Light Heavyweight: 2013, Jun 3-9
Still no word (at least in English) on the result (if any) of the Joey Vegas-Hany Atiyo rematch in Kampala, Uganda. An undefeated Atiyo was stopped by Vegas in round 11 of their 2012 fight, laying the foundation of Vegas’ current top-40 ranking on Boxrec. If news of the fight ends up reaching US shores (assuming it even happened), I’ll report it if it is significant. Another Vegas win probably won’t be worth bringing up that long after the fact, frankly.
Champ: Andre Ward (39-39-39) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown With Pascal-Bute postponed, one of Ward’s best options went with it. There is now serious discussion of a Ward-Froch rematch, potentially in England. On one hand, we’ve seen it before, but on another, Froch is clearly still the most worthy challenger for Ward, to the point where he would be the undisputed champion at 168 if Ward didn’t exist. 1) Chad Dawson (39-366-366)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson Dawson will fight Adonis Stevenson (who moves up from 168) on June 8 in Montreal. 2) Bernard Hopkins (39-365-365)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Karo Murat (UNR) All the buzz had been revolving around a Hopkins-Cleverly showdown, but with little or no warning, he signed to fight his mandatory, the slightly more proven but inactive Karo Murat, instead. 3) Tony Bellew (2-86-86) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba Next Fight: Unknown Bellew’s ultimate triumph over Chilemba has now set him up with a mandatory shot at the Dawson-Stevenson winner, which would continue the trend of the best fighting the best at 175. 4) Sergey Kovalev (2-20-20) Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #9 Cornelius White Kovalev is back in action against another pretty tough opponent on June 14. 5) Gabriel Campillo (2-154-154)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Campillo will fight Fonfara in an interesting crossroads fight at Comiskey Park in Chicago, but appears to have scheduled a tune-up on June 14 in Madrid, as well. 6) Tavoris Cloud (2-197-197)
Last Fight: 3/9/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown Cloud’s manager expects him back in action by the end of the year. Normally that wouldn’t be saying much, but that would be against type for Cloud. 7) Nathan Cleverly (2-174-174)
Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD12 Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Cleverly wants to fight Froch at 175, but Froch appears a bit more interested in Ward at the moment. He even says he’d drop down to 168 for the fight, but it still doesn’t sound like one of Froch’s top 2 or 3 options. 8) Isaac Chilemba (2-10-70) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #9 Tony Bellew Next Fight: Unknown Chilemba may have lost the second fight to Bellew in his opponent’s back yard, but between the two fights, he’s managed to elevate himself somewhat. 9) Cornelius White (2-47-77) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- UD8 Otis Griffin (UNR) Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #4 Sergey Kovalev Moment of truth time for White. On June 14 we’ll find out if he’s more the guy that beat up Dmitri Sukhotski, or the guy that got sparked out in just seconds by Don George. If he’s the latter, Kovalev should prove it pretty quickly. 10) Cedric Agnew (4-4-8) Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack Next Fight: Unknown Agnew may have caught a fading Yusaf Mack at the right time, but he’s clearly a climber, having now beaten both Mack and Otis Griffin. 11) Jürgen Brähmer (4-59) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- TKO2 Tony Averlant (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Braehmer made an easy first defense of his European belt against Averlant. He is currently the mandatory for Cleverly’s alphabet strap, as well, though it sounds like the Welshman would prefer bigger fish- or at least fish with bigger belts. 12) Andrzej Fonfara (1-47) Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR) Next Fight: 8/16/2013- vs. #5 Gabriel Campillo Fonfara will get a huge opportunity to launch himself into the top 5 when he takes on Gabriel Campillo in Chicago. 13) Lucian Bute (1-31) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR) Bute-Pascal has been rescheduled tentatively for December 7 after Bute suffered a hand injury. They’ve also reserved January 25 as a back-up plan. Either way, it will be in Montreal. 14) Denis Grachev (1-58) Last Fight: 3/30/2013– W* (SD10) vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR) (should be draw) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. SMW #13 Edwin Rodriguez Grachev will be fighting Edwin Rodriguez at a catchweight of 171.5 in Monte Carlo for a million dollar prize. 15) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-136) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR) Next Fight: 6/4/2013- vs. Mikhail Krinitsin (UNR) Sukhotski will fight in Barnaul, Russia on June 4 against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin. 16) Eleider Alvarez (1-19)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Allan Green (UNR) Alvarez will now be fighting Green on the Dawson-Stevenson undercard. 17) Yunieski Gonzalez (1-12) Last Fight: 3/15/2013- KO8 Rowland Bryant (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Gonzalez took a huge step up in competition and made good, knocking out strong fringe contender Bryant. 18) Doudou Ngumbu (1-9) Last Fight: 3/16/2013- UD12 #14 Vyacheslav Uzelkoff Next Fight: Unknown 19) Glen Johnson (1-4) Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Strangely, even though Johnson looks completely spent, he is once again ranked (barely) at both 175 and 168. 20) Ovill McKenzie (1-1) Last Fight: 11/9/2012- TKO2 Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
The biggest deal in the division this week, though, is the fact that #12 Beibut Shumenov hasn’t fought in over a year and has nothing scheduled, and is thus removed. He hasn’t fought a clearly top 50 opponent in nearly 3 years. Everyone ranked #13 and below last week moves up, and the #20 vacancy is filled by British-based Jamaican Ovill McKenzie.
Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (39-39-39) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown With Pascal-Bute postponed, one of Ward’s best options went with it. There is now serious discussion of a Ward-Froch rematch, potentially in England. On one hand, we’ve seen it before, but on another, Froch is clearly still the most worthy challenger for Ward, to the point where he would be the undisputed champion at 168 if Ward didn’t exist. 1) Chad Dawson (39-366-366)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson Dawson will fight Adonis Stevenson (who moves up from 168) on June 8 in Montreal. 2) Bernard Hopkins (39-365-365)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Karo Murat (UNR) All the buzz had been revolving around a Hopkins-Cleverly showdown, but with little or no warning, he signed to fight his mandatory, the slightly more proven but inactive Karo Murat, instead. 3) Tony Bellew (2-86-86) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba Next Fight: Unknown Bellew’s ultimate triumph over Chilemba has now set him up with a mandatory shot at the Dawson-Stevenson winner, which would continue the trend of the best fighting the best at 175. 4) Sergey Kovalev (2-20-20) Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #9 Cornelius White Kovalev is back in action against another pretty tough opponent on June 14. 5) Gabriel Campillo (2-154-154)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Campillo will fight Fonfara in an interesting crossroads fight at Comiskey Park in Chicago, but appears to have scheduled a tune-up on June 14 in Madrid, as well. 6) Tavoris Cloud (2-197-197)
Last Fight: 3/9/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown Cloud’s manager expects him back in action by the end of the year. Normally that wouldn’t be saying much, but that would be against type for Cloud. 7) Nathan Cleverly (2-174-174)
Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD12 Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Cleverly wants to fight Froch at 175, but Froch appears a bit more interested in Ward at the moment. He even says he’d drop down to 168 for the fight, but it still doesn’t sound like one of Froch’s top 2 or 3 options. 8) Isaac Chilemba (2-10-70) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #9 Tony Bellew Next Fight: Unknown Chilemba may have lost the second fight to Bellew in his opponent’s back yard, but between the two fights, he’s managed to elevate himself somewhat. 9) Cornelius White (2-47-77) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- UD8 Otis Griffin (UNR) Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #4 Sergey Kovalev Moment of truth time for White. On June 14 we’ll find out if he’s more the guy that beat up Dmitri Sukhotski, or the guy that got sparked out in just seconds by Don George. If he’s the latter, Kovalev should prove it pretty quickly. 10) Cedric Agnew (4-4-8) Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack Next Fight: Unknown Agnew may have caught a fading Yusaf Mack at the right time, but he’s clearly a climber, having now beaten both Mack and Otis Griffin. 11) Jürgen Brähmer (4-59) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- TKO2 Tony Averlant (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Braehmer made an easy first defense of his European belt against Averlant. He is currently the mandatory for Cleverly’s alphabet strap, as well, though it sounds like the Welshman would prefer bigger fish- or at least fish with bigger belts. 12) Andrzej Fonfara (1-47) Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR) Next Fight: 8/16/2013- vs. #5 Gabriel Campillo Fonfara will get a huge opportunity to launch himself into the top 5 when he takes on Gabriel Campillo in Chicago. 13) Lucian Bute (1-31) Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR) Bute-Pascal has been rescheduled tentatively for December 7 after Bute suffered a hand injury. They’ve also reserved January 25 as a back-up plan. Either way, it will be in Montreal. 14) Denis Grachev (1-58) Last Fight: 3/30/2013– W* (SD10) vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR) (should be draw) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. SMW #13 Edwin Rodriguez Grachev will be fighting Edwin Rodriguez at a catchweight of 171.5 in Monte Carlo for a million dollar prize. 15) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-136) Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR) Next Fight: 6/4/2013- vs. Mikhail Krinitsin (UNR) Sukhotski will fight in Barnaul, Russia on June 4 against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin. 16) Eleider Alvarez (1-19)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR) Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Allan Green (UNR) Alvarez will now be fighting Green on the Dawson-Stevenson undercard. 17) Yunieski Gonzalez (1-12) Last Fight: 3/15/2013- KO8 Rowland Bryant (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Gonzalez took a huge step up in competition and made good, knocking out strong fringe contender Bryant. 18) Doudou Ngumbu (1-9) Last Fight: 3/16/2013- UD12 #14 Vyacheslav Uzelkoff Next Fight: Unknown 19) Glen Johnson (1-4) Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Strangely, even though Johnson looks completely spent, he is once again ranked (barely) at both 175 and 168. 20) Ovill McKenzie (1-1) Last Fight: 11/9/2012- TKO2 Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
The Week Ahead: Plenty of action at 175 this week:
In his hometown of Barnaul, Russia, #15 Dmitri Sukhotski leads us off on Tuesday with a stay-busy outing against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin.
On the Afolabi-Huck undercard in Berlin, undefeated German prospect Robert Woge collides with fellow undefeated Dariusz Sek of Poland. This is the toughest test of either man’s career. Woge pulled one out of the fire in his last fight, knocking out journeyman Hakim Zoulikha in the 11th after being dominated up to that point, while Sek has been getting by with decisions against a similar level of opponent.
Also on the card, gatekeeper Eduard Gutknecht looks to get back on a winning track against low-level super middleweight journeyman Richard Vidal of Uruguay.
Across the pond in Montreal, Quebec, #1 Chad Dawson defends his alphabet title against big-time super middleweight puncher Adonis Stevenson, who fights an aggressive power-punching style that Dawson really hasn’t seen much of in recent years.
On that undercard, undefeated Colombian prospect and #16 Eleider Alvarez takes on perhaps his toughest opponent in gatekeeper Allan Green.
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