Cruiserweight: 2013: Apr 29- May 5
Saturday in Hamburg, #6 Firat Arslan got a stay-busy fight against fellow Turkish-German Varol Vikiloglu. Apparently there is a diversity of opinion about his performance. Before I saw the fight, I read a Boxingscene report that essentially wrote Arslan’s obituary as a contending cruiserweight, with the author scoring the fight 97-93. The official judges gave Vekiloglu between one and two rounds. I saw it much differently. I saw Arslan taking the initiative from the opening bell to the closing, and dominating nearly every minute in between. I saw only the 6th and 10th as fairly close, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call either seriously in doubt. Why the disconnect? Of course I’m not in any of these people’s heads, but my sense is that either they weren’t discerning enough to fully realize just how futile most of Vekiloglu’s punches really were, or they somehow gave him credit for running as if that equates to ring generalship. He was in full-blown retreat for much of the fight, flicking out a jab that could be described as probing, at best. He threw a high volume of punches, but penetrated Arslan’s high guard with very few, and even those that did get through were nowhere near as effective as the average Arslan shot. Now the one bit of criticism that is legitimate is that Arslan failed to stop a guy that has been stopped twice in the past couple years. But to act like his performance somehow demonstrated that he is finished as a contender is ludicrous.
1) Denis Lebedev (33-169-169) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- KO4 Santander Silgado (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2013- vs. Guillermo Jones (UNR) Lebedev will be fighting inactive titlist Guillermo Jones near Moscow on May 17.
2) Yoan Pablo Hernandez (33-149-149) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- W*(UD12) vs. #20 Troy Ross Next Fight: Unknown Hernandez pulled out of his scheduled 2/2 fight with Eric Fields with a fractured hand. 3) Troy Ross (33-33-65) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #1 Yoan Pablo Hernandez Next Fight: Unknown Quote from Ross’s Twitter: “If the right opportunity arises I will fight again.” That sounds more like a semi-retired fighter than the guy that just outfought the division’s #1 contender. Here’s hoping he starts hunting for good fights like a starving mountain man any second now. 4) Ola Afolabi (12-216-216) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- Draw* (MD12) vs. #4 Marco Huck Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. #7 Marco Huck Sauerland is now promoting the Huck-Afolabi trilogy match after Don King botched it, and has limited the damage to about a month’s delay, with the fight now set for June 8 in Berlin. 5) Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (12-410-410) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- UD12 #13 Francisco Palacios Next Fight: 6/22/2013- vs. Rakhim Chakhkiev (UNR)
Apparently an agreement has been reached for Wlodarczyk to fight undefeated and fringe-contending Russian Olympian Rakhim Chakhkiev in Moscow, June 22. Wlodarczyk will reportedly have a rematch clause in the event he loses.
6) Firat Arslan (12-51-94) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Arslan easily handled his first opponent under the Sauerland banner, but disappointed a bit in that he failed to stop him. 7) Marco Huck (12-334-334) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- W*(UD12) vs. #10 Firat Arslan (Robbery) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. #4 Ola Afolabi See Afolabi’s notes, above. 8) Lateef Kayode (12-48-128) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- Draw (SD12) vs. ‘Roided up #3 Antonio Tarver Next Fight: Unknown All indications are that Kayode will next fight at heavyweight, but the plan to get him in the ring in February obviously didn’t work. 9) Danny Green (12-25-178) Last Fight: 11/21/2012- UD12 Shane Cameron (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown As has been the case after every fight since he had very serious surgery a couple years ago, there is speculation that Green may retire following his win over Shane Cameron. Green himself remains non-committal. 10) B.J. Flores (12-12-149) Last Fight: 10/6/2012- TKO2 David McNemar (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Nuri Seferi (UNR) Don King’s embarrassing failure to make the Huck-Afolabi card happen has claimed Flores-Palacios as collateral damage. Flores instead will be fighting a month later against Albanian gatekeeper Nuri Seferi, in Albania.
11) Giacobbe Fragomeni (12-233) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- W*(SD12) vs. #13 Silvio Branco Next Fight: Unknown There is some speculation that Masternak might try to lure Fragomeni out of his mandatory shot at Wlodarczyk with a higher monetary offer that might put Masternak in the same position with a victory. 12) Silvio Branco (12-59) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Giacobbe Fragomeni Next Fight: Unknown Branco can still hang with whippersnappers like 43 year-old countryman Fragomeni, but you’ve gotta think his active days are numbered at 46. 13) Alexander Alekseev (10-120) Last Fight: 2/22/2013- UD12* Garrett Wilson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Alekseev barely squeaked by after building an early lead against Wilson, but it’s still an improvement from his previous fight. 14) Mateusz Masternak (10-57) Last Fight: 4/13/2013- TKO9 Sean Corbin (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Masternak’s scheduled meeting with Jeremy Ouanna gave way to an even less impressive match-up against Sean Corbin, a mediocre Guyana journeyman best known for beating a totally shot Wayne Braithwaite after being inactive for 2 years. 15) Francisco Palacios (10-109) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- L(UD12) vs. #7 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown Okay so maybe this was me and maybe it wasn’t. But about three weeks ago I tweeted to Palacios after Flores pulled out on him that Eddie Chambers is looking for a cruiserweight fight. Chambers re-tweeted it, and now the two both seem extremely interested in making it happen. If it actually happens, I must say I’ll view that fight as my baby, whether justified or not. 16) Thabiso Mchunu (12-25) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO5 #20 Danie Venter Next Fight: Unknown The promoter of Congolese prospect Ilunga Makabu has offered to fight Mchunu, but reportedly met with tepid interest from Mchunu’s camp. 17) Dmytro Kucher (12-44) Last Fight: 3/21/2013- UD12 Julio Cesar Dos Santos (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Kucher will be figthing on May 17 just outside of Moscow. No opponent yet. 18) Enad Licina (12-149) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO2 Koeksal Orduhan Next Fight: Unknown 19) Grigory Drozd (12-25) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- UD12 Jean-Marc Monrose (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Drozd will apparently be fighting in an unpronounceable Russian town in early June, but no opponent has been named yet. He suffered a hand injury in his last fight, and is on the shelf from training until April. 20) Pawel Glazewski (12-12) Last Fight: 2/23/2013- UD10 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR) Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Glazewski returns in late June in Ostroda, Poland. Probably more or less at light heavyweight.
Sunday in Melbourne, Australia, gatekeeper Daniel Ammann scored a decent decision over relatively unproven local one-loss prospect Kane Watts.
No changes this week.
Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20) Champ: None
1) Denis Lebedev (33-169-169) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- KO4 Santander Silgado (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2013- vs. Guillermo Jones (UNR) Lebedev will be fighting inactive titlist Guillermo Jones near Moscow on May 17.
2) Yoan Pablo Hernandez (33-149-149) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- W*(UD12) vs. #20 Troy Ross Next Fight: Unknown Hernandez pulled out of his scheduled 2/2 fight with Eric Fields with a fractured hand. 3) Troy Ross (33-33-65) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #1 Yoan Pablo Hernandez Next Fight: Unknown Quote from Ross’s Twitter: “If the right opportunity arises I will fight again.” That sounds more like a semi-retired fighter than the guy that just outfought the division’s #1 contender. Here’s hoping he starts hunting for good fights like a starving mountain man any second now. 4) Ola Afolabi (12-216-216) Last Fight: 5/5/2012- Draw* (MD12) vs. #4 Marco Huck Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. #7 Marco Huck Sauerland is now promoting the Huck-Afolabi trilogy match after Don King botched it, and has limited the damage to about a month’s delay, with the fight now set for June 8 in Berlin. 5) Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (12-410-410) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- UD12 #13 Francisco Palacios Next Fight: 6/22/2013- vs. Rakhim Chakhkiev (UNR)
Apparently an agreement has been reached for Wlodarczyk to fight undefeated and fringe-contending Russian Olympian Rakhim Chakhkiev in Moscow, June 22. Wlodarczyk will reportedly have a rematch clause in the event he loses.
6) Firat Arslan (12-51-94) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Arslan easily handled his first opponent under the Sauerland banner, but disappointed a bit in that he failed to stop him. 7) Marco Huck (12-334-334) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- W*(UD12) vs. #10 Firat Arslan (Robbery) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. #4 Ola Afolabi See Afolabi’s notes, above. 8) Lateef Kayode (12-48-128) Last Fight: 6/2/2012- Draw (SD12) vs. ‘Roided up #3 Antonio Tarver Next Fight: Unknown All indications are that Kayode will next fight at heavyweight, but the plan to get him in the ring in February obviously didn’t work. 9) Danny Green (12-25-178) Last Fight: 11/21/2012- UD12 Shane Cameron (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown As has been the case after every fight since he had very serious surgery a couple years ago, there is speculation that Green may retire following his win over Shane Cameron. Green himself remains non-committal. 10) B.J. Flores (12-12-149) Last Fight: 10/6/2012- TKO2 David McNemar (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Nuri Seferi (UNR) Don King’s embarrassing failure to make the Huck-Afolabi card happen has claimed Flores-Palacios as collateral damage. Flores instead will be fighting a month later against Albanian gatekeeper Nuri Seferi, in Albania.
11) Giacobbe Fragomeni (12-233) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- W*(SD12) vs. #13 Silvio Branco Next Fight: Unknown There is some speculation that Masternak might try to lure Fragomeni out of his mandatory shot at Wlodarczyk with a higher monetary offer that might put Masternak in the same position with a victory. 12) Silvio Branco (12-59) Last Fight: 12/15/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Giacobbe Fragomeni Next Fight: Unknown Branco can still hang with whippersnappers like 43 year-old countryman Fragomeni, but you’ve gotta think his active days are numbered at 46. 13) Alexander Alekseev (10-120) Last Fight: 2/22/2013- UD12* Garrett Wilson (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Alekseev barely squeaked by after building an early lead against Wilson, but it’s still an improvement from his previous fight. 14) Mateusz Masternak (10-57) Last Fight: 4/13/2013- TKO9 Sean Corbin (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Masternak’s scheduled meeting with Jeremy Ouanna gave way to an even less impressive match-up against Sean Corbin, a mediocre Guyana journeyman best known for beating a totally shot Wayne Braithwaite after being inactive for 2 years. 15) Francisco Palacios (10-109) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- L(UD12) vs. #7 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown Okay so maybe this was me and maybe it wasn’t. But about three weeks ago I tweeted to Palacios after Flores pulled out on him that Eddie Chambers is looking for a cruiserweight fight. Chambers re-tweeted it, and now the two both seem extremely interested in making it happen. If it actually happens, I must say I’ll view that fight as my baby, whether justified or not. 16) Thabiso Mchunu (12-25) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO5 #20 Danie Venter Next Fight: Unknown The promoter of Congolese prospect Ilunga Makabu has offered to fight Mchunu, but reportedly met with tepid interest from Mchunu’s camp. 17) Dmytro Kucher (12-44) Last Fight: 3/21/2013- UD12 Julio Cesar Dos Santos (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Kucher will be figthing on May 17 just outside of Moscow. No opponent yet. 18) Enad Licina (12-149) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO2 Koeksal Orduhan Next Fight: Unknown 19) Grigory Drozd (12-25) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- UD12 Jean-Marc Monrose (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Drozd will apparently be fighting in an unpronounceable Russian town in early June, but no opponent has been named yet. He suffered a hand injury in his last fight, and is on the shelf from training until April. 20) Pawel Glazewski (12-12) Last Fight: 2/23/2013- UD10 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR) Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Glazewski returns in late June in Ostroda, Poland. Probably more or less at light heavyweight.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Friday in Accra, Ghana undefeated local prospect Braimah Kamoko takes on lower-mid-level Georgian journeyman George Tevdorashvili.
The following night in Aulney-sous-Bois, France, borderline gatekeeper/journeyman Jeremy Ouanna tangles with weak sub-.500 journeyman Gabriel Lecrosnier. The fight is for the French title, proving that French cruiserweights, by and large, suck.
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