Super Middleweight: 2013, Jan 28- Feb 3
My lack of faith in the prospects of #15 Dimitri Sartison’s scheduled fight Sunday actually coming off was apparently misplaced. Sartison did, in fact, fight on Sunday in Heerlen, Netherlands, winning a ho-hum 6-round decision over journeyman Artem Solomko. The fight was at light heavyweight.
Next Fight: Unknown Ward’s done with surgery, and is likely out until at least the Summer. 1) Carl Froch (36-346-346)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- KO3 LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler The deal is done. Froch will get a rematch with Kessler on May 25 in London. 2) Arthur Abraham (7-171-171)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- TKO8 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- vs. #5 Robert Stieglitz Abraham will rematch Stieglitz on March 23 in Stieglitz’s hometown of Magdeburg. 3) Mikkel Kessler (7-425-425) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO3 Brian Magee (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch See Froch’s notes, above. 4) Lucian Bute (23-355-355) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Bute will reportedly fight the Bika/Sjekloca winner as part of a split-site broadcast with Froch-Kessler on May 25.
5) Robert Stieglitz (23-179-179) Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- #2 Arthur Abraham See Abraham’s notes, above. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (23-87-135)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/2/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Oosthuizen has a fight scheduled in Connecticut on March 2, but no opponent yet. Adonis Stevenson has been rumored. 7) Adonis Stevenson (16-60-60) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stevenson is petitioning the IBF to allow him to fight either Oosthuizen, Bute, or Edwin Rodriguez for an interim title. If successful, he would theoretically get the Froch-Kessler winner for the full title. 8) George Groves (2-7-29) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- UD12 Glen Johnson (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #14 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye Ndiaye-Groves now has a date. March 16, as part of what’s shaping up to be a Frank Warren megacard at Wembley Arena in London. 9) Karoly Balzsay (2-27-41) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison Next Fight: Unknown Balzsay suffered a back injury way back in August, but I don’t know if that remains a factor as to why he hasn’t scheduled a fight since then. More likely, his ties to practically defunct promotional company Universum are the primary reason. 10) Andy Lee (2-2-99) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW #4 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: 2/9/2013- vs. Anthony Fitzgerald (UNR) After the death of his trainer and father figure Emmanuel Steward, Lee is back in the British Isles, training with Adam Booth. He is scheduled to fight in Belfast for his first fight on the east side of the Atlantic since 2010 on February 9 against decent Irish journeyman Anthony Fitzgerald. This could turn out to be at 160, which would put his 168 ranking in jeopardy. 11) Sakio Bika (2-304) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR) Next Fight: 2/16/2013- vs. Nikola Sjekloca (UNR) Bika will get a very winnable fight with mediocre prospect Sjekloca for an interim title or, in effect, a potential shot at Champion Andre Ward. Or maybe a shot at Bute for an eventual shot at Ward. 12) Anthony Dirrell (2-61) 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. November has come and gone, 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 (2-33) Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown Rosinsky was cut and also outmuscled for much of his fight with Griffin, but managed to cobble together enough rounds to eek out a decision. He admitted after the fight that he’s too small for light heavyweight, and pledged to return here or, possibly, even drop down to 160. 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (2-64) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #8 George Groves Ndiaye-Groves is set for March 16 in London. 15) Dimitri Sartison (2-135)
Last Fight: 1/27/2013- UD6 Artem Solomko (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/9/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Sartison is busy again, if nothing else. After decisioning a weak opponent on 1/27, he’s got another fight scheduled for 3/9 already. 16) James DeGale (2-68) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown DeGale had verbally penciled in his return for mid-February, but no discussion of that in a while. 17) Ezequiel Maderna (2-5) Last Fight: 12/14/2012- RTD7 Claudio Abalos Next Fight: Unknown Maderna is back in the rankings for the first time since December 2011 after his under-the-radar win over Abalos. 18) Jesus Gonzales (2-82) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Next Fight: 3/2/2013- vs. Albert Onolunose (UNR) Gonzales’ fight at Desperado’s Nightclub in Calgary has been pushed back for a third time- this time to March 2. That puts him over a year from his last fight, so if it falls through, he’s gone. 19) Maxim Vlasov (2-12) Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After fighting just once in the first 10 months of 2012, Vlasov closed strong with 2 solid wins in the last 2 months. 20) Edwin Rodriguez (2-2) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The last news on Rodriguez’s next fight was that he would be participating in a 4-man tournament in Monaco starting in March, with Zsolt Erdei, Jean Paul Mendy, and Dmitri Sukhotski. This news surfaced before Christmas, and I’ve heard no more about it. Stay tuned.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (59-193-193) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown Ward’s done with surgery, and is likely out until at least the Summer. 1) Carl Froch (36-346-346)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- KO3 LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler The deal is done. Froch will get a rematch with Kessler on May 25 in London. 2) Arthur Abraham (7-171-171)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- TKO8 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- vs. #5 Robert Stieglitz Abraham will rematch Stieglitz on March 23 in Stieglitz’s hometown of Magdeburg. 3) Mikkel Kessler (7-425-425) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO3 Brian Magee (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch See Froch’s notes, above. 4) Lucian Bute (23-355-355) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Bute will reportedly fight the Bika/Sjekloca winner as part of a split-site broadcast with Froch-Kessler on May 25.
5) Robert Stieglitz (23-179-179) Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- #2 Arthur Abraham See Abraham’s notes, above. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (23-87-135)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/2/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Oosthuizen has a fight scheduled in Connecticut on March 2, but no opponent yet. Adonis Stevenson has been rumored. 7) Adonis Stevenson (16-60-60) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stevenson is petitioning the IBF to allow him to fight either Oosthuizen, Bute, or Edwin Rodriguez for an interim title. If successful, he would theoretically get the Froch-Kessler winner for the full title. 8) George Groves (2-7-29) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- UD12 Glen Johnson (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #14 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye Ndiaye-Groves now has a date. March 16, as part of what’s shaping up to be a Frank Warren megacard at Wembley Arena in London. 9) Karoly Balzsay (2-27-41) Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison Next Fight: Unknown Balzsay suffered a back injury way back in August, but I don’t know if that remains a factor as to why he hasn’t scheduled a fight since then. More likely, his ties to practically defunct promotional company Universum are the primary reason. 10) Andy Lee (2-2-99) Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW #4 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW) Next Fight: 2/9/2013- vs. Anthony Fitzgerald (UNR) After the death of his trainer and father figure Emmanuel Steward, Lee is back in the British Isles, training with Adam Booth. He is scheduled to fight in Belfast for his first fight on the east side of the Atlantic since 2010 on February 9 against decent Irish journeyman Anthony Fitzgerald. This could turn out to be at 160, which would put his 168 ranking in jeopardy. 11) Sakio Bika (2-304) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR) Next Fight: 2/16/2013- vs. Nikola Sjekloca (UNR) Bika will get a very winnable fight with mediocre prospect Sjekloca for an interim title or, in effect, a potential shot at Champion Andre Ward. Or maybe a shot at Bute for an eventual shot at Ward. 12) Anthony Dirrell (2-61) 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. November has come and gone, 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 (2-33) Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown Rosinsky was cut and also outmuscled for much of his fight with Griffin, but managed to cobble together enough rounds to eek out a decision. He admitted after the fight that he’s too small for light heavyweight, and pledged to return here or, possibly, even drop down to 160. 14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (2-64) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #8 George Groves Ndiaye-Groves is set for March 16 in London. 15) Dimitri Sartison (2-135)
Last Fight: 1/27/2013- UD6 Artem Solomko (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/9/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Sartison is busy again, if nothing else. After decisioning a weak opponent on 1/27, he’s got another fight scheduled for 3/9 already. 16) James DeGale (2-68) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown DeGale had verbally penciled in his return for mid-February, but no discussion of that in a while. 17) Ezequiel Maderna (2-5) Last Fight: 12/14/2012- RTD7 Claudio Abalos Next Fight: Unknown Maderna is back in the rankings for the first time since December 2011 after his under-the-radar win over Abalos. 18) Jesus Gonzales (2-82) Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson Next Fight: 3/2/2013- vs. Albert Onolunose (UNR) Gonzales’ fight at Desperado’s Nightclub in Calgary has been pushed back for a third time- this time to March 2. That puts him over a year from his last fight, so if it falls through, he’s gone. 19) Maxim Vlasov (2-12) Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown After fighting just once in the first 10 months of 2012, Vlasov closed strong with 2 solid wins in the last 2 months. 20) Edwin Rodriguez (2-2) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The last news on Rodriguez’s next fight was that he would be participating in a 4-man tournament in Monaco starting in March, with Zsolt Erdei, Jean Paul Mendy, and Dmitri Sukhotski. This news surfaced before Christmas, and I’ve heard no more about it. Stay tuned.
The Week Ahead: Gatekeeper Don George fights in his hometown of Chicago against weak and inactive Missouri journeyman James Cook on the Friday Night Fights card. I don’t know if the fight will make the broadcast- my guess is no- but perhaps it will sneak onto the post-broadcast broadcast on ESPN3.com.
Andre Dirrell is scheduled to fight in McAllen, Texas on Saturday against journeyman Michael Gbenga. This would be Dirrell’s first fight in over a year, and just his second in nearly 3 years. Still, he’s likely to claim some sort of ranking if he wins and stays under 168.
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