Heavyweight: 2012, Nov 26- Dec 2
No heavyweight fights of note to report on from last week.
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (179-392-392)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Mariusz Wach (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Tyson Fury says that Wlad has agreed to fight him probably in mid-2013. Fury’s impression is that Wlad will likely fight Povetkin first in March. The latter is consistent with previous reports that Wlad’s March opponent prospects included Povetkin and Boytsov. No statement either way from the Klitschko camp yet.
1) Vitali Klitschko (216-216-216)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO4 Manuel Charr (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Vitali says he’ll decide whether to retire or fight on by December 17.
2) David Haye (20-20-20) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- TKO5 #6 Dereck Chisora Next Fight: Unknown Haye has indicated that a fight with Vitali may be the only fight that would lure him away from re-retiring. He may get his wish, as there is now talk of a March 2013 matchup. 3) Tomasz Adamek (20-136-136)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO5 Travis Walker (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/22/2012- vs. CW #4 Steve Cunningham
Originally scheduled to fight Odlanier Solis, Adamek will instead fight a rematch of his classic cruiserweight title fight of 4 years ago when he fights Steve Cunningham in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after Solis pulled out. 4) Alexander Povetkin (20-266-266) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO2 Hasim Rahman (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
There are currently rumors floating around to the effect that Povetkin has emerged as the frontrunner for the March shot at Wlad.
5) Tyson Fury (4-71-71) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO5 Vinny Maddalone (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/1/2012- vs. Kevin Johnson (UNR)
Fury says that Wlad has orally agreed to fight him, likely in mid-2013. But Fury has to get by Kevin Johnson first. 6) Eddie Chambers (4-24-24) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(UD12) vs. #3 Tomasz Adamek Next Fight: Unknown Chambers has announced he’ll be moving down to cruiserweight. He’ll stay rated here for the time being, until he’s been inactive at heavyweight for a year or schedules a cruiserweight fight for after that time. 7) Kubrat Pulev (4-30-107) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- KO11 Alexander Ustinov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev may be in for a fight with the Adamek-Cunningham winner, or may go straight to a shot at Wlad in early 2013.
8) Dereck Chisora (4-52-115) 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) Johnathon Banks (2-2-2) Last Fight: 11/17/2012- TKO2 #11 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown Seth Mitchell apparently plans to exercise a rematch clause for a return bout with Banks. If the rematch is called off by Mitchell or is anything but immediate, Banks is interested in Adamek, Povetkin, as well as the Arreola-Stiverne winner. 10) Odlanier Solis (2-4-131)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Solis pulled out of his December 22 fight with Adamek, apparently due to severe differences with his Turkish promoter Ahmet Oner, from whom he is apparently trying to separate himself. Solis’ scheduling has been notoriously unreliable under Oner ever since he injured his knee against Vitali Klitschko. 11) Marco Huck (2-40) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- W*(UD12) vs. CW #10 Firat Arslan (Robbery) Next Fight: Unknown Huck will be fighting a trilogy with Afolabi, with the last fight being in March, when Afolabi is likely to get robbed in Germany. 12) Robert Helenius (3-131)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- W*(UD10) vs. Sherman Williams (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Barely squeaked by after a comatose performance against journeyman Williams. The judges had it pretty wide, but make no mistake- it was a 1 or 2 point either way kind of fight. 13) Ruslan Chagaev (20-315) Last Fight: 9/1/2012- TKO7 Werner Kreiskott (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/1/2012- vs. Yakup Saglam (UNR)
Unfortunately the really interesting crossroads fight between Chagaev and undefeated Cuban prospect Mike Perez was canceled when Perez came down with a shoulder injury a week before the fight. Chagaev will now fight Turkish fringe prospect Yakup Saglam in what figures to be a much easier fight.
14) Alexander Dimitrenko (20-98) 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 (20-131)
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 (20-193)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #19 Bermane Stiverne
As I long expected, Don King wasn’t able to finalize the fight in Venezuela. Dan Goossen will now stage the fight as the co-feature to Ward-Pavlik in L.A., January 26.
17) Denis Boytsov (20-180)
Last Fight: 4/13/2012- UD10 Dominick Guinn (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Boytsov very well may remain a candidate to fight Wlad in March, but it now appears that Povetkin may have the inside track. It’s not out of the question, as far as I know, that he might fight Fury- who is also in line for a fight with Wlad later in the year. The two had briefly been scheduled to do just that, but Boytsov got cold feet. 18) Jean-Marc Mormeck (20-131) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: 12/22/2012- vs. CW #6 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (at CW)
Wlodarczyk has now confirmed that he will indeed be fighting Mormeck in December. 19) Bermane Stiverne (20-75) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #16 Chris Arreola
See Arreola’s notes above. 20) Edmund Gerber (20-30) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD8 Darnell Wilson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Had little problem with fat little journeyman Darnell Wilson, except a big scare in the closing seconds of round 1.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (179-392-392)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Mariusz Wach (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Tyson Fury says that Wlad has agreed to fight him probably in mid-2013. Fury’s impression is that Wlad will likely fight Povetkin first in March. The latter is consistent with previous reports that Wlad’s March opponent prospects included Povetkin and Boytsov. No statement either way from the Klitschko camp yet.
1) Vitali Klitschko (216-216-216)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO4 Manuel Charr (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Vitali says he’ll decide whether to retire or fight on by December 17.
2) David Haye (20-20-20) Last Fight: 7/14/2012- TKO5 #6 Dereck Chisora Next Fight: Unknown Haye has indicated that a fight with Vitali may be the only fight that would lure him away from re-retiring. He may get his wish, as there is now talk of a March 2013 matchup. 3) Tomasz Adamek (20-136-136)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO5 Travis Walker (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/22/2012- vs. CW #4 Steve Cunningham
Originally scheduled to fight Odlanier Solis, Adamek will instead fight a rematch of his classic cruiserweight title fight of 4 years ago when he fights Steve Cunningham in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after Solis pulled out. 4) Alexander Povetkin (20-266-266) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO2 Hasim Rahman (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
There are currently rumors floating around to the effect that Povetkin has emerged as the frontrunner for the March shot at Wlad.
5) Tyson Fury (4-71-71) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- TKO5 Vinny Maddalone (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/1/2012- vs. Kevin Johnson (UNR)
Fury says that Wlad has orally agreed to fight him, likely in mid-2013. But Fury has to get by Kevin Johnson first. 6) Eddie Chambers (4-24-24) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(UD12) vs. #3 Tomasz Adamek Next Fight: Unknown Chambers has announced he’ll be moving down to cruiserweight. He’ll stay rated here for the time being, until he’s been inactive at heavyweight for a year or schedules a cruiserweight fight for after that time. 7) Kubrat Pulev (4-30-107) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- KO11 Alexander Ustinov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev may be in for a fight with the Adamek-Cunningham winner, or may go straight to a shot at Wlad in early 2013.
8) Dereck Chisora (4-52-115) 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) Johnathon Banks (2-2-2) Last Fight: 11/17/2012- TKO2 #11 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown Seth Mitchell apparently plans to exercise a rematch clause for a return bout with Banks. If the rematch is called off by Mitchell or is anything but immediate, Banks is interested in Adamek, Povetkin, as well as the Arreola-Stiverne winner. 10) Odlanier Solis (2-4-131)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- UD12 Konstantin Airich (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Solis pulled out of his December 22 fight with Adamek, apparently due to severe differences with his Turkish promoter Ahmet Oner, from whom he is apparently trying to separate himself. Solis’ scheduling has been notoriously unreliable under Oner ever since he injured his knee against Vitali Klitschko. 11) Marco Huck (2-40) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- W*(UD12) vs. CW #10 Firat Arslan (Robbery) Next Fight: Unknown Huck will be fighting a trilogy with Afolabi, with the last fight being in March, when Afolabi is likely to get robbed in Germany. 12) Robert Helenius (3-131)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- W*(UD10) vs. Sherman Williams (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Barely squeaked by after a comatose performance against journeyman Williams. The judges had it pretty wide, but make no mistake- it was a 1 or 2 point either way kind of fight. 13) Ruslan Chagaev (20-315) Last Fight: 9/1/2012- TKO7 Werner Kreiskott (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/1/2012- vs. Yakup Saglam (UNR)
Unfortunately the really interesting crossroads fight between Chagaev and undefeated Cuban prospect Mike Perez was canceled when Perez came down with a shoulder injury a week before the fight. Chagaev will now fight Turkish fringe prospect Yakup Saglam in what figures to be a much easier fight.
14) Alexander Dimitrenko (20-98) 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 (20-131)
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 (20-193)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- KO1 Eric Molina (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #19 Bermane Stiverne
As I long expected, Don King wasn’t able to finalize the fight in Venezuela. Dan Goossen will now stage the fight as the co-feature to Ward-Pavlik in L.A., January 26.
17) Denis Boytsov (20-180)
Last Fight: 4/13/2012- UD10 Dominick Guinn (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Boytsov very well may remain a candidate to fight Wlad in March, but it now appears that Povetkin may have the inside track. It’s not out of the question, as far as I know, that he might fight Fury- who is also in line for a fight with Wlad later in the year. The two had briefly been scheduled to do just that, but Boytsov got cold feet. 18) Jean-Marc Mormeck (20-131) Last Fight: 3/3/2012- L(TKO4) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Next Fight: 12/22/2012- vs. CW #6 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (at CW)
Wlodarczyk has now confirmed that he will indeed be fighting Mormeck in December. 19) Bermane Stiverne (20-75) Last Fight: 4/14/2012- UD8 Willie Herring (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/26/2013- vs. #16 Chris Arreola
See Arreola’s notes above. 20) Edmund Gerber (20-30) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD8 Darnell Wilson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Had little problem with fat little journeyman Darnell Wilson, except a big scare in the closing seconds of round 1.
THE WEEK AHEAD: England’s two rising heavyweights- who also happen to be bitter rivals- are both in action this weekend. Knockout sensation David Price fights quality journeyman Matt Skelton in Price’s native Liverpool on Friday, while on Saturday, #5 Tyson Fury takes on American Kevin Johnson, who is either a prospect or a gatekeeper depending on how you view his record. Johnson was briefly in the top 20 after stopping Alex Leapai in April, but squandered that success in the British Prizefighter International Heavyweights tournament, when he lost to Tor Hamer and should have lost to Albert Sosnowski in the finals and semis, respectively. In fairness, those were merely 3-round fights and were his second and third fights of the night, so I hesitate to draw Earth-shattering conclusions from those results.
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