Heavyweight: 2012, Jul 16-22
The controversial blood feud in London between #6 Dereck Chisora and nominally retired former #2 David Haye turned out to be remarkably clean and civil. Chisora was frustrated by Haye’s sharp boxing in rounds 1 and 2, but came back to perhaps slightly edge Haye in the 3rd and 4th. The fifth was disastrous for the frequently unstable Chisora, however, as he was caught by a fusillade of hard clean shots from Haye that put him down and had him hurt. Haye wasted no time and showed impressive killer instinct to drop Chisora again seconds later. Chisora gamely rose to his feet, but staggered back slightly when ref Luis Pabon (who was slightly less annoying than usual, by the way) asked him to walk forward, bringing the bout to a close.
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (160-373-373)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO6 #11 Tony Thompson
Next Fight: Unknown
Another fairly routine defense for Wlad. Thompson may have nicked a couple rounds before a 6th round knockout, and that’s one of the best couple efforts that have been put up against Wlad in recent years. Next victim…
1) Vitali Klitschko (197-197-197)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #6 Dereck Chisora
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. Manuel Charr (UNR)
Vitali has scheduled what it sounds like will be his final fight. Unfortunately, it’s hardly a fight at all. He’ll take on one of the weakest undefeated fighters you’ll ever see- Syrian Manuel Charr. 2) David Haye (1-1-1) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- TKO5 #6 Dereck Chisora Next Fight: Unknown Haye backed up his frankly annoying talk against Chisora. Povetkin has expressed interest in a showdown with him, as has soon-to-be Vitali victim Manuel Charr…but that would depend upon the virtually impossible event of Charr defeating Klitschko the elder. 3) Tomasz Adamek (1-117-117)
Last Fight: 6/16/2012- UD12 Eddie Chambers (UNR)
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Adamek was said to have a deal in place to fight James Toney on September 8. The date is still there, but the opponent is no longer certain. It’s possible Adamek will face Russian giant Alexander Ustinov in the first leg of a 4-man IBF elimination tournament, which he as already agreed to along with Solis. 4) Alexander Povetkin (1-247-247) Last Fight: 2/25/2012- W*(MD12) vs. CW #5 Marco Huck
Next Fight: Unknown
The Rahman fight is unfortunately in the process of being rescheduled for September 22 in Germany. But the WBA is apparently deliberating whether to take the ludicrous #1 contender designation from Rahman. Let’s just get this joke of a fight over with one way or another, please…
5) Marco Huck (1-21-21) 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. 6) Tyson Fury (1-52-52) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO5 Vinny Maddalone (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After another tune-up against clubfighter Vinny Maddalone, Fury now says he wants to fight Adamek. Wlad also is still interested in a 2013 defense against the giant Brit. 7) Eddie Chambers (5-5-5) Last Fight: L (UD12) vs. #3 Tomasz Adamek Next Fight: Unknown Chambers’ MRI revealed a torn tendon, and he had surgery to repair that. No definite timetable has been set, but I’d be very surprised if we saw him back in the ring before early 2013. 8) Dereck Chisora (1-33-96) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- L(TKO5) vs. David Haye (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The Haye loss will be a huge setback for the already underrated Chisora. Many will forget that he did clearly beat Helenius.
9) Robert Helenius (1-68-112)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- W*(SD12) vs. #18 Dereck Chisora (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Encouraging news for Helenius, as he is back to limited rehab-style training after shoulder surgery.
10) Kubrat Pulev (1-11-88) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- KO11 #12 Alexander Dimitrenko
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev has been invited to a 4-man IBF eliminator tournament with Solis, Adamek, and Alexander Ustinov, and would likely face Solis in the first round if he decides to accept the offer.
11) Odlanier Solis (1-112)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Solis has reportedly joined Tomasz Adamek in agreeing to join a 4-man elimination tourney for the IBF mandatory position, with the final winner to face Wlad for the title. So far fellow invitees Pulev and Alexander Ustinov have yet to commit. If all goes to plan (a big “if”), Solis’ first round opponent would be Pulev.
12) Seth Mitchell (1-32) Last Fight: 4/28/2012- TKO3 Chazz Witherspoon (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Golden Boy is working on rescheduling the ill-fated Johnathon Banks fight as a tripleheader in the fall featuring fellow rising stars Adrien Broner and Gary Russell, Jr. 13) Ruslan Chagaev (1-296) 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.
14) Alexander Dimitrenko (1-79) 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.
15) Tony Thompson (1-112)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(TKO6) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
Next Fight: Unknown
In case any of you thought the first fight was a fluke, now you know for sure: Thompson really isn’t as good as Wlad Klitschko.
16) Chris Arreola (1-174)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Arreola pulled out of a scheduled fight with journeyman Mike Mollo with an injury.
17) Denis Boytsov (1-161)
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.
18) Jean-Marc Mormeck (1-112) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: Unknown
After his scheduled clash with Denis Lebedev fell through somewhat mysteriously, Mormeck now appears to be negotiating another cruiserweight fight- this time with the roughly equally dangerous Ola Afolabi.
19) Bermane Stiverne (1-56) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Edmund Gerber (1-11) 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.
Haye’s big win is plenty enough to displace #2 Tomasz Adamek, who struggled in beating a one-armed Eddie Chambers in his last fight. So having avoided retiring after the win (so far), he is our new #2. Chisora drops 2 places, falling one spot due to Haye’s entrance, and also flip-flopping with Chambers. Last weeks #s 2-5 and 8-20 all fall one spot each, including #10 Odlanier Solis, who exits the top 10 after 17 consecutive weeks and #20 Franklin Lawrence, whose stranglehold on #20 is finally broken. He had been ranked in the top 20 for 59 consecutive weeks.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (160-373-373)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO6 #11 Tony Thompson
Next Fight: Unknown
Another fairly routine defense for Wlad. Thompson may have nicked a couple rounds before a 6th round knockout, and that’s one of the best couple efforts that have been put up against Wlad in recent years. Next victim…
1) Vitali Klitschko (197-197-197)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #6 Dereck Chisora
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. Manuel Charr (UNR)
Vitali has scheduled what it sounds like will be his final fight. Unfortunately, it’s hardly a fight at all. He’ll take on one of the weakest undefeated fighters you’ll ever see- Syrian Manuel Charr. 2) David Haye (1-1-1) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- TKO5 #6 Dereck Chisora Next Fight: Unknown Haye backed up his frankly annoying talk against Chisora. Povetkin has expressed interest in a showdown with him, as has soon-to-be Vitali victim Manuel Charr…but that would depend upon the virtually impossible event of Charr defeating Klitschko the elder. 3) Tomasz Adamek (1-117-117)
Last Fight: 6/16/2012- UD12 Eddie Chambers (UNR)
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Adamek was said to have a deal in place to fight James Toney on September 8. The date is still there, but the opponent is no longer certain. It’s possible Adamek will face Russian giant Alexander Ustinov in the first leg of a 4-man IBF elimination tournament, which he as already agreed to along with Solis. 4) Alexander Povetkin (1-247-247) Last Fight: 2/25/2012- W*(MD12) vs. CW #5 Marco Huck
Next Fight: Unknown
The Rahman fight is unfortunately in the process of being rescheduled for September 22 in Germany. But the WBA is apparently deliberating whether to take the ludicrous #1 contender designation from Rahman. Let’s just get this joke of a fight over with one way or another, please…
5) Marco Huck (1-21-21) 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. 6) Tyson Fury (1-52-52) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO5 Vinny Maddalone (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After another tune-up against clubfighter Vinny Maddalone, Fury now says he wants to fight Adamek. Wlad also is still interested in a 2013 defense against the giant Brit. 7) Eddie Chambers (5-5-5) Last Fight: L (UD12) vs. #3 Tomasz Adamek Next Fight: Unknown Chambers’ MRI revealed a torn tendon, and he had surgery to repair that. No definite timetable has been set, but I’d be very surprised if we saw him back in the ring before early 2013. 8) Dereck Chisora (1-33-96) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- L(TKO5) vs. David Haye (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The Haye loss will be a huge setback for the already underrated Chisora. Many will forget that he did clearly beat Helenius.
9) Robert Helenius (1-68-112)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- W*(SD12) vs. #18 Dereck Chisora (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Encouraging news for Helenius, as he is back to limited rehab-style training after shoulder surgery.
10) Kubrat Pulev (1-11-88) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- KO11 #12 Alexander Dimitrenko
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev has been invited to a 4-man IBF eliminator tournament with Solis, Adamek, and Alexander Ustinov, and would likely face Solis in the first round if he decides to accept the offer.
11) Odlanier Solis (1-112)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Solis has reportedly joined Tomasz Adamek in agreeing to join a 4-man elimination tourney for the IBF mandatory position, with the final winner to face Wlad for the title. So far fellow invitees Pulev and Alexander Ustinov have yet to commit. If all goes to plan (a big “if”), Solis’ first round opponent would be Pulev.
12) Seth Mitchell (1-32) Last Fight: 4/28/2012- TKO3 Chazz Witherspoon (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Golden Boy is working on rescheduling the ill-fated Johnathon Banks fight as a tripleheader in the fall featuring fellow rising stars Adrien Broner and Gary Russell, Jr. 13) Ruslan Chagaev (1-296) 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.
14) Alexander Dimitrenko (1-79) 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.
15) Tony Thompson (1-112)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(TKO6) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
Next Fight: Unknown
In case any of you thought the first fight was a fluke, now you know for sure: Thompson really isn’t as good as Wlad Klitschko.
16) Chris Arreola (1-174)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Arreola pulled out of a scheduled fight with journeyman Mike Mollo with an injury.
17) Denis Boytsov (1-161)
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.
18) Jean-Marc Mormeck (1-112) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: Unknown
After his scheduled clash with Denis Lebedev fell through somewhat mysteriously, Mormeck now appears to be negotiating another cruiserweight fight- this time with the roughly equally dangerous Ola Afolabi.
19) Bermane Stiverne (1-56) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Edmund Gerber (1-11) 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.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Nothing of note going on in the division this week.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
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