Heavyweight: 2012, May 28- Jun 3
Nothing too consequential this week, but a few notable fighters were in action. Friday in Hammond, Indiana, former contender Fres Oquendo needed 9 rounds to stop journeyman Joey Abell, best known as the guy Chris Arreola kissed after stopping him. The following night, former Olympic Gold Medalist Audley Harrison of the UK stopped Iraqi-born journeyman Ali Adams in 4 in Harrison’s first fight since his 18-month old debacle against David Haye. Later that evening in Managua, Nicaragua, Cuban prospect Luis Ortiz needed just two of the scheduled 6 to dispose of local journeyman Walter Palacios. No changes to the rankings this week.
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (153-366-366)
Last Fight: 3/3/2012- TKO4 #16 Jean-Marc Mormeck
Next Fight: 7/7/2012- vs. #10 Tony Thompson
Wlad will be defending the title against #10 Tony Thompson in what will likely be another ho-hum matchup for the Champ. On the bright side, Thompson did put up a relatively spirited challenge the last time the two met in 2008.
1) Vitali Klitschko (190-190-190)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #6 Dereck Chisora
Next Fight: Unknown Klitschko’s potential choices for a September opponent currently appear to include the following: Seth Mitchell, Bermane Stiverne, Franklin Lawrence, as well as unranked prospects Mariusz Wach, Manuel Charr, and Luis Ortiz. Fairly disappointing that Vitali’s not even considering any top 10 fighters this close to the end of his career, though there might be at least one interesting fight to be had from that group.
2) Alexander Povetkin (40-240-240) Last Fight: 2/25/2012- W*(MD12) vs. CW #5 Marco Huck
Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. Hasim Rahman (UNR)
Povetkin’s ludicrous fight with Rahman will now be the co-feature to Haye-Chisora in London. 3) Tomasz Adamek (11-110-110)
Last Fight: 3/24/2012- UD10 Nagy Aguilera (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/16/2012- vs. Eddie Chambers (UNR)
Big news! Eddie Chambers- who was removed for inactivity from this very spot in the rankings not long ago- will be fighting Adamek in June on NBC Sports. The stakes will of course be the #2 spot, which Povetkin now appears to be merely warming for the winner. That is, if Chambers doesn’t withdraw from a 3rd consecutive bout. 4) Marco Huck (11-14-14) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- Draw (MD12) vs. CW #7 Ola Afolabi (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Unfortunately, Huck is apparently making a thinly-veiled attempt to make a pointless fight with weak European cruiserweight paper champion Alexander Alekseev. 5) Tyson Fury (11-45-45) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- TKO5 Martin Rogan (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After a fairly impressive left-handed win over Martin Rogan, Fury appears interested in making a fight with Wlad or Alexander Povetkin. 6) Dereck Chisora (11-26-89) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(UD12) vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko
Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. David Haye (UNR)
The British Board is bitterly opposed to this bout- which they refuse to license- but apparently it is going forward anyway. Get ready for a highly controversial blood-feud between Chisora and recent brawl opponent David Haye, July 14 in London.
7) Robert Helenius (11-61-105)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- W*(SD12) vs. #18 Dereck Chisora (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Helenius is now the mandatory challenger to #8 Kubrat Pulev’s European title- previously held by Helenius. Helenius is still in the midst of an uncertain recovery from shoulder surgery, however.
8) Kubrat Pulev (4-4-81) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- KO11 #12 Alexander Dimitrenko
Next Fight: Unknown
Might have a Helenius clash on the horizon, though the Finn’s health is a factor.
9) Odlanier Solis (2-11-105)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Considering he was extremely out of shape and had a surgically-repaired knee to worry about, Solis didn’t look too terrible in coasting to victory over a disappointing Konstantin Airich. 10) Tony Thompson (2-105-105)
Last Fight: 5/27/2011- TKO3 Maurice Harris (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/7/2012- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
See Wladimir Klitschko’s comments, above.
11) Seth Mitchell (11-25) Last Fight: 4/28/2012- TKO3 Chazz Witherspoon (UNR) Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. Johnathon Banks (UNR) Mitchell is set to fight the Klitschko-promoted Johnathon Banks, a mediocre one-loss prospect who is probably an upgrade from Witherspoon at least in terms of accomplishment, but a downgrade from Ibragimov. 12) Ruslan Chagaev (4-289) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO3 Billy Zumbrun (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The Valuev win is now over 5 years old, and Chagaev’s ranking has suffered as a result.
13) Alexander Dimitrenko (4-72) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- L(KO11) vs. #17 Kubrat Pulev
Next Fight: Unknown
Despite showing the heart of a quitter and the consistency of a random number generator against Pulev, Dimitrenko hangs on to a solid ranking because the other guys in his tier haven’t been winning meaningful fights lately.
14) Chris Arreola (4-167)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/23/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Arreola, it appears, will fight on the Matthysse-Soto, Ortiz-Lopez card on June 23. Most likely his fight will be televised on Showtime Extreme again.
15) Denis Boytsov (4-154)
Last Fight: 4/13/2012- UD10 Dominick Guinn (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Boytsov will likely fight in Moscow on August 24, but nothing official yet.
16) Jean-Marc Mormeck (4-105) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: 7/21/2012- vs. CW #2 Denis Lebedev (at CW)
It’s official. Mormeck will drop back to cruiserweight for the first time since 2007 to fight #2 contender Denis Lebedev in Paris on July 21.
17) Bermane Stiverne (4-49) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Stiverne is one of several opponents being floated by Vitali’s team right now.
18) Edmund Gerber (4-4) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD8 Maurice Harris (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Not the most scintillating effort against a passive Harris, but the old man is what passes for a fringe contender in this division at the moment, and thus Gerber has built himself a ranking. 19) Franklin Lawrence (4-53) Last Fight: 10/28/2011- TKO2 Raymond Ochieng (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lawrence is yet another fighter Vitali is interested in fighting in September. 20) Kevin Johnson (4-9) Last Fight: 4/1/2012- TKO9 Alex Leapai (UNR) Next Fight: 6/20/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Johnson is set to fight on June 20th in London, but no opponent yet.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (153-366-366)
Last Fight: 3/3/2012- TKO4 #16 Jean-Marc Mormeck
Next Fight: 7/7/2012- vs. #10 Tony Thompson
Wlad will be defending the title against #10 Tony Thompson in what will likely be another ho-hum matchup for the Champ. On the bright side, Thompson did put up a relatively spirited challenge the last time the two met in 2008.
1) Vitali Klitschko (190-190-190)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #6 Dereck Chisora
Next Fight: Unknown Klitschko’s potential choices for a September opponent currently appear to include the following: Seth Mitchell, Bermane Stiverne, Franklin Lawrence, as well as unranked prospects Mariusz Wach, Manuel Charr, and Luis Ortiz. Fairly disappointing that Vitali’s not even considering any top 10 fighters this close to the end of his career, though there might be at least one interesting fight to be had from that group.
2) Alexander Povetkin (40-240-240) Last Fight: 2/25/2012- W*(MD12) vs. CW #5 Marco Huck
Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. Hasim Rahman (UNR)
Povetkin’s ludicrous fight with Rahman will now be the co-feature to Haye-Chisora in London. 3) Tomasz Adamek (11-110-110)
Last Fight: 3/24/2012- UD10 Nagy Aguilera (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/16/2012- vs. Eddie Chambers (UNR)
Big news! Eddie Chambers- who was removed for inactivity from this very spot in the rankings not long ago- will be fighting Adamek in June on NBC Sports. The stakes will of course be the #2 spot, which Povetkin now appears to be merely warming for the winner. That is, if Chambers doesn’t withdraw from a 3rd consecutive bout. 4) Marco Huck (11-14-14) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- Draw (MD12) vs. CW #7 Ola Afolabi (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Unfortunately, Huck is apparently making a thinly-veiled attempt to make a pointless fight with weak European cruiserweight paper champion Alexander Alekseev. 5) Tyson Fury (11-45-45) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- TKO5 Martin Rogan (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After a fairly impressive left-handed win over Martin Rogan, Fury appears interested in making a fight with Wlad or Alexander Povetkin. 6) Dereck Chisora (11-26-89) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(UD12) vs. #1 Vitali Klitschko
Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. David Haye (UNR)
The British Board is bitterly opposed to this bout- which they refuse to license- but apparently it is going forward anyway. Get ready for a highly controversial blood-feud between Chisora and recent brawl opponent David Haye, July 14 in London.
7) Robert Helenius (11-61-105)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- W*(SD12) vs. #18 Dereck Chisora (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Helenius is now the mandatory challenger to #8 Kubrat Pulev’s European title- previously held by Helenius. Helenius is still in the midst of an uncertain recovery from shoulder surgery, however.
8) Kubrat Pulev (4-4-81) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- KO11 #12 Alexander Dimitrenko
Next Fight: Unknown
Might have a Helenius clash on the horizon, though the Finn’s health is a factor.
9) Odlanier Solis (2-11-105)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Considering he was extremely out of shape and had a surgically-repaired knee to worry about, Solis didn’t look too terrible in coasting to victory over a disappointing Konstantin Airich. 10) Tony Thompson (2-105-105)
Last Fight: 5/27/2011- TKO3 Maurice Harris (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/7/2012- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
See Wladimir Klitschko’s comments, above.
11) Seth Mitchell (11-25) Last Fight: 4/28/2012- TKO3 Chazz Witherspoon (UNR) Next Fight: 7/14/2012- vs. Johnathon Banks (UNR) Mitchell is set to fight the Klitschko-promoted Johnathon Banks, a mediocre one-loss prospect who is probably an upgrade from Witherspoon at least in terms of accomplishment, but a downgrade from Ibragimov. 12) Ruslan Chagaev (4-289) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO3 Billy Zumbrun (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The Valuev win is now over 5 years old, and Chagaev’s ranking has suffered as a result.
13) Alexander Dimitrenko (4-72) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- L(KO11) vs. #17 Kubrat Pulev
Next Fight: Unknown
Despite showing the heart of a quitter and the consistency of a random number generator against Pulev, Dimitrenko hangs on to a solid ranking because the other guys in his tier haven’t been winning meaningful fights lately.
14) Chris Arreola (4-167)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/23/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Arreola, it appears, will fight on the Matthysse-Soto, Ortiz-Lopez card on June 23. Most likely his fight will be televised on Showtime Extreme again.
15) Denis Boytsov (4-154)
Last Fight: 4/13/2012- UD10 Dominick Guinn (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Boytsov will likely fight in Moscow on August 24, but nothing official yet.
16) Jean-Marc Mormeck (4-105) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: 7/21/2012- vs. CW #2 Denis Lebedev (at CW)
It’s official. Mormeck will drop back to cruiserweight for the first time since 2007 to fight #2 contender Denis Lebedev in Paris on July 21.
17) Bermane Stiverne (4-49) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Stiverne is one of several opponents being floated by Vitali’s team right now.
18) Edmund Gerber (4-4) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD8 Maurice Harris (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Not the most scintillating effort against a passive Harris, but the old man is what passes for a fringe contender in this division at the moment, and thus Gerber has built himself a ranking. 19) Franklin Lawrence (4-53) Last Fight: 10/28/2011- TKO2 Raymond Ochieng (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lawrence is yet another fighter Vitali is interested in fighting in September. 20) Kevin Johnson (4-9) Last Fight: 4/1/2012- TKO9 Alex Leapai (UNR) Next Fight: 6/20/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent Johnson is set to fight on June 20th in London, but no opponent yet.
THE WEEK AHEAD: It’s fights like this that make me glad I don’t do audio on this blog, because there isn’t a way in hell I could pronounce this name right. Polish prospect Andrzej Wawrzyk gets the toughest assignment of his career against veteran Russian trial horse Denis Bakhtov in some even more unpronounceable Polish town.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
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