Cruiserweight: 2013: Jul 8-14
Undefeated Latvian Mairis Briedis got his best win so far on Friday, outpointing top-level journeyman Jeremy Ouanna of France over 8 rounds in Greece.
Wlodarczyk showed tremendous determination in first weathering a storm, and then rapidly breaking down a strong young challenger in his own backyard in Chakhkiev. He indicated interest in moving up to fight Adamek, but Adamek isn’t for it.
7) Firat Arslan (8-61-104) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: 9/14/2013- vs. #5 Marco Huck See Huck’s notes, above. 8) Ola Afolabi (5-226-226) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (MD12) vs. #8 Marco Huck Next Fight: Unknown 9) Danny Green (6-35-188) Last Fight: 11/21/2012- UD12 Shane Cameron (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Green has been helping an Australian UFC fighter prepare for an upcoming fight, but still no word on whether he plans to fight again. 10) B.J. Flores (6-6-159) Last Fight: 10/6/2012- TKO2 David McNemar (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Flores’ fight with Nuri Seferi appears to have been off very quickly after it was apparently made. No word on his next move.
11) Giacobbe Fragomeni (6-243) 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 (6-69) Last Fight: 7/6/2013- W (TD10) vs. Juho Haapoja (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Branco continues to chug along at 47 years young. He’s like a lower-level Hopkins. 13) Alexander Alekseev (6-130) 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 (6-67) Last Fight: 4/13/2013- TKO9 Sean Corbin (UNR) Next Fight: 8/24/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Masternak returns on August 24. His opponent was to be Jeremy Ouanna, but Ouanna lost to Latvian prospect Mairis Briedis soon after. Perhaps Briedis is the new man for the job. 15) Francisco Palacios (6-119) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- L(U12) vs. #7 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown Palacios very likely will not fight until after his contract with Don King expires in September. 16) Thabiso Mchunu (6-35) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO5 #20 Danie Venter Next Fight: 8/3/2013- vs. Eddie Chambers (UNR) Mchunu is being treated as a stepping stone f0r the cruiserweight ambitions of recent heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers, and the two will do battle in that context on NBC Sports Network come August 3. 17) Dmytro Kucher (6-54) Last Fight: 3/21/2013- UD12 Julio Cesar Dos Santos (UNR) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Ilunga Makabu (UNR) A clash of good-looking prospects is on tap for July 13, as Kucher will meet Junior Makabu in Monaco. 18) Enad Licina (6-159) Last Fight: 6/15/2013- KO3 Marcel Zeller (UNR) (at HW) Next Fight: Unknown Licina has now fought two generic weak opponents in a row. No idea if he plans to be a serious contender ever again or not. His only significant win in the last 5 years is now roughly 4 1/2 years old. That means he’ll fade to obscurity if he doesn’t beat someone worth beating in the next half-year or so. 19) Grigory Drozd (6-35) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- UD12 Jean-Marc Monrose (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Krzysztof Glowacki (2-2) Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD8 Taylor Mabika (UNR) Next Fight: 8/18/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Glowacki is back in action on August 18, but no opponent has been announced yet.
The next night in Civitavecchia, Italy, local graybeard Silvio Branco continued his Hopkins-esque run of credible performances, winning a close but unanimous technical decision over Juho Haapoja, the gatekeeper-level Finn, following the last of several head clashes in a very sloppy fight. I can’t find any video so far, and one report I read made it sound like a very close fight. The judges’ scorecards paint a different picture, as Branco won by 7, 9, and 11 points over the 10 rounds.
I’m treating the Branco-Fragomeni fights essentially as if they cancel each other out on the two men’s resumes, since I thought both were draws. That leaves Branco with the Haapoja win, and Fragomeni with the Wlodarczyk draw and the Kraj win. Since, despite the age of these two performances, they are clearly superior to Branco’s win, Fragomeni remains ahead, and there are 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) Guillermo Jones (8-8-8) Last Fight: 5/17/2013- TKO11 #1 Denis Lebedev Next Fight: Unknown Jones wants to fight Wladimir Klitschko (he said the same a couple years ago), while Lebedev is asking for a rematch. 2) Yoan Pablo Hernandez (43-159-159) 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 (43-43-75) 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) Denis Lebedev (8-179-179) Last Fight: 5/17/2013- L (TKO11) vs. Guillermo Jones (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lebedev hopes to return on the Klitschko-Povetkin undercard in early October, which seems a bit quick given how ugly his eye looked after his last fight. He is hoping for a rematch with Jones, too. He has also parted from his promoter. 5) Marco Huck (5-344-344) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- W (MD12) vs. #5 Ola Afolabi Next Fight: 9/14/2013- vs. #7 Firat Arslan Huck will make a mandatory defense in a rematch against Firat Arslan on September 14. 6) Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8-420-420) Last Fight: 6/21/2013- TKO8 Rakhim Chakhkiev (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown
Wlodarczyk showed tremendous determination in first weathering a storm, and then rapidly breaking down a strong young challenger in his own backyard in Chakhkiev. He indicated interest in moving up to fight Adamek, but Adamek isn’t for it.
7) Firat Arslan (8-61-104) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: 9/14/2013- vs. #5 Marco Huck See Huck’s notes, above. 8) Ola Afolabi (5-226-226) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (MD12) vs. #8 Marco Huck Next Fight: Unknown 9) Danny Green (6-35-188) Last Fight: 11/21/2012- UD12 Shane Cameron (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Green has been helping an Australian UFC fighter prepare for an upcoming fight, but still no word on whether he plans to fight again. 10) B.J. Flores (6-6-159) Last Fight: 10/6/2012- TKO2 David McNemar (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Flores’ fight with Nuri Seferi appears to have been off very quickly after it was apparently made. No word on his next move.
11) Giacobbe Fragomeni (6-243) 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 (6-69) Last Fight: 7/6/2013- W (TD10) vs. Juho Haapoja (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Branco continues to chug along at 47 years young. He’s like a lower-level Hopkins. 13) Alexander Alekseev (6-130) 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 (6-67) Last Fight: 4/13/2013- TKO9 Sean Corbin (UNR) Next Fight: 8/24/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Masternak returns on August 24. His opponent was to be Jeremy Ouanna, but Ouanna lost to Latvian prospect Mairis Briedis soon after. Perhaps Briedis is the new man for the job. 15) Francisco Palacios (6-119) Last Fight: 9/22/2012- L(U12) vs. #7 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown Palacios very likely will not fight until after his contract with Don King expires in September. 16) Thabiso Mchunu (6-35) Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO5 #20 Danie Venter Next Fight: 8/3/2013- vs. Eddie Chambers (UNR) Mchunu is being treated as a stepping stone f0r the cruiserweight ambitions of recent heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers, and the two will do battle in that context on NBC Sports Network come August 3. 17) Dmytro Kucher (6-54) Last Fight: 3/21/2013- UD12 Julio Cesar Dos Santos (UNR) Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Ilunga Makabu (UNR) A clash of good-looking prospects is on tap for July 13, as Kucher will meet Junior Makabu in Monaco. 18) Enad Licina (6-159) Last Fight: 6/15/2013- KO3 Marcel Zeller (UNR) (at HW) Next Fight: Unknown Licina has now fought two generic weak opponents in a row. No idea if he plans to be a serious contender ever again or not. His only significant win in the last 5 years is now roughly 4 1/2 years old. That means he’ll fade to obscurity if he doesn’t beat someone worth beating in the next half-year or so. 19) Grigory Drozd (6-35) Last Fight: 12/17/2012- UD12 Jean-Marc Monrose (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 20) Krzysztof Glowacki (2-2) Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD8 Taylor Mabika (UNR) Next Fight: 8/18/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Glowacki is back in action on August 18, but no opponent has been announced yet.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Saturday in Monte Carlo, #17 Dmytro Kucher meets a tough early-career test in one-loss Congolese prospect Ilunga “Junior” Makabu.
Later that night in Inglewood, California, undefeated Cuban Yunier Dorticos gets an outing against a TBA opponent.
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