Super Middleweight: 2012, Nov 26- Dec 2
Andrea Di Luisa may have peaked. Not long ago, he was a fast-rising prospect and my unofficial #21 fighter at this weight. But then he was dominated by Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye, and now has been stopped in his own backyard by what must be described as a fringe prospect in Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse. According to local reports, Di Luisa was up a couple points on the cards when he surrendered following the 7th round. I have no idea if that scoring was legitimate given the location of the fight and the fact I didn’t personally watch it, but ultimately it doesn’t make much difference. If Google translate served me well, then I understand from an Italian website that the key damage that caused Di Luisa to submit was a punch to the neck from which he was never able to recover.
Next Fight: 1/26/2012- vs. #8 Kelly Pavlik Ward will be fighting Pavlik in LA on January 26. 1) Carl Froch (27-337-337)
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 (14-162-162)
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 (14-416-416) 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 (14-346-346)
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 (14-170-170) 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 (14-78-126)
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 (7-51-51) 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 (7-21-21) 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 (18-50-295) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 10) Karoly Balzsay (18-18-32) 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 (21-90) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW#? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Lee has recently challenged Matthew Macklin to what would likely be a middleweight bout. No word on whether or not that’s likely to happen. 12) Anthony Dirrell (18-52) 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 (18-24) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(UD10) vs. Kelly Pavlik (UNR) Next Fight: 12/19/2012- vs. Otis Griffin (UNR) Rosinsky will fight former fringe contender Otis Griffin- who recently reversed a losing streak with a win over a weaker journeyman- on December 19 in New York. 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (18-55) 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 (18-126)
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 (8-73) 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 (7-20) 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 (7-59) 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 (3-3) Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD10 Khoren Gevor (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Edwin Rodriguez (3-18) 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.
It appears that Tanzanian gatekeeper Francis Cheka’s scheduled fight with a debuting fighter in Oman was canceled, in case you cared about that one.
Does Rebrasse earn a ranking? No. He basically moves from the dividing line between fringe prospect and journeyman to being much more comfortably the former. He’s top 50 easily now, but not really close to top 25. The debacle that was the year 2011 for him ensures that, as he lost to an untested prospect and drew with a complete bum in the first half of that year. No changes this week.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (50-184-184) 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 (27-337-337)
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 (14-162-162)
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 (14-416-416) 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 (14-346-346)
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 (14-170-170) 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 (14-78-126)
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 (7-51-51) 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 (7-21-21) 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 (18-50-295) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 10) Karoly Balzsay (18-18-32) 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 (21-90) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW#? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Lee has recently challenged Matthew Macklin to what would likely be a middleweight bout. No word on whether or not that’s likely to happen. 12) Anthony Dirrell (18-52) 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 (18-24) Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(UD10) vs. Kelly Pavlik (UNR) Next Fight: 12/19/2012- vs. Otis Griffin (UNR) Rosinsky will fight former fringe contender Otis Griffin- who recently reversed a losing streak with a win over a weaker journeyman- on December 19 in New York. 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (18-55) 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 (18-126)
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 (8-73) 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 (7-20) 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 (7-59) 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 (3-3) Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD10 Khoren Gevor (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Edwin Rodriguez (3-18) 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: Peter Manfredo Jr. is coming out of a fairly brief retirement, and will fight journeyman Rayco Saunders on Thursday in Lincoln, Rhode Island. One word of caution- I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if this ends up a light heavyweight fight, since Saunders has never fought below 170 and has been a cruiserweight for the majority of his career.
Argentine prospect Pablo Farias visits Mexico City to fight inexperienced Guadalajara journeyman Santiago Ramos on Friday.
And on the Cotto-Trout undercard at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, prospect Danny Jacobs continues his post-cancer comeback against Cleveland journeyman Chris Fitzpatrick. This fight may happen at 160, but is likely to spill a pound or two over based on recent history.
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