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12* vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Gutknecht received a bit of a gift decision at the expense of Uzelkov, and he takes a hit in the ratings as a result. 13) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (2-2) Last Fight: 3/4/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #8 Eduard Gutknecht Next Fight: Unknown Deserved much better than a unanimous decision loss against Gutknecht, and is rewarded for it in my rankings. 14) Adrian Diaconu (2-249)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown A quality fighter, Diaconu is nevertheless slipping in the rankings simply because he never wins against anyone above the journeyman level. He ought to try and find some kind of mid-range fringe contender just to get a decent win, because fighting journeymen or top contenders isn’t working out for him.
15) Ismayl Sillakh (2-57) Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal, and the two are currently in negotiations. 16) Cornelius White (2-9) Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD6 #16 Yordanis Despaigne Next Fight: Unknown White, who was blown out in one round by prospect Don George at super middleweight early in 2011, may be a fluke. But at least for one night, he looked a lot better against former top amateur Yordanis Despaigne than did established fringe contender Edison Miranda. 17) Zsolt Erdei (2-65) Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card, including his fight with Cloud. 18) Danny McIntosh (2-86)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title. 19) Edison Miranda (2-9) Last Fight: 2/3/2012- L(UD10) vs. Isaac Chilemba (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Miranda was winning the fight with Chilemba before suffering a cut that appeared to really throw him off. Hopefully he can bounce back from this setback. 20) Jesus Gonzales (2-32) Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR) (at SMW) His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
The Week Ahead: #3 Tavoris Cloud takes on #4 Gabriel Campillo in one of the best fights that could be made in the entire division. The fight will curiously be on the undercard of a fight that couldn’t carry its jock: Williams vs. Ishida on HBO.
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