Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog

Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, gatekeeper Jesus Soto Karass ground out a split decision win over one-loss prospect Said El Harrak.  I expect to watch this fight and will edit this with a more detailed description after doing so.

 

But the main news in the division this week is very sad.  Just 6 days after signing to fight Canelo on September 15, longtime contender Paul Williams (#8 last week) was involved in a serious motorcycle accident, and is reportedly paralyzed.  It’s my sad duty to remove him from the rankings due to the catastrophic injury.  I expect that I speak for all of my readers when I say we’re praying for him.

 

Everyone ranked #9 and below last week moves up.  Gabriel Rosado reclaims a spot in the top 10, and Antonio Margarito returns at #20, each having been displaced by the 5/5 Mayweather-Cotto card.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: None

1) Saul Alvarez (4-65-80)

Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD12 Shane Mosley (UNR)

Next Fight: 9/15/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent

Canelo signed to fight Paul Williams, but Williams was paralyzed less than a week later. 

2) Carlos Molina (4-47-62)

Last Fight: 3/23/2012- L*(DQ10) vs. #3 James Kirkland (Robbery)

Next Fight: Unknown

Molina has said he’ll appeal his DQ against Kirkland.

3) Cornelius Bundrage (10-95-95)

Last Fight: 6/25/2011- UD12 #11 Sechew Powell

Next Fight: 7/28/2012- vs. #12 Cory Spinks

K9 will give Cory Spinks a rematch on July 28.  K9 won by brutal beatdown last time.

4) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (4-4-4)

Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD12* #4 Miguel Cotto

Next Fight: Unknown

Floyd says he’s considering retirement after a tough fight with Cotto.  But more recently, future fights against Pacquiao, Canelo, Khan, Cotto, Guerrero, and Berto/Ortiz have been mentioned.

5) Miguel Cotto (4-104-104)

Last Fight: 5/5/2012- L* (UD12) vs. WW #1 Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Next Fight: Unknown

Cotto plans to return by the end of the year, and continue fighting for 2 or 3 more years.  Rematches with both Pacquiao and Mayweather appear to be possibilities at some point.

6) Erislandy Lara (4-47-69)

Last Fight: 4/20/2012- TKO1 Ronald Hearns (UNR) (at MW)

Next Fight: Unknown

The WBC ordered an eliminator between Lara and Vanes for a shot at Canelo, but Vanes- true to form- turned it down.  Lara hopes to return in June, and is considering Mundine and Quintana.  He also says he’d meet Victor Ortiz at a 150-pound catchweight on June 23.

7) James Kirkland (4-30-30)

Last Fight: 3/24/2012- W*(DQ10) vs. #6 Carlos Molina (Robbery)

Next Fight: Unknown

Kirkland appeared to be the frontrunner for Canelo’s 9/15 date before Paul Williams got the nod.  Now that Williams is out of commission, we’ll see if Kirkland steps back up to the plate.

8) Alfredo Angulo (1-140-140)

Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L (TKO6) vs. James Kirkland (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Troubling news.  Angulo has been detained by US authorities since at least January.  Apparently his only crime was being here on an expired Visa.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m in favor of enforcing immigration laws, but to lock a guy up for months on end without so much as a trial?  Awful.  We’re rooting for you, Perro.

9) Ryan Rhodes (1-136-136)

Last Fight: 11/26/2011- W (PTS8) vs. Sergei Khomitski (UNR) (at MW)

Next Fight: 6/16/2012- vs. Sergei Rabchenko (UNR)

After suffering a back injury, Rhodes has rescheduled his fight with Rabchenko for June 16 in Manchester.

10) Gabriel Rosado (1-1-69)

Last Fight: 1/21/2012- TKO5 Jesus Soto Karass (UNR)

Next Fight: 6/1/2013- vs. #19 Sechew Powel

With just less than a month to go before the fight, Sechew Powell has replaced Joel Julio as Rosado’s opponent.

11) Cory Spinks (1-18)

Last Fight: 1/28/2012- UD12 #11 Sechew Powell

Next Fight: 7/28/2012- vs. #3 Cornelius Bundrage

Spinks will have a rematch with #3 K9 Bundrage in San Jose on July 28.  He’s brave for taking it, considering the beating he took last time.

12) Austin Trout (1-69)

Last Fight: 11/11/2011- TKO6 Frank LoPorto (UNR)

Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. #13 Delvin Rodriguez

Trout-Rodriguez is now official for June 2 on Showtime.

13) Delvin Rodriguez (1-46)

Last Fight: 12/3/2011- UD10* #9 Pawel Wolak

Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. #12 Austin Trout

See Trout’s notes, above.

14) Brian Rose (1-26)

Last Fight: 3/31/2012- UD12 Max Maxwell (UNR)

Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Kris Carslaw (UNR)

In fairness, the British light middleweight scene is extremely thin compared to other divisions, but I can’t say that Rose’s title reign is off to a great start.  He’s defending his title against a second consecutive journeyman that could be called mid-level at best.

15) Shane Mosley (1-4)

Last Fight: 5/5/2012- L (UD12) vs. #2 Saul Alvarez

Next Fight: Unknown

Everybody but Mosley appears to know he’s done, but he still has the resume to hold a top 20 ranking.  Let’s hope he retires soon, though.

16) Vanes Martirosyan (1-52)

Last Fight: 2/4/2012- TKO3 Troy Lowry (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Vanes has become extremely risk averse since his difficult fight with Roman last June, as he has now turned down an eliminator against Lara.

17) Lukas Konecny (1-42)

Last Fight: 4/5/2012- TKO7 Salim Larbi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

The WBO is looking to make Konecny-Baysangurov happen, and has set 6/4 as the deadline for an agreement to avoid purse bids.

18) Carlos Quintana (1-4)

Last Fight: 5/5/2012- TKO6 Deandre Latimore (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Quintana said he wanted Canelo in the immediate aftermath of his upset TKO of Deandre Latimore, and has since expressed interest in Cotto, as well.

19) Sechew Powell (1-115)

Last Fight: 1/28/2012- L(UD12) vs. Cory Spinks (UNR)

Next Fight: 6/1/2012- vs. #10 Gabriel Rosado

Powell is a semi-short notice replacement for Joel Julio in the NBC Sports-televised bout with Gabriel Rosado.

20) Antonio Margarito (1-1)

Last Fight: 12/3/2011- L (TKO10) vs. #5 Miguel Cotto

Next Fight: 7/7/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent (at MW)

Margarito is expecting to be back in the ring on July 7 after recovering from an achilles injury, and expects to fight at Middleweight.

 

The Week Ahead: Friday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, #10 Gabriel Rosado and #19 Sechew Powell face off on NBC Sports Network.

 

Saturday in Tokyo, gatekeeper Daisuke Nakagawa fights solid journeyman Akio Shibata for Nakagawa’s Japanese title. 

 

Hours later in Manchester, England, #14 and British Champion Brian Rose makes a title defense against one-loss but still largely untested prospect Kris Karslaw.

 

Finally, even more hours later on the Tarver-Kayode undercard in Vegas, undefeated #12 Austin Trout meets his toughest test yet in #13 Delvin Rodriguez.

This entry was posted on March 13, 2013 at 4:54 am and is filed under Junior Middleweight, Rankings with tags Austin Trout, Brian Rose, Daisuke Nakagawa, Delvin Rodriguez, Gabriel Rosado, Jesus Soto Karass, Paul Williams, Sechew Powell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.