Super Middleweight: 2012, Nov 19-25
#1 Carl Froch had a ridiculously easy time with #11 Yusaf Mack in Nottingham on Saturday. It’s no shame to lose to a top fighter like Froch, but Mack looked so bad in doing so that it makes one wonder if he might be done. There are some really bad performances in the recent history of boxing that can be attributed to excessive weight draining, and I can only hope for Mack’s sake that his problem was something of that nature. His reaction to the Froch punch that produced the first knockdown was so slow that he almost looked like he wanted to get hit by it.
Next Fight: 1/26/2012- vs. #8 Kelly Pavlik Ward will be fighting Pavlik in LA on January 26. 1) Carl Froch (26-336-336)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- KO3 LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #4 Lucian Bute Froch destroyed a passive and weak-looking Mack and is now probably all set for his March or April rematch with Bute.
2) Arthur Abraham (13-161-161)
Last Fight: 8/25/2012- UD12 #4 Robert Stieglitz
Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Mehdi Bouadla (UNR) Abraham will make a fairly weak follow-up to his big win over Stieglitz. His opponent is Mehdi Bouadla, who made a brave stand against Kessler before getting stopped fairly early in their 2011 fight. Since then, Bouadla- essentially a journeyman- has been fighting exclusively nobodies, mostly at middleweight. 3) Mikkel Kessler (13-415-415) Last Fight: 5/19/2012- KO5 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Brian Magee (UNR) Kessler fights fringe contender Brian Magee in Herning, Denmark on December 8. 4) Lucian Bute (13-345-345)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #1 Carl Froch Bute struggled a fair amount in his win over Grachev, and now presumably will have to deal with Froch for a second time.
5) Robert Stieglitz (13-169-169) Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: Unknown Stieglitz was somewhat busted up in the tough Abraham fight, and so I expect him to take a few months off at least. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (13-77-125)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen missed weight initially but managed to sweat it off to fight Zuniga. He has reportedly been working on a potential deal to fight Gennady Golovkin since before that fight. 7) Adonis Stevenson (6-50-50) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stevenson probably has a shot at Carl Froch due to him at some point, as he is the mandatory challenger for Froch’s belt. But Froch already has a fight coming up soon with Yusaf Mack, and a contracted fight with Bute likely in March. 8) Kelly Pavlik (6-20-20) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- UD10 #12 Will Rosinsky Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward Pavlik will get a shot at Ward sooner than expected: January 26, in LA. 9) Sakio Bika (17-49-294) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 10) Karoly Balzsay (17-17-31) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison Next Fight: Unknown Balzsay pulled out of a scheduled alphabet title defense with fringe contender Brian Magee with a back injury. 11) Andy Lee (20-89) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW#? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown 12) Anthony Dirrell (17-51) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After his motorcycle crash, Anthony Dirrell was said to be out until at least November. Here we are in late November, and not a peep. Hopefully he gets back in the ring before his woefully inactive twin brother. As for his ranking, I will now commit to not remove him until at least June 2, 2013 due to his very serious injury situation. 13) Will Rosinsky (17-23) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(UD10) vs. Kelly Pavlik (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (17-54) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #18 James DeGale Ndiaye’s fight with DeGale is set for late January instead of December 8 as reported earlier. DeGale will be fighting a likely lesser opponent on December 8, it appears. 15) Dimitri Sartison (17-125)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- L(TKO12) vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Sartison has been medically cleared following his third knee surgery, and is looking to return in December. 16) Jesus Gonzales (7-72) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Next Fight: 1/19/2012- vs. Albert Onolunose (UNR) Gonzales’ fight at Desperado’s Nightclub in Calgary has been pushed back for a second time- this time to January 19. But at least he has an opponent now- Nigerian journeyman Albert Onolunose, who is frankly a level or two better than I was expecting Gonzales to fight in such a small-sounding venue. 17) George Groves (6-19) Last Fight: 7/28/2012- TKO6 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Glen Johnson (UNR) Groves’s December 15 opponent turned out to be kind of a surprise: former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson. Johnson retired just a few months ago, but evidently isn’t ready to keep them hung up yet. This could be an interesting crossroads fight. 18) James DeGale (6-58) Last Fight: 10/13/2012- UD12* Hadillah Mohoumadi (UNR) Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent To clarify- DeGale will still apparently be back on December 8, and his fight with Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye is still on, but the December 8 fight will likely be mostly a stay-busy affair, while the important Ndiaye fight will take place on January 26. 19) Maxim Vlasov (2-2) Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD10 Khoren Gevor (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Edwin Rodriguez (2-17) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown According to Gennady Golovkin’s trainer, Rodriguez turned down a huge offer to fight Golovkin.
Froch obviously stays at #1. Though Mack is now technically an active Super Middleweight, he hasn’t beaten anybody at this weight in over 5 years and thus isn’t considered for a ranking. No changes.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (49-183-183) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 1/26/2012- vs. #8 Kelly Pavlik Ward will be fighting Pavlik in LA on January 26. 1) Carl Froch (26-336-336)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- KO3 LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #4 Lucian Bute Froch destroyed a passive and weak-looking Mack and is now probably all set for his March or April rematch with Bute.
2) Arthur Abraham (13-161-161)
Last Fight: 8/25/2012- UD12 #4 Robert Stieglitz
Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Mehdi Bouadla (UNR) Abraham will make a fairly weak follow-up to his big win over Stieglitz. His opponent is Mehdi Bouadla, who made a brave stand against Kessler before getting stopped fairly early in their 2011 fight. Since then, Bouadla- essentially a journeyman- has been fighting exclusively nobodies, mostly at middleweight. 3) Mikkel Kessler (13-415-415) Last Fight: 5/19/2012- KO5 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Brian Magee (UNR) Kessler fights fringe contender Brian Magee in Herning, Denmark on December 8. 4) Lucian Bute (13-345-345)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #1 Carl Froch Bute struggled a fair amount in his win over Grachev, and now presumably will have to deal with Froch for a second time.
5) Robert Stieglitz (13-169-169) Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: Unknown Stieglitz was somewhat busted up in the tough Abraham fight, and so I expect him to take a few months off at least. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (13-77-125)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen missed weight initially but managed to sweat it off to fight Zuniga. He has reportedly been working on a potential deal to fight Gennady Golovkin since before that fight. 7) Adonis Stevenson (6-50-50) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stevenson probably has a shot at Carl Froch due to him at some point, as he is the mandatory challenger for Froch’s belt. But Froch already has a fight coming up soon with Yusaf Mack, and a contracted fight with Bute likely in March. 8) Kelly Pavlik (6-20-20) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- UD10 #12 Will Rosinsky Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward Pavlik will get a shot at Ward sooner than expected: January 26, in LA. 9) Sakio Bika (17-49-294) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 10) Karoly Balzsay (17-17-31) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison Next Fight: Unknown Balzsay pulled out of a scheduled alphabet title defense with fringe contender Brian Magee with a back injury. 11) Andy Lee (20-89) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW#? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown 12) Anthony Dirrell (17-51) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After his motorcycle crash, Anthony Dirrell was said to be out until at least November. Here we are in late November, and not a peep. Hopefully he gets back in the ring before his woefully inactive twin brother. As for his ranking, I will now commit to not remove him until at least June 2, 2013 due to his very serious injury situation. 13) Will Rosinsky (17-23) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(UD10) vs. Kelly Pavlik (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (17-54) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #18 James DeGale Ndiaye’s fight with DeGale is set for late January instead of December 8 as reported earlier. DeGale will be fighting a likely lesser opponent on December 8, it appears. 15) Dimitri Sartison (17-125)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- L(TKO12) vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Sartison has been medically cleared following his third knee surgery, and is looking to return in December. 16) Jesus Gonzales (7-72) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Next Fight: 1/19/2012- vs. Albert Onolunose (UNR) Gonzales’ fight at Desperado’s Nightclub in Calgary has been pushed back for a second time- this time to January 19. But at least he has an opponent now- Nigerian journeyman Albert Onolunose, who is frankly a level or two better than I was expecting Gonzales to fight in such a small-sounding venue. 17) George Groves (6-19) Last Fight: 7/28/2012- TKO6 Francisco Sierra (UNR) Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Glen Johnson (UNR) Groves’s December 15 opponent turned out to be kind of a surprise: former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson. Johnson retired just a few months ago, but evidently isn’t ready to keep them hung up yet. This could be an interesting crossroads fight. 18) James DeGale (6-58) Last Fight: 10/13/2012- UD12* Hadillah Mohoumadi (UNR) Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent To clarify- DeGale will still apparently be back on December 8, and his fight with Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye is still on, but the December 8 fight will likely be mostly a stay-busy affair, while the important Ndiaye fight will take place on January 26. 19) Maxim Vlasov (2-2) Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD10 Khoren Gevor (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Edwin Rodriguez (2-17) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown According to Gennady Golovkin’s trainer, Rodriguez turned down a huge offer to fight Golovkin.
The Week Ahead: Friday in Viterbo, Italy, local one-loss prospect Andrea Di Luisa meets Christopher Rebrasse of France in a well-matched battle of two guys needing a win to maintain their status as viable prospects. Di Luisa was nearly ranked here before he was dominated by Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye last year. Rebrasse has momentum in his favor, having defeated fellow prospect Hugo Kasperski in his last major fight, but is the visiting fighter and also has 3 very bad performances against unimpressive opposition on his record. The winner will probably get a European title shot in the future, while the loser may become a confirmed journeyman.
Sunday in Muscat, Oman, borderline fringe contender Francis Cheka of Tanzania will strangely be fighting Amin Saad Alswayni, a local fighter making his pro debut according to Boxrec. I can’t find any evidence that Alswayni is a decorated amateur or even some kind of kickboxing champion or something. So I’m not sure why this fight is happening.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
November 30, 2012 at 9:51 am
Froch is definitely on his way up but I saw him lose to Ward in Atlantic City, I doubt he’ll be able to pull off a different result if they fight again. Do you think Pavlik has a shot? I think he has such a hard time with slick styles that it’ll go down a lot like the Martinez fight, except Ward won’t get hit or wobbled like Maravilla did.
November 30, 2012 at 10:28 am
Froch is a smart fighter who gives max effort, so if he couldn’t figure out a way to get to Ward the first time, I agree that he probably never will. It’s unfortunate, too. The guy’s ability and willingness to fight anyone would probably earn him a legitimate championship in most divisions in the sport, but he’s stuck behind Ward in the two divisions in which he could reasonably contend.
I’m not that great at predictions, but I don’t give Pavlik anything more than a slight puncher’s chance. I don’t necessarily see it going like Pavlik-Martinez, though. Ward can certainly move and give angles when he needs to (see Ward-Kessler), but considering that Pavlik’s only chance is probably to keep Ward at range and land potshots, my guess is that Ward will spend of the lot of the night infighting like he did against Allan Green. That will neutralize Pavlik’s long arms and test his conditioning- which has to be considered a bit suspect given all of the former Champ’s problems over the last few years. To be honest, I think Pavlik has regressed quite a bit since he fought Martinez, and I think Ward is about as close to invincible right now as a fighter can be.
November 30, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Wow, well said. I think I agree with you on everything. Good term for Pavlik, “regressed.” I think that’s the story on fighters like him. He may be forced to come to terms with reality after facing Ward.