Super Middleweight: 2012, Feb 13-19
Tom Emanski must have gotten ahold of the Super Middleweights and taught them something, because we’ve had back 2 back 2 back slow weeks. For folks who weren’t watching American TV commercials about 5 years ago or so, sorry for the inside joke.
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown A little bit of a disappointing batch of initial rhetoric coming out of the Ward camp. While Bute says he is willing to travel to Oakland to fight Ward, Ward himself seems more interested in Kessler. Normally I wouldn’t knock a Champ-#3 contender matchup, but we’ve already got that one figured out. He’s also said he’s willing to fight J.C. Chavez in Mexico.
1) Lucian Bute (9-305-305)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Bute has said he will fight April 14 with or without Froch, but the word is that Froch-Bute is still not dead.
2) Carl Froch (9-296-296)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown The word is that the Bute fight is still possible. Another possibility is an IBF eliminator with #16 Librado Andrade.
3) Mikkel Kessler (9-375-375) Last Fight: 6/4/2011- TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz The big fight between Kessler and Stieglitz finally has a date: April 14. 4) Robert Stieglitz (9-129-129) Last Fight: 1/14/2012- UD12 Henry Weber (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler Now fully tuned-up, Stieglitz is ready for Kessler in April. 5) Thomas Oosthuizen (9-37-85)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/3/2012- vs. Serge Yannick (UNR) Oosthuizen is set to fight one-loss fringe contending prospect Serge Yannick of Australia by way of Cameroon in early March. 6) Arthur Abraham (9-121-121)
Last Fight: 1/14/2012- KO5 Pablo Farias (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/31/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Staying admirably busy, Abraham will fight an opponent to be announced in Kiel at the end of March.
7) Dimitri Sartison (9-81-85)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: 4/21/2012- vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR) Sartison is taking a step back up to the fringe contender level in April. If his knee isn’t close to 100% (which it didn’t appear to be against journeyman Kulikauskis), Balzsay is the right level of opponent to capitalize.
8) Peter Quillin (9-42-42) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Quillin may be fighting a comebacking Winky Wright May 5 in Vegas. 9) Adonis Stevenson (9-10-10) Last Fight: 12/10/2011- TKO9 #12 Aaron Pryor, Jr. Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #18 Jesus Gonzales Stevenson is doing a nice job of staying busy, which is a very good idea for a 34-year-old rising contender. He’ll now face #18 Jesus Gonzales on February 18. 10) Sakio Bika (9-9-254)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- RTD3 Alfredo Contreras (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Avoided removal by the skin of his teeth, but he’s going to start plummeting any month now if he doesn’t beat someone decent.
11) Andy Lee (9-49) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera Next Fight: 3/10/2012- vs. Alexis Hloros (UNR) After chasing after numerous quality opponents hoping to make a fight on St. Patty’s day, Lee is settling for a very weak journeyman– the week before. That has to be disappointing for the Irishman. The fight will be in Detroit.
12) Anthony Dirrell (9-11) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Finally stepped up to the fringe contender level against St. Juste. Verdict: not too shabby. 13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (9-14) Last Fight: 11/11/2011- TKO12 Andrea Di Luisa (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dominated and stopped a bona fide fringe contender in Di Luisa, and earned a nice ranking in the process. 14) Glen Johnson (9-67) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute Next Fight: Unknown The Bute fight was the only one of Johnson’s recent career that wasn’t really close. Bute is certainly a top fighter, but it could be that the Road Warrior is starting to wind down a bit. 15) Bryan Vera (9-54) 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 (9-25) Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The news that the Don George fight will be rescheduled is starting to look a bit outdated, and now there’s talk of an IBF eliminator with Froch if the Englishman’s clash with Bute can’t be salvaged. 17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (9-41) Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Well, it’s clear that he can’t play with at least one of the big boys. Every division needs fringe contenders, though, and that looks like Pryor’s lane for the time being. 18) Jesus Gonzales (9-32) Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Gonzales will travel to Montreal to fight the very dangerous Adonis Stevenson on February 18. 19) James DeGale (9-18) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown A flurry of activity for DeGale. He’s unhappy with promoter Frank Warren and announced he’s splitting from him. Warren then pointed out that the two have a contract until 2013. And amidst the chaos, the EBU has ordered a title defense against aging former contender Cristian Sanavia of Spain. 20) George Groves (9-9) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2012- vs. Kenny Anderson (UNR) Groves is now officially scheduled to fight minor domestic rival Kenny Anderson in a rematch of his 2010 TKO win at Wembley Arena in London on March 16.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (9-143-143)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown A little bit of a disappointing batch of initial rhetoric coming out of the Ward camp. While Bute says he is willing to travel to Oakland to fight Ward, Ward himself seems more interested in Kessler. Normally I wouldn’t knock a Champ-#3 contender matchup, but we’ve already got that one figured out. He’s also said he’s willing to fight J.C. Chavez in Mexico.
1) Lucian Bute (9-305-305)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Bute has said he will fight April 14 with or without Froch, but the word is that Froch-Bute is still not dead.
2) Carl Froch (9-296-296)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown The word is that the Bute fight is still possible. Another possibility is an IBF eliminator with #16 Librado Andrade.
3) Mikkel Kessler (9-375-375) Last Fight: 6/4/2011- TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz The big fight between Kessler and Stieglitz finally has a date: April 14. 4) Robert Stieglitz (9-129-129) Last Fight: 1/14/2012- UD12 Henry Weber (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler Now fully tuned-up, Stieglitz is ready for Kessler in April. 5) Thomas Oosthuizen (9-37-85)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/3/2012- vs. Serge Yannick (UNR) Oosthuizen is set to fight one-loss fringe contending prospect Serge Yannick of Australia by way of Cameroon in early March. 6) Arthur Abraham (9-121-121)
Last Fight: 1/14/2012- KO5 Pablo Farias (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/31/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Staying admirably busy, Abraham will fight an opponent to be announced in Kiel at the end of March.
7) Dimitri Sartison (9-81-85)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: 4/21/2012- vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR) Sartison is taking a step back up to the fringe contender level in April. If his knee isn’t close to 100% (which it didn’t appear to be against journeyman Kulikauskis), Balzsay is the right level of opponent to capitalize.
8) Peter Quillin (9-42-42) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Quillin may be fighting a comebacking Winky Wright May 5 in Vegas. 9) Adonis Stevenson (9-10-10) Last Fight: 12/10/2011- TKO9 #12 Aaron Pryor, Jr. Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #18 Jesus Gonzales Stevenson is doing a nice job of staying busy, which is a very good idea for a 34-year-old rising contender. He’ll now face #18 Jesus Gonzales on February 18. 10) Sakio Bika (9-9-254)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- RTD3 Alfredo Contreras (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Avoided removal by the skin of his teeth, but he’s going to start plummeting any month now if he doesn’t beat someone decent.
11) Andy Lee (9-49) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera Next Fight: 3/10/2012- vs. Alexis Hloros (UNR) After chasing after numerous quality opponents hoping to make a fight on St. Patty’s day, Lee is settling for a very weak journeyman– the week before. That has to be disappointing for the Irishman. The fight will be in Detroit.
12) Anthony Dirrell (9-11) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Finally stepped up to the fringe contender level against St. Juste. Verdict: not too shabby. 13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (9-14) Last Fight: 11/11/2011- TKO12 Andrea Di Luisa (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dominated and stopped a bona fide fringe contender in Di Luisa, and earned a nice ranking in the process. 14) Glen Johnson (9-67) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute Next Fight: Unknown The Bute fight was the only one of Johnson’s recent career that wasn’t really close. Bute is certainly a top fighter, but it could be that the Road Warrior is starting to wind down a bit. 15) Bryan Vera (9-54) 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 (9-25) Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The news that the Don George fight will be rescheduled is starting to look a bit outdated, and now there’s talk of an IBF eliminator with Froch if the Englishman’s clash with Bute can’t be salvaged. 17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (9-41) Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Well, it’s clear that he can’t play with at least one of the big boys. Every division needs fringe contenders, though, and that looks like Pryor’s lane for the time being. 18) Jesus Gonzales (9-32) Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Gonzales will travel to Montreal to fight the very dangerous Adonis Stevenson on February 18. 19) James DeGale (9-18) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown A flurry of activity for DeGale. He’s unhappy with promoter Frank Warren and announced he’s splitting from him. Warren then pointed out that the two have a contract until 2013. And amidst the chaos, the EBU has ordered a title defense against aging former contender Cristian Sanavia of Spain. 20) George Groves (9-9) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2012- vs. Kenny Anderson (UNR) Groves is now officially scheduled to fight minor domestic rival Kenny Anderson in a rematch of his 2010 TKO win at Wembley Arena in London on March 16.
The Week Ahead: Friday in Poland, local fringe contender Piotr Wilczewski takes on Serbian journeyman Geard Ajetovic.
Saturday plays host to a slew of action. Leading off in Denmark, Northern Irish fringe contender Brian Magee meets Danish gatekeeper Rudy Markussen. Shifting to North America, #9 Adonis Stevenson looks to keep his string of impressive knockouts rolling as he takes on the capable #18 Jesus Gonzales in Montreal. Finally, Alfonso Lopez- who recently lost a snoozer to Dyah Davis on ESPN2- should get back in the win column as he faces a guy with both a lack of experience and a losing record named Justin Williams in a 6-rounder on the deep (probably non-televised) Williams-Ishida undercard in Texas.
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