Middleweight: 2012, Mar 12-18
#1 Daniel Geale ground out a hard-fought victory over #11 Osumanu Adama Wednesday in Hobart, Australia. The fight was back and forth, with Adama playing the boxer and counter-puncher, and Geale playing essentially the bull. Neither man was particularly accurate, as both frequently had to lunge into range in order to throw. I had it 116-112 Geale, and that was roughly the mean of the 3 official cards.
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. #3 Matthew Macklin
After weeks of speculation, it’s now official: Martinez vs. Macklin, St. Patrick’s Day, MSG.
1) Daniel Geale (38-143-143) Last Fight: 3/7/2012- UD12 #11 Osumanu Adama
Next Fight: Unknown
Geale is looking at possibly fighting Martinez or Pirog next.
2) Grzegorz Proksa (24-48-48) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- RTD3 #4 Sebastian Sylvester
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. Kerry Hope (UNR) Proksa will fight English journeyman Kerry Hope in Sheffield, England on March 17.
3) Matthew Macklin (15-38-129) Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L*(SD12) vs. #1 Felix Sturm
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. Champ Sergio Martinez
See Martinez’s notes, above. 4) Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (6-41-59) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12 #10 Marco Antonio Rubio
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Chavez’s next fight now appears set for June 2, with Martin Murray being the leading candidate. 5) Felix Sturm (6-443-443) Last Fight: 12/2/2012- Draw (SD12) vs. Martin Murray (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. Sebastian Zbik (UNR)
A few weeks ago, it looked like Sturm would be promoting Zbik’s fight with Proksa. Now he’s fighting Zbik instead, after Zbik showed his disgust for Sturm by pulling out. 6) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (6-72-72) Last Fight: 4/2/2011- UD12 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown N’Dam will probably fight Bursak on April 20 in Equatorial Guinea.
7) Martin Murray (6-15-15) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- Draw(SD12) vs. #3 Felix Sturm Next Fight: Unknown After discussing fights with domestic rivals Lee and Barker, it now looks like Murray is a good bet to fight Chavez in early June. 8) Dmitry Pirog (15-85-85) Last Fight: 9/25/2011- RTD10 Gennady Martirosyan (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/1/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bouncing back relatively quickly from a shoulder injury, Pirog has now reserved a May 1 date in Moscow. Bursak was rumored, but it appears Darren Barker really was the guy, until it was revealed that Barker’s been injured all along.
9) Anthony Mundine (2-6-59) Last Fight: 10/19/2011- UD12 Rigoberto Alvarez (UNR) (at JMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
10) Sam Soliman (2-2-4) Last Fight: 2/19/2012- UD12 #15 Garth Wood Next Fight: Unknown 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (1-59) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- L(UD12) vs. #7 Julio Cesar Chavez
Next Fight: Unknown
Rubio renewed his relevance with what was officially an upset over Lemieux, but the more proven Chavez proved to be a prospect too far.
12) Osumanu Adama (1-51) Last Fight: 3/7/2012- L(UD12) vs. #1 Daniel Geale Next Fight: Unknown Adama came up short against Geale, but has nothing to be ashamed of. He frequently took the #1 contender out of his game plan and looked entirely in his league at that lofty level. 13) Paul Williams (2-4) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #17 Nobuhiro Ishida (as JMW) Next Fight: Unknown 14) Avtandil Khurtsidze (2-59) Last Fight: 12/18/2011- W(MD12) vs. Ossie Duran (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered Khurtsidze to defend his new goofy color-coded belt against gatekeeper Domenico Spada. 15) Max Bursak (2-59) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- TKO3 Laatekwei Hammond (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It appears that Pirog and N’Dam are competing for a chance to fight him next. It now looks like N’Dam might be winning those sweepstakes, as a fight with N’Dam is now heavily rumored for April 20 in Equatorial Guinea.
16) Gennady Golovkin (2-39) Last Fight: 12/9/2011- KO1 Lajuan Simon (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Golovkin can’t get anyone to fight him. 17) Demetrius Andrade (2-30) Last Fight: 2/10/2012- KO2 Angel Hernandez (UNR) (at JMW) Next Fight: Unknown With original opponent Derek Ennis getting sick 2 days before the fight, Andrade instead dispatched journeyman Angel Hernandez on ESPN2. 18) Darren Barker (2-22) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- L(KO11) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez Next Fight: Unknown Barker bowed out of opportunities to fight Murray and Pirog, and now we have a possible reason as he has apparently been injured for a while, needs surgery, and is done until the fall. 19) Billi Godoy (2-21) Last Fight: 11/12/2011- TKO1 Luciano Silva (UNR) Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. Carlos Baldomir (UNR) Godoy is now set to fight former welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in Neuquen, Argentina on April 13. 20) Nobuhiro Ishida (2-2) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(UD12) vs. JMW #? Paul Williams Next Fight: Unknown
Geale naturally hangs on to his #1 ranking. Adama swaps places with last week’s #12 Marco Antonio Rubio. Though some of his best wins are getting pretty old at this point, Rubio’s overall body of work is slightly better. His loss to then-Champion Kelly Pavlik in early ’09 is completely excusable. His loss to #7 Chavez is a little more harmful at this level, but Adama has yet to prove he can win at that level, himself. Close call, but a nod to Rubio. Paul Williams fails to pass Adama, however. His recent loss to a 17th-ranked junior middleweight and the fact that he hasn’t actually competed at this weight for a nice chunk of time both limit his ability to advance for the moment.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20) Champ: Sergio Martinez (100-100-100) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- KO11 #20 Darren Barker
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. #3 Matthew Macklin
After weeks of speculation, it’s now official: Martinez vs. Macklin, St. Patrick’s Day, MSG.
1) Daniel Geale (38-143-143) Last Fight: 3/7/2012- UD12 #11 Osumanu Adama
Next Fight: Unknown
Geale is looking at possibly fighting Martinez or Pirog next.
2) Grzegorz Proksa (24-48-48) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- RTD3 #4 Sebastian Sylvester
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. Kerry Hope (UNR) Proksa will fight English journeyman Kerry Hope in Sheffield, England on March 17.
3) Matthew Macklin (15-38-129) Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L*(SD12) vs. #1 Felix Sturm
Next Fight: 3/17/2012- vs. Champ Sergio Martinez
See Martinez’s notes, above. 4) Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (6-41-59) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12 #10 Marco Antonio Rubio
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Chavez’s next fight now appears set for June 2, with Martin Murray being the leading candidate. 5) Felix Sturm (6-443-443) Last Fight: 12/2/2012- Draw (SD12) vs. Martin Murray (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. Sebastian Zbik (UNR)
A few weeks ago, it looked like Sturm would be promoting Zbik’s fight with Proksa. Now he’s fighting Zbik instead, after Zbik showed his disgust for Sturm by pulling out. 6) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (6-72-72) Last Fight: 4/2/2011- UD12 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown N’Dam will probably fight Bursak on April 20 in Equatorial Guinea.
7) Martin Murray (6-15-15) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- Draw(SD12) vs. #3 Felix Sturm Next Fight: Unknown After discussing fights with domestic rivals Lee and Barker, it now looks like Murray is a good bet to fight Chavez in early June. 8) Dmitry Pirog (15-85-85) Last Fight: 9/25/2011- RTD10 Gennady Martirosyan (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/1/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bouncing back relatively quickly from a shoulder injury, Pirog has now reserved a May 1 date in Moscow. Bursak was rumored, but it appears Darren Barker really was the guy, until it was revealed that Barker’s been injured all along.
9) Anthony Mundine (2-6-59) Last Fight: 10/19/2011- UD12 Rigoberto Alvarez (UNR) (at JMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
10) Sam Soliman (2-2-4) Last Fight: 2/19/2012- UD12 #15 Garth Wood Next Fight: Unknown 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (1-59) Last Fight: 2/4/2012- L(UD12) vs. #7 Julio Cesar Chavez
Next Fight: Unknown
Rubio renewed his relevance with what was officially an upset over Lemieux, but the more proven Chavez proved to be a prospect too far.
12) Osumanu Adama (1-51) Last Fight: 3/7/2012- L(UD12) vs. #1 Daniel Geale Next Fight: Unknown Adama came up short against Geale, but has nothing to be ashamed of. He frequently took the #1 contender out of his game plan and looked entirely in his league at that lofty level. 13) Paul Williams (2-4) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12 #17 Nobuhiro Ishida (as JMW) Next Fight: Unknown 14) Avtandil Khurtsidze (2-59) Last Fight: 12/18/2011- W(MD12) vs. Ossie Duran (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered Khurtsidze to defend his new goofy color-coded belt against gatekeeper Domenico Spada. 15) Max Bursak (2-59) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- TKO3 Laatekwei Hammond (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It appears that Pirog and N’Dam are competing for a chance to fight him next. It now looks like N’Dam might be winning those sweepstakes, as a fight with N’Dam is now heavily rumored for April 20 in Equatorial Guinea.
16) Gennady Golovkin (2-39) Last Fight: 12/9/2011- KO1 Lajuan Simon (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Golovkin can’t get anyone to fight him. 17) Demetrius Andrade (2-30) Last Fight: 2/10/2012- KO2 Angel Hernandez (UNR) (at JMW) Next Fight: Unknown With original opponent Derek Ennis getting sick 2 days before the fight, Andrade instead dispatched journeyman Angel Hernandez on ESPN2. 18) Darren Barker (2-22) Last Fight: 10/1/2011- L(KO11) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez Next Fight: Unknown Barker bowed out of opportunities to fight Murray and Pirog, and now we have a possible reason as he has apparently been injured for a while, needs surgery, and is done until the fall. 19) Billi Godoy (2-21) Last Fight: 11/12/2011- TKO1 Luciano Silva (UNR) Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. Carlos Baldomir (UNR) Godoy is now set to fight former welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in Neuquen, Argentina on April 13. 20) Nobuhiro Ishida (2-2) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(UD12) vs. JMW #? Paul Williams Next Fight: Unknown
The Week Ahead: The Championship is on the line at Madison Square Garden in a very high-level match-up on Saturday, as Champion Sergio Martinez celebrates 100 weeks with the crown by taking on #3 Matthew Macklin.
In Saturday’s other notable fight at 160, #2 Grzegorz Proksa stays busy in Sheffield, England when he meets British journeyman Kerry Hope.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
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