Super Middleweight: 2013, Mar 18-24
Peter Manfredo, Jr. returned to action with a ho-hum decision over 3-year inactive journeyman Walter Wright in Lincoln, Rhode Island on Friday. Manfredo lost between zero and three rounds out of ten depending upon which judge you ask. He came in at 168.5, meaning he doesn’t qualify for consideration of a renewed ranking, having not fought as a super middleweight since January 2011.
Next Fight: Unknown Ward has said he’d move down to 160 to fight Floyd Mayweather, after Mayweather took some unsolicited shots at him. 1) Carl Froch (43-353-353)
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 (14-178-178)
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 (14-432-432) 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 (30-362-362) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. LHW #3 Jean Pascal (at LHW) Bute will be fighting Jean Pascal at light heavyweight in a huge Canadian event in May.
5) Robert Stieglitz (30-186-186) 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 (30-94-142)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen was supposed to be fighting in February, but no opponent was ever named, and the fight seems to have quietly vacated the schedule. 7) Adonis Stevenson (23-67-67) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Darnell Boone (UNR) With his hopes of fighting Carl Froch dashed for the moment, Stevenson will tend to some unfinished business when he tries to avenge his 2010 stoppage loss to Darnell Boone on March 22 in Montreal. 8) George Groves (9-14-36) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- TKO3 Dario Balmaceda (UNR) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Groves will fight an as-yet-unnamed opponent on the Froch-Kessler undercard in London on May 25. 9) Sakio Bika (3-5-311) Last Fight: 2/16/2013- UD12 Nikola Sjekloca (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Bika is the mandatory for Andre Ward, and has also expressed interest in Bernard Hopkins. 10) Anthony Dirrell (2-2-68) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dirrell stated via Twitter on February 20 that he’d be fighting a tune-up in 2 months. That means roughly mid-April. It’ll be good to see him back in the ring after coming back from several orthopedic injuries due to a motorcycle crash. 11) Will Rosinsky (2-40) Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown Rosinsky was all but set to fight Brandon Gonzales on Friday Night Fights, but Gonzales withdrew with a bad hamstring. The fight may or may not be rescheduled for May. 12) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (2-71) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Groves withdrew from their scheduled 3/16 European title fight due to promotional changes. 13) Dimitri Sartison (2-142)
Last Fight: 1/27/2013- UD6 Artem Solomko (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 14) James DeGale (2-75) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Alexander Brand (UNR) The DeGale-Brand fight has been postponed. Not sure why. 15) Ezequiel Maderna (2-12) Last Fight: 12/14/2012- RTD7 Claudio Abalos Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #17 Edwin Rodriguez Maderna gets the first real international break of his career on March 30, when he fights fellow up-and-coming prospect Edwin Rodriguez of Massachusetts by way of the Dominican Republic, with the winner to fight the winner of Erdei-Grachev. I actually can’t find it anywhere, but the fact that Grachev and especially Erdei are light heavyweights typically would seem to indicate that Maderna-Rodriguez might be at that weight, too. 16) Maxim Vlasov (2-19) Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR) Next Fight: 4/6/2013- vs. Ruben Acosta (UNR) Vlasov has been keeping busy against basically a good journeyman level of opposition, and continues that trend by taking on Argentina’s Ruben Acosta in Russia. 17) Edwin Rodriguez (2-9) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #15 Ezequiel Maderna See Maderna’s notes, above. 18) Dyah Davis (2-4) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- L (TKO10) vs. #9 Sakio Bika Next Fight: Unknown 19) Hadillah Mohoumadi (2-3) Last Fight: 1/19/2013- UD10 Cedric Bellais (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mohoumadi isn’t maybe the most obvious choice to be ranked, but he arguably beat DeGale (I thought he did better against him than Groves did) and by most accounts may have beaten Sjekloca, as well. 20) Glen Johnson (2-2) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- L (UD12) vs. #18 George Groves Next Fight: Unknown Johnson appears to be done, but the division has weakened to the point that he can reclaim a ranking.
Undefeated Mexican Marco Antonio Periban knocked down Colombian journeyman Samuel Miller twice in the second round in Cancun- the second time for good.
No changes to the rankings this week.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (66-200-200) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown Ward has said he’d move down to 160 to fight Floyd Mayweather, after Mayweather took some unsolicited shots at him. 1) Carl Froch (43-353-353)
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 (14-178-178)
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 (14-432-432) 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 (30-362-362) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. LHW #3 Jean Pascal (at LHW) Bute will be fighting Jean Pascal at light heavyweight in a huge Canadian event in May.
5) Robert Stieglitz (30-186-186) 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 (30-94-142)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Oosthuizen was supposed to be fighting in February, but no opponent was ever named, and the fight seems to have quietly vacated the schedule. 7) Adonis Stevenson (23-67-67) Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR) Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Darnell Boone (UNR) With his hopes of fighting Carl Froch dashed for the moment, Stevenson will tend to some unfinished business when he tries to avenge his 2010 stoppage loss to Darnell Boone on March 22 in Montreal. 8) George Groves (9-14-36) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- TKO3 Dario Balmaceda (UNR) Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Groves will fight an as-yet-unnamed opponent on the Froch-Kessler undercard in London on May 25. 9) Sakio Bika (3-5-311) Last Fight: 2/16/2013- UD12 Nikola Sjekloca (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Bika is the mandatory for Andre Ward, and has also expressed interest in Bernard Hopkins. 10) Anthony Dirrell (2-2-68) Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Dirrell stated via Twitter on February 20 that he’d be fighting a tune-up in 2 months. That means roughly mid-April. It’ll be good to see him back in the ring after coming back from several orthopedic injuries due to a motorcycle crash. 11) Will Rosinsky (2-40) Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown Rosinsky was all but set to fight Brandon Gonzales on Friday Night Fights, but Gonzales withdrew with a bad hamstring. The fight may or may not be rescheduled for May. 12) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (2-71) Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Groves withdrew from their scheduled 3/16 European title fight due to promotional changes. 13) Dimitri Sartison (2-142)
Last Fight: 1/27/2013- UD6 Artem Solomko (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown 14) James DeGale (2-75) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Alexander Brand (UNR) The DeGale-Brand fight has been postponed. Not sure why. 15) Ezequiel Maderna (2-12) Last Fight: 12/14/2012- RTD7 Claudio Abalos Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #17 Edwin Rodriguez Maderna gets the first real international break of his career on March 30, when he fights fellow up-and-coming prospect Edwin Rodriguez of Massachusetts by way of the Dominican Republic, with the winner to fight the winner of Erdei-Grachev. I actually can’t find it anywhere, but the fact that Grachev and especially Erdei are light heavyweights typically would seem to indicate that Maderna-Rodriguez might be at that weight, too. 16) Maxim Vlasov (2-19) Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR) Next Fight: 4/6/2013- vs. Ruben Acosta (UNR) Vlasov has been keeping busy against basically a good journeyman level of opposition, and continues that trend by taking on Argentina’s Ruben Acosta in Russia. 17) Edwin Rodriguez (2-9) Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR) Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #15 Ezequiel Maderna See Maderna’s notes, above. 18) Dyah Davis (2-4) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- L (TKO10) vs. #9 Sakio Bika Next Fight: Unknown 19) Hadillah Mohoumadi (2-3) Last Fight: 1/19/2013- UD10 Cedric Bellais (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mohoumadi isn’t maybe the most obvious choice to be ranked, but he arguably beat DeGale (I thought he did better against him than Groves did) and by most accounts may have beaten Sjekloca, as well. 20) Glen Johnson (2-2) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- L (UD12) vs. #18 George Groves Next Fight: Unknown Johnson appears to be done, but the division has weakened to the point that he can reclaim a ranking.
The Week Ahead: Friday in Montreal, #7 Adonis Stevenson looks to avenge his lone defeat against journeyman Darnell Boone. Boone has been pretty consistently mid-level throughout his career, with Stevenson being the crown jewel on his resume. Stevenson may be catching the revenge bug at the right time, with Boone coming off 3 consecutive losses. Then again, he was coming off 5 in a row the last time around. The fight will be televised by WealthTV in the US- for anyone lucky enough to get that channel.
The same night in Chicago, fringe contender Don George takes on David Lopez of Mexico. Lopez was once roughly a contender at 160 and later 154, but is coming off 10 months of inactivity after a year out of the ring prior to that- when he lost to Austin Trout. How sharp he can be at a higher weight while fighting so infrequently remains to be seen. This is a good opportunity for both men, each of whom need to jumpstart their careers. The fight will be televised on ESPN2.
Last but not least, a curious and rather unnecessary rematch can be found in Magdeburg, as local favorite and overall #5 Robert Stieglitz looks to avenge last year’s close but clear decision loss to current #2 Arthur Abraham.
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