Super Middleweight: 2012, Jan 23-29
Solid Mexican prospect Marco Antonio Periban had a harder than expected night against Jesus Nerio, a less experienced prospect who is either 10-0 or 15-2 depending on the source. He won an 8-round decision with little or no controversy, but the naturally smaller Nerio put up a great fight from all accounts. No changes to the rankings.
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 (6-302-302)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Showtime has rather oddly rejected the proposed fight and doubleheader between Bute and Froch. Not sure if that will derail the talks or not. Bute has responded by saying he’s fighting on April 14, with or without Froch.
2) Carl Froch (6-293-293)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown See Bute’s notes, above.
3) Mikkel Kessler (6-372-372) 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 (6-126-126) 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 (6-34-82)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen had no problem with trial horse Francisco Sierra, and we hope to see him in with a world-class opponent soon. 6) Arthur Abraham (6-118-118)
Last Fight: 1/14/2012- KO5 Pablo Farias (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Abraham has expressed interest in fighting Stieglitz after the Kessler bout.
7) Dimitri Sartison (6-78-82)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown Sartison had trouble keeping up with the movement of truly awful journeyman Arturs Kulikauskis in his comeback fight from knee surgery. Hopefully it gets better with time, because otherwise the once-promising Sartison is fodder.
8) Peter Quillin (6-39-39) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Quillin netted a nice win at Middleweight against Craig McEwan, though it doesn’t affect his ranking here. 9) Adonis Stevenson (6-7-7) 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 (6-6-251)
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 (6-46) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera Next Fight: Unknown Lee really badly wanted to fight on St. Patrick’s Day, but couldn’t find any takers. Instead, he appears likely to fight Felix Sturm in Germany on another date.
12) Anthony Dirrell (6-8) 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 (6-11) 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 (6-64) 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 (6-51) 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 (6-22) Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Don George (UNR) After Don George backed out of the fight due to an improperly-sized ring, the word is that fight will be rescheduled. 17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (6-38) 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 (6-29) 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 (6-15) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After initially being delayed, DeGale now says he will not fight his scheduled fight with Spanish journeyman Jose Maria Guerrero on 1/27, and is looking for a bigger fight. 20) George Groves (6-6) 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 (6-140-140)
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 (6-302-302)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Showtime has rather oddly rejected the proposed fight and doubleheader between Bute and Froch. Not sure if that will derail the talks or not. Bute has responded by saying he’s fighting on April 14, with or without Froch.
2) Carl Froch (6-293-293)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown See Bute’s notes, above.
3) Mikkel Kessler (6-372-372) 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 (6-126-126) 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 (6-34-82)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen had no problem with trial horse Francisco Sierra, and we hope to see him in with a world-class opponent soon. 6) Arthur Abraham (6-118-118)
Last Fight: 1/14/2012- KO5 Pablo Farias (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Abraham has expressed interest in fighting Stieglitz after the Kessler bout.
7) Dimitri Sartison (6-78-82)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown Sartison had trouble keeping up with the movement of truly awful journeyman Arturs Kulikauskis in his comeback fight from knee surgery. Hopefully it gets better with time, because otherwise the once-promising Sartison is fodder.
8) Peter Quillin (6-39-39) Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Quillin netted a nice win at Middleweight against Craig McEwan, though it doesn’t affect his ranking here. 9) Adonis Stevenson (6-7-7) 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 (6-6-251)
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 (6-46) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera Next Fight: Unknown Lee really badly wanted to fight on St. Patrick’s Day, but couldn’t find any takers. Instead, he appears likely to fight Felix Sturm in Germany on another date.
12) Anthony Dirrell (6-8) 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 (6-11) 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 (6-64) 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 (6-51) 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 (6-22) Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Don George (UNR) After Don George backed out of the fight due to an improperly-sized ring, the word is that fight will be rescheduled. 17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (6-38) 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 (6-29) 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 (6-15) Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After initially being delayed, DeGale now says he will not fight his scheduled fight with Spanish journeyman Jose Maria Guerrero on 1/27, and is looking for a bigger fight. 20) George Groves (6-6) 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: Nothing to report this week.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
Leave a Reply