Middleweight: 2013, June 24-30
No actual middleweight fights to report this week. Truax-George was close, but was contested at a catchweight of 162 pounds. That will potentially count toward his ranking if and when he makes the 160 limit again, but at the moment he has not done so in over 2 years. He’s ranked at 168 now, however. No changes this week.
Next Fight: Unknown In addition to rightfully doing no better than a draw while beating Murray by way of robbery, Martinez has apparently re-injured his hand and possibly his knee, and is expected to be out of action until 2014. His mandatory for now is Marco Antonio Rubio, though it’s likely the WBC will pull an Andre Ward and take the full title from him before he returns. He may take that as an opportunity to go for a much more lucrative Chavez rematch, instead. 1) Martin Murray (9-82-82) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- L* (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez (Robbery- D at worst) Next Fight: Unknown Murray hopes to fight in the US before 2013 is over, and also would like to fight Carl Froch at some point. 2) Daniel Geale (9-210-210) Last Fight: 1/30/2013- UD12 #11 Anthony Mundine
Next Fight: 8/17/2013- vs. #15 Darren Barker
Geale will get back to action on August 17, making his US debut in just his 3rd fight outside Australia when he takes on Darren Barker at the Turning Stone in New York state. 3) Felix Sturm (9-510-510) Last Fight: 2/1/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #12 Sam Soliman (on PEDs)
Next Fight: 7/6/2013- vs. Predrag Radosevic (UNR)
Sturm is set to return on July 6 against undefeated/untested Montenegran prospect Predrag Radosevic in Dortmund. I’m not sure why this match was made. There’s no payoff for Sturm in terms of resume. 4) Gennady Golovkin (9-43-106) Last Fight: 3/30/2013- KO3 #19 Nobuhiro Ishida Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. #5 Matthew Macklin Golovkin-Macklin appears to be on for June 29 on HBO, and that’s huge. 5) Matthew Macklin (9-105-196) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- TKO1 Joachim Alcine (UNR) Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. #4 Gennady Golovkin
See Golovkin’s notes, above. 6) Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (9-108-126) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- L (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez
Next Fight: 9/7/2013- vs. #18 Bryan Vera (at SMW)
Bob Arum confirms Chavez-Vera, but on a new date of September 7, at Staples Center. Apparently it will be at a contract weight “a few pounds” over the middleweight limit. This is potentially problematic for Chavez’s continued ranking here. 7) Peter Quillin (9-36-57) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- TKO7 Fernando Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Golden Boy intends to put Quillin on an October card in Brooklyn. There are signs that his opponent might be Danny Jacobs. If so, that’s a ridiculous match-up. Jacobs has fought only ham-and-eggers since being knocked out by Pirog in 2010 and winning a fight with cancer. 8) Dmitry Pirog (9-152-152) Last Fight: 5/1/2012- UD12 #20 Nobuhiro Ishida
Next Fight: Unknown
A recent interview with Pirog seemed to reveal underlying doubts as to his ability to return in August as planned and/or hoped for, but he says that return is still possible. He says he won’t know until he puts a “heavy load” (ie fight camp) on his back if it will respond adequately or not. 9) Grzegorz Proksa (9-115-115) Last Fight: 2/9/2013- UD6 Norbert Szekeres (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/28/2013- vs. Sergio Mora (UNR) Proksa gets a good showcase opportunity on Friday Night Fights against rather big-name gatekeeper Sergio Mora. 10) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (17-17-139) Last Fight: 10/20/2012- L (UD12) vs. #20 Peter Quillin Next Fight: Unknown 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (15-126) Last Fight: 3/23/2013- UD12 Marcus Upshaw (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Rubio will likely fight for an interim alphabet title against totally undeserving Polish one-loss prospect Patrick Majewski, with July 27 in Mexico being the target. How Majewski is being considered for this opportunity when his last significant fight was a loss to the otherwise anonymous Jose Miguel Torres is beyond me. 12) Anthony Mundine (15-126) Last Fight: 1/30/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Daniel Geale
Next Fight: Unknown
There is serious discussion of a fight with Shane Mosley in Australia later in the year. This would almost certainly happen at 154 since Mosley is still a natural welterweight. 13) Osumanu Adama (15-118) Last Fight: 3/16/2012- W(SD10) vs. Grady Brewer (UNR) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Adama is back in action 7/26. No opponent yet. 14) Akio Shibata (8-8) Last Fight: W (TD9) vs. #18 Makoto Fuchigami Next Fight: Unknown Shibata made good on his move up to 160, becoming the clear Japanese champion and the best middleweight in Asia. 15) Darren Barker (8-89) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- RTD4 Simone Rotolo (UNR) Next Fight: 8/17/2013- vs. #2 Daniel Geale Barker will get his second big opportunity to rise to the top, as he takes on #2 Daniel Geale in New York state August 17. 16) Max Bursak (8-126) Last Fight: 2/2/2013- TKO3 Julien Marie Sainte (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Prince Arron (UNR)
Bursak will defend his European belt against fallen former British 154 Champion Prince Arron on July 13. This will be on the very good Monaco card that night. 17) Demetrius Andrade (8-97) Last Fight: 1/25/2013- UD10 Freddy Hernandez (UNR) (at JMW) Next Fight: Unknown Gatekeeper and (technically) titlist Zaurbek Baysangurov hurt his back and had to withdraw from the “title defense” against Andrade. It looks like Andrade might fight for the vacant or interim version against Vanes Martirosyan, all of this being at 154. 18) Bryan Vera (8-36) Last Fight: 3/29/2013- TKO7* Donatas Bondorovas (UNR) Next Fight: 9/7/2013- vs. #6 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Vera’s fight with Chavez has been delayed to September 7. 19) Nobuhiro Ishida (10-69) Last Fight: 3/30/2013- L (KO3) vs. #3 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: 8/4/2013- vs. Elly Pangaribuan (UNR) Ishida said before the Golovkin fight that he would retire if the lost. Having not heard post-fight confirmation, I decided to leave him ranked until I found out he was indeed finished. Turns out I made the right decision, as Ishida is already scheduled to be back in the ring on August 4 in Osaka, against Indonesian novice Elly Pangaribuan. 20) Dmitry Chudinov (6-6) Last Fight: 5/17/2013- RTD3 Grady Brewer (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The version of Grady Brewer that Chudinov quickly broke to earn his ranking was clearly not the same guy that knocked out Fernando Guerrero, but still had enough credibility to sneak the young Russian into the rankings.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20) Champ: Sergio Martinez (167-167-167) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12* #9 Martin Murray (Robbery- draw at best)
Next Fight: Unknown In addition to rightfully doing no better than a draw while beating Murray by way of robbery, Martinez has apparently re-injured his hand and possibly his knee, and is expected to be out of action until 2014. His mandatory for now is Marco Antonio Rubio, though it’s likely the WBC will pull an Andre Ward and take the full title from him before he returns. He may take that as an opportunity to go for a much more lucrative Chavez rematch, instead. 1) Martin Murray (9-82-82) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- L* (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez (Robbery- D at worst) Next Fight: Unknown Murray hopes to fight in the US before 2013 is over, and also would like to fight Carl Froch at some point. 2) Daniel Geale (9-210-210) Last Fight: 1/30/2013- UD12 #11 Anthony Mundine
Next Fight: 8/17/2013- vs. #15 Darren Barker
Geale will get back to action on August 17, making his US debut in just his 3rd fight outside Australia when he takes on Darren Barker at the Turning Stone in New York state. 3) Felix Sturm (9-510-510) Last Fight: 2/1/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #12 Sam Soliman (on PEDs)
Next Fight: 7/6/2013- vs. Predrag Radosevic (UNR)
Sturm is set to return on July 6 against undefeated/untested Montenegran prospect Predrag Radosevic in Dortmund. I’m not sure why this match was made. There’s no payoff for Sturm in terms of resume. 4) Gennady Golovkin (9-43-106) Last Fight: 3/30/2013- KO3 #19 Nobuhiro Ishida Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. #5 Matthew Macklin Golovkin-Macklin appears to be on for June 29 on HBO, and that’s huge. 5) Matthew Macklin (9-105-196) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- TKO1 Joachim Alcine (UNR) Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. #4 Gennady Golovkin
See Golovkin’s notes, above. 6) Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (9-108-126) Last Fight: 9/15/2012- L (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez
Next Fight: 9/7/2013- vs. #18 Bryan Vera (at SMW)
Bob Arum confirms Chavez-Vera, but on a new date of September 7, at Staples Center. Apparently it will be at a contract weight “a few pounds” over the middleweight limit. This is potentially problematic for Chavez’s continued ranking here. 7) Peter Quillin (9-36-57) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- TKO7 Fernando Guerrero (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Golden Boy intends to put Quillin on an October card in Brooklyn. There are signs that his opponent might be Danny Jacobs. If so, that’s a ridiculous match-up. Jacobs has fought only ham-and-eggers since being knocked out by Pirog in 2010 and winning a fight with cancer. 8) Dmitry Pirog (9-152-152) Last Fight: 5/1/2012- UD12 #20 Nobuhiro Ishida
Next Fight: Unknown
A recent interview with Pirog seemed to reveal underlying doubts as to his ability to return in August as planned and/or hoped for, but he says that return is still possible. He says he won’t know until he puts a “heavy load” (ie fight camp) on his back if it will respond adequately or not. 9) Grzegorz Proksa (9-115-115) Last Fight: 2/9/2013- UD6 Norbert Szekeres (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/28/2013- vs. Sergio Mora (UNR) Proksa gets a good showcase opportunity on Friday Night Fights against rather big-name gatekeeper Sergio Mora. 10) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (17-17-139) Last Fight: 10/20/2012- L (UD12) vs. #20 Peter Quillin Next Fight: Unknown 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (15-126) Last Fight: 3/23/2013- UD12 Marcus Upshaw (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Rubio will likely fight for an interim alphabet title against totally undeserving Polish one-loss prospect Patrick Majewski, with July 27 in Mexico being the target. How Majewski is being considered for this opportunity when his last significant fight was a loss to the otherwise anonymous Jose Miguel Torres is beyond me. 12) Anthony Mundine (15-126) Last Fight: 1/30/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Daniel Geale
Next Fight: Unknown
There is serious discussion of a fight with Shane Mosley in Australia later in the year. This would almost certainly happen at 154 since Mosley is still a natural welterweight. 13) Osumanu Adama (15-118) Last Fight: 3/16/2012- W(SD10) vs. Grady Brewer (UNR) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Adama is back in action 7/26. No opponent yet. 14) Akio Shibata (8-8) Last Fight: W (TD9) vs. #18 Makoto Fuchigami Next Fight: Unknown Shibata made good on his move up to 160, becoming the clear Japanese champion and the best middleweight in Asia. 15) Darren Barker (8-89) Last Fight: 3/9/2013- RTD4 Simone Rotolo (UNR) Next Fight: 8/17/2013- vs. #2 Daniel Geale Barker will get his second big opportunity to rise to the top, as he takes on #2 Daniel Geale in New York state August 17. 16) Max Bursak (8-126) Last Fight: 2/2/2013- TKO3 Julien Marie Sainte (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Prince Arron (UNR)
Bursak will defend his European belt against fallen former British 154 Champion Prince Arron on July 13. This will be on the very good Monaco card that night. 17) Demetrius Andrade (8-97) Last Fight: 1/25/2013- UD10 Freddy Hernandez (UNR) (at JMW) Next Fight: Unknown Gatekeeper and (technically) titlist Zaurbek Baysangurov hurt his back and had to withdraw from the “title defense” against Andrade. It looks like Andrade might fight for the vacant or interim version against Vanes Martirosyan, all of this being at 154. 18) Bryan Vera (8-36) Last Fight: 3/29/2013- TKO7* Donatas Bondorovas (UNR) Next Fight: 9/7/2013- vs. #6 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Vera’s fight with Chavez has been delayed to September 7. 19) Nobuhiro Ishida (10-69) Last Fight: 3/30/2013- L (KO3) vs. #3 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: 8/4/2013- vs. Elly Pangaribuan (UNR) Ishida said before the Golovkin fight that he would retire if the lost. Having not heard post-fight confirmation, I decided to leave him ranked until I found out he was indeed finished. Turns out I made the right decision, as Ishida is already scheduled to be back in the ring on August 4 in Osaka, against Indonesian novice Elly Pangaribuan. 20) Dmitry Chudinov (6-6) Last Fight: 5/17/2013- RTD3 Grady Brewer (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown The version of Grady Brewer that Chudinov quickly broke to earn his ranking was clearly not the same guy that knocked out Fernando Guerrero, but still had enough credibility to sneak the young Russian into the rankings.
The Week Ahead: Friday’s appetizer finds #9 Grzegorz Proksa taking on gatekeeper Sergio Mora in Jacksonville, Florida- the Friday Night Fights main event.
The main course comes the following night on HBO, when #4 Gennady Golovkin collides with #5 Matthew Macklin in Mashantucket, Connecticut in what’s bound to be one of the most important fights of the year in any division.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
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