Super Middleweight: 2013, Oct 28- Nov 3
Arthur Abraham more or less dominated Italian gatekeeper Giovanni De Carolis on Saturday in Oldenburg. I didn’t manage to find a round for De Carolis, though I saw two that I could have potentially given him. One judge agreed with me, while two had a single round for the Italian. The sad thing is, De Carolis was fairly effective when he punched. He was able to keep Abraham off-balance and effectively handcuffed the Armenian behind a high guard virtually every time he threw a punch. It’s a pretty big stretch given the way the fight actually played out, but I actually kind of think that De Carolis had the talent and skill necessary to beat Abraham. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to find out, because instead of punching and moving, he largely just ran. He showed up to survive, and never had any intention to win, or so it appeared.
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. #12 Edwin Rodriguez Ward has finally secured an opponent for his November 16 return: two-division fringe contender Edwin Rodriguez. 1) Carl Froch (75-385-385)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #7 George Groves Froch-Groves is set for November 23 in Manchester. 2) Robert Stieglitz (32-218-218) Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stieglitz and Abraham seem to be competing on who can fight the more mediocre opponents before rematching. Ekpo is the worst yet- a low-level Nigerian prospect. 3) Mikkel Kessler (46-464-464) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown Froch is interested in a trilogy on neutral ground, perhaps even more so than a Ward rematch. But it’s not even clear that Kessler will fight again, after saying pre-fight he might retire. 4) Arthur Abraham (24-210-210)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Abraham-Stieglitz III is probably next. 5) Brandon Gonzales (18-18-18) Last Fight: 6/29/2013- D* vs. #5 Thomas Oosthuizen Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Gonzales will have what looks like a stay-busy fight on the Ward-Rodriguez undercard. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (5-126-174)
Last Fight: 6/29/2013- D* vs. Brandon Gonzales (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/9/2013- vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna Oosthuizen has a significant- albeit risky- opportunity to redeem himself against credible Argentine fringe contender Ezequiel Maderna in South Africa on November 9. 7) George Groves (5-46-68) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- TKO5 Noe Gonzalez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch Groves and Froch will face off on November 23 in Manchester. 8) Sakio Bika (5-37-343) Last Fight: 6/22/2013- MD12 Marco Antonio Periban (UNR) Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Anthony Dirrell (UNR) Bika will be fighting Anthony Dirrell on the Malignaggi-Judah undercard on December 7. 9) James DeGale (5-21-107) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- RTD4 Stjepan Bozic (UNR) Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Dyah Davis (UNR) DeGale will return to action in Bluewater, Kent on November 16. He’ll be up against a good measuring stick in Dyah Davis. 10) Christopher Rebrasse (5-5-21)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #10 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye Next Fight: Unknown Rebrasse’s unnecessary rematch with Ndiaye appears to have been cancelled. 11) Maxim Vlasov (5-51) Last Fight: 7/12/2013- UD8 Mark Suarez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/4/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Vlasov will fight in Krasnodar, Russia this November, on the undercard of a rather silly heavyweight fight between 44 year-old has-been Oleg Maskaev and Corey Sanders (not to be confused with the late Corrie Sanders, who has actually fought more recently). I don’t have the exact date or opponent yet. 12) Edwin Rodriguez (5-41) Last Fight: 7/13/2013- TKO1 #16 LHW Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward Rodriguez will get a shot at reigning two-division Champion Andre Ward in mid-November, after a drama-filled negotiation. 13) Ezequiel Maderna (5-44) Last Fight: 9/6/2013- UD10 Arnaldo Alcides Benitez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/9/2013- vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen Maderna will get a big opportunity in South Africa against Oosthuizen, who showed a great deal of vulnerability in his last fight. That being said, from what I’ve seen of Maderna, his style is night and day different from Brandon Gonzales. 14) Andy Lee (5-24) Last Fight: 5/15/2013- TKO1 Darryl Cunningham (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lee now says he’s in talks to fight Macklin in March. 15) Ryoto Murata (5-10) Last Fight: 8/25/2013- TKO2 #14 MW Akio Shibata Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Dave Peterson (UNR) Murata is back in action on December 6 in Tokyo against unproven Minnesota prospect Dave Peterson. 16) Caleb Truax (5-19) Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Truax has made good on his move back down to 160, knocking out a halfway decent prospect in Ceresso Fort. 17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (5-35) Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown 18) Glen Johnson (5-26) Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Johnson needs to schedule a fight at 168 before mid-December to keep his ranking. 19) Badou Jack (5-15) Last Fight: 9/12/2013- Draw (MD12) vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR) Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Jack will be back in action against an opponent to be announced on a December 6 ShoBox telecast. 20) Don Mouton (5-5) Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell Next Fight: Unknown
Argentine gatekeeper Ruben Acosta was little different. In fairness, though, his opponent- undefeated Englishman Callum Smith- did a little more to force the retreat than Abraham had to do. Smith was every inch the ring general, keeping Acosta’s back scraping the ropes at every second of their fight. This led to two crushing body shots from the impressive Brit that combined to end the night early in the 6th, as the ref reached the count of 10.
Abraham’s win isn’t significant enough to get him past Kessler, and Smith falls a few places short of making the cut for the top 20. No changes this week.
Dan’s Top 20 Champ: Andre Ward (98-232-232) Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. #12 Edwin Rodriguez Ward has finally secured an opponent for his November 16 return: two-division fringe contender Edwin Rodriguez. 1) Carl Froch (75-385-385)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #7 George Groves Froch-Groves is set for November 23 in Manchester. 2) Robert Stieglitz (32-218-218) Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Stieglitz and Abraham seem to be competing on who can fight the more mediocre opponents before rematching. Ekpo is the worst yet- a low-level Nigerian prospect. 3) Mikkel Kessler (46-464-464) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown Froch is interested in a trilogy on neutral ground, perhaps even more so than a Ward rematch. But it’s not even clear that Kessler will fight again, after saying pre-fight he might retire. 4) Arthur Abraham (24-210-210)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Abraham-Stieglitz III is probably next. 5) Brandon Gonzales (18-18-18) Last Fight: 6/29/2013- D* vs. #5 Thomas Oosthuizen Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Gonzales will have what looks like a stay-busy fight on the Ward-Rodriguez undercard. 6) Thomas Oosthuizen (5-126-174)
Last Fight: 6/29/2013- D* vs. Brandon Gonzales (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/9/2013- vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna Oosthuizen has a significant- albeit risky- opportunity to redeem himself against credible Argentine fringe contender Ezequiel Maderna in South Africa on November 9. 7) George Groves (5-46-68) Last Fight: 5/25/2013- TKO5 Noe Gonzalez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch Groves and Froch will face off on November 23 in Manchester. 8) Sakio Bika (5-37-343) Last Fight: 6/22/2013- MD12 Marco Antonio Periban (UNR) Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Anthony Dirrell (UNR) Bika will be fighting Anthony Dirrell on the Malignaggi-Judah undercard on December 7. 9) James DeGale (5-21-107) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- RTD4 Stjepan Bozic (UNR) Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Dyah Davis (UNR) DeGale will return to action in Bluewater, Kent on November 16. He’ll be up against a good measuring stick in Dyah Davis. 10) Christopher Rebrasse (5-5-21)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #10 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye Next Fight: Unknown Rebrasse’s unnecessary rematch with Ndiaye appears to have been cancelled. 11) Maxim Vlasov (5-51) Last Fight: 7/12/2013- UD8 Mark Suarez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/4/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Vlasov will fight in Krasnodar, Russia this November, on the undercard of a rather silly heavyweight fight between 44 year-old has-been Oleg Maskaev and Corey Sanders (not to be confused with the late Corrie Sanders, who has actually fought more recently). I don’t have the exact date or opponent yet. 12) Edwin Rodriguez (5-41) Last Fight: 7/13/2013- TKO1 #16 LHW Denis Grachev (at LHW) Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward Rodriguez will get a shot at reigning two-division Champion Andre Ward in mid-November, after a drama-filled negotiation. 13) Ezequiel Maderna (5-44) Last Fight: 9/6/2013- UD10 Arnaldo Alcides Benitez (UNR) Next Fight: 11/9/2013- vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen Maderna will get a big opportunity in South Africa against Oosthuizen, who showed a great deal of vulnerability in his last fight. That being said, from what I’ve seen of Maderna, his style is night and day different from Brandon Gonzales. 14) Andy Lee (5-24) Last Fight: 5/15/2013- TKO1 Darryl Cunningham (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lee now says he’s in talks to fight Macklin in March. 15) Ryoto Murata (5-10) Last Fight: 8/25/2013- TKO2 #14 MW Akio Shibata Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Dave Peterson (UNR) Murata is back in action on December 6 in Tokyo against unproven Minnesota prospect Dave Peterson. 16) Caleb Truax (5-19) Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW) Next Fight: Unknown Truax has made good on his move back down to 160, knocking out a halfway decent prospect in Ceresso Fort. 17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (5-35) Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR) (at LHW) Next Fight: Unknown 18) Glen Johnson (5-26) Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW) Next Fight: Unknown Johnson needs to schedule a fight at 168 before mid-December to keep his ranking. 19) Badou Jack (5-15) Last Fight: 9/12/2013- Draw (MD12) vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR) Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent Jack will be back in action against an opponent to be announced on a December 6 ShoBox telecast. 20) Don Mouton (5-5) Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell Next Fight: Unknown
The Week Ahead: Friday in Cartagena, Colombian fringe contender Alexander Brand gets an easy showcase against low-level Dominican journeyman Wilmer Mejia.
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