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Archive for January, 2014

Junior Middleweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Junior Middleweight, Rankings with tags Anthony Mundine, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, John Jackson, Julian Williams, Liam Smith, Shane Mosley, Tadashi Yuba on January 30, 2014 by danboxing

#10 Middleweight Anthony Mundine and #4 Welterweight Shane Mosley met at 154 this Wednesday, and in doing so proved the theory that a good big man will always beat a good little man. Mosley has had several notable fights at 154 before this, but never looked as good at the weight. This was no exception. After a very close opening few rounds, Mundine began to subtly take over. Mosley looked a bit stiff from the start, and began to complain of a back injury late in the fight, which eventually led to his quitting at the start of the 7th round.

In Friday action from Tokyo, national champion Tadashi Yuba edged out Yoshihisa Tonimura by split decision. There’s one handicam video of the fight online, but I haven’t even bothered to watch it because it is only 25 minutes long, meaning it can’t possibly capture all the action of the 10 round fight. As a result, I’m forced to accept the decision as it stands.

Mundine adds a #7 ranking here to his #10 ranking at 160. He was ranked just outside the top 20 when he became ineligible due to his having moved up to 160, having won a debatable decision over Rigoberto Alvarez in 2011. Mosley- who was ranked #14 when he retired due to a 2012 loss to Canelo- fails to re-enter, mostly due to the fact that his win at 154 over Ricardo Mayorga is now more than 5 years old. His only remaining result at this weight that could even partially support a ranking was his draw against Sergio Mora in 2010. Sergey Rabchenko falls from the top 10 after 30 consecutive weeks, while Guido Pitto is a hard-luck exclusion from the rankings this week, after 31 weeks.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: None

1) Carlos Molina (44-126-141)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W (SD12) vs. #5 Ishe Smith

Next Fight: Unknown

Molina is dreaming of a fight with Canelo. But it’s just a dream. Molina’s style and low-profile makes him essentially unpromotable, and he would be a serious threat to win that fight. No chance Golden Boy puts it together. On a possibly more realistic note, Demetrius Andrade wants him.

2) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (12-12-12)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #2 Saul Alvarez

Next Fight: Unknown

Mayweather intends to fight twice in 2014: on May 3 and September 13, if all goes to plan. Amir Khan is the rumored opponent for May 3. Bradley is getting a bit of buzz lately, too, as is Bernard Hopkins, at middleweight- though Floyd Sr. has said the latter will never happen.

3) Saul Alvarez (12-144-159)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- L* (MD12) vs. WW Champion Floyd Mayweather

Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Alvarez will be back on March 8. He’s hoping for either Cotto or Sergio. After that, he expects to fight two additional times in 2014. Reports indicate the Cotto fight is now imminent.

4) Austin Trout (12-79-148)

Last Fight: 4/20/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #2 Saul Alvarez

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #5 Erislandy Lara

It looks like Lara-Trout for December 7 is a done deal.

5) Erislandy Lara (12-126-148)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- TKO10 #8 Alfredo Angulo

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #4 Austin Trout

See Trout’s note, above.

6) Ishe Smith (12-41-41)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- L (SD12) vs. #1 Carlos Molina

Next Fight: Unknown

Smith sounds like he’s open to a variety of options for his next fight. Anything from a Molina rematch, to Trout, to Angulo or Lara. And even more various than that- he says he wants one UFC fight. He’s also been in a war of words with Shane Mosley recently.

7) Anthony Mundine (1-1-1)

Last Fight: 11/27/2013- vs. #4 WW Shane Mosley

Next Fight: Unknown

Mundine has renewed his delusional calls for a Mayweather fight after beating Mosley. It’s only 50% crazy from a competitive standpoint, considering that Mundine is top 10 in two divisions, but it’s totally insane from a promotional and financial standpoint, since Mundine has little following outside Australia.

8) Miguel Cotto (1-183-183)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO3 #11 Delvin Rodriguez

Next Fight: Unknown

Cotto reportedly has a $10 million offer to fight Canelo on the table, and $15 million from Sergio. Nevertheless, rumor has it that Cotto-Canelo is close to being announced.

9) Cornelius Bundrage (1-174-174)

Last Fight: 2/23/2013- L (MD12) vs. Ishe Smith (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Joey Hernandez (UNR)

Bundrage has been approved to fight Joey Hernandez in an IBF eliminator. Golden Boy won the purse bid at a paltry $11,000, meaning Bundrage will bank just $6,600. The fight is set for Indio, California on January 24, but incredibly is not a slam dunk to be included on the card’s telecast.

10) Alfredo Angulo (1-219-219)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (TKO10) vs. #4 Erislandy Lara

Next Fight: Unknown

Angulo may be returning in January, and Carlos Molina has been discussed as a possible foe.

11) Sergey Rabchenko (1-77)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Bradley Pryce (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rabchenko is in line for an alphabet eliminator at any time.

12) Javier Maciel (1-6)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery L (SD12) vs. #14 Brian Rose

Next Fight: 1/11/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Argentine media reports that Maciel will return in Mar del Plata on January 11.

13) Demetrius Andrade (1-4)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (SD12) vs. #13 Vanes Martirosyan

Next Fight: Unknown

Andrade wants to unify against Carlos Molina, but negotiations are underway for a Brian Rose fight.

14) Delvin Rodriguez (1-125)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #7 Miguel Cotto

Next Fight: Unknown

Rodriguez appears to be solid against borderline top-10 types (see Wolak), but completely out of his depth at just a tad higher level.

15) Vanes Martirosyan (1-131)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (SD12) vs. Demetrius Andrade (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

16) Willie Nelson (1-40)

Last Fight: 6/29/2013- UD10 Luciano Cuello (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Nelson has injured his elbow, and his middleweight fight with Macklin has been cancelled as a result.

17) Brian Rose (1-37)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery W (Draw at best) vs. Javier Maciel (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rose will be fighting Andrade for his alphabet title at some point. Totally undeserved, although the WBO title at 154 is particularly meaningless already, having been handed to the very mediocre Zaurbek Baysangurov before being contested between two prospects.

18) Jermell Charlo (1-26)

Last Fight: 10/14/2013- TKO10 Jose Angel Rodriguez (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/25/2014- vs. Gabriel Rosado (UNR)

Charlo gets likely his toughest test to date in former junior middleweight contender Gabe Rosado, who has recently been used as an opponent at 160, but with mixed results.

19) Yuri Foreman (1-45)

Last Fight: 11/12/2013- KO1 Javier Gomez (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

20) Jack Culcay (1-9)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- W* (UD12) vs. #17 Guido Pitto

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Dieudonne Belinga (UNR)

Culcay has been added to the Braehmer-Oliveira undercard on December 14, and will have a new trainer when he takes on mid-level French journeyman Dieudonne Belinga.

The Week Ahead: In what will be a defining moment in the division, #4 Austin Trout meets #5 Erislandy Lara on what is surprisingly the 3rd-billed fight in Brooklyn this weekend. The winner of this fight might have a legitimate claim to be the top fighter in the division. After all, I not only felt that Trout beat Canelo, but also that he did so by a wider margin than did Mayweather. He also beat Cotto more handily than did Floyd. Therefore, you could easily argue that Trout should be considered the best fighter in the division right now, if not for questionable judging. Numbers one through four are remarkably bunched up in this division, resume-wise, and this fight could go a long way toward creating some separation.

On the non-televised portion of the undercard, undefeated Philly prospect Julian Williams takes on Mexican journeyman Orlando Lora.

In Atlantic City the same night, and on HBO, inactive former top-5 contender James Kirkland returns to the ring against undefeated power puncher Glen Tapia, but it’s expected to be contested at 156, and will most likely only be discussed next week at middleweight.

The same night in Cordoba, Argentina, one-loss prospect John Jackson of the Virgin Islands battles low-level veteran journeyman Jorge Miranda.

And a few hours before all of these, undefeated Liverpool prospect Liam Smith sees action in his hometown against lower-tier journeyman Mark Thompson of Lancashire.

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Middleweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Middleweight, Rankings with tags Billi Godoy, Darren Barker, David Lemieux, Felix Sturm, Glen Tapia, James Kirkland, Jorge Heiland, Jose Miguel Torres, Matt Korobov, Matthew Macklin, Ryoto Murata on January 29, 2014 by danboxing

Neuquen, Argentina played host on Friday to a rematch between #17 Billi Godoy and gatekeeper Jorge Heiland, both of that country. I don’t know what kind of buzz the result is generating locally, but for me, it rings a bit controversial. By my reckoning, Godoy led 105-103 heading into the 12th round (it may have been even, or Godoy may have been up fairly big). Godoy had scored a flash knockdown in an otherwise close 3rd, and had been dropped himself- and harder- in the 7th. Heiland, perhaps knowing the outcome was likely in doubt, dropped the favorite hard. Godoy rose well before the count reached 8, but referee Cesareo Morales stopped it. The decision was inexplicable from where I was sitting. Perhaps there was something troubling in the eyes of Godoy that none of the replays showed, but from all the views I saw, the stoppage was unnecessary, and gave Heiland a TKO win where he had thus far only earned a draw by his efforts.

On the Stevenson-Bellew undercard in Quebec City on Saturday, fringe contender David Lemieux got a very good win against fringe contender Jose Miguel Torres, dropping the veteran six times in under seven rounds, at which point the fight was mercifully halted. Torres, in fairness, had more moments than that result might suggest, but simply couldn’t stay on his feet against the heavy-handed power of Lemieux, who dropped his man to both the head and body. But there’s one catch for Lemieux: the fight was contested a couple pounds over the middleweight limit, and thus he still hasn’t made Middleweight in 2 years. This makes him ineligible for a ranking that he certainly would have achieved otherwise.

#10 Anthony Mundine also fought, but that will be discussed at 154, where it was contested.

Regarding Godoy-Heiland, it’s a difficult situation. First, I’m not ready to go on record and say that the stoppage was definitely wrong. I think it’s about 90-10 that it was, based on what I saw, but I’m going to give the ref the benefit of that 10. Furthermore, while I had the fight even after assuming a 10-8 12th, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable for another judge to have seen the knockdown as propelling Heiland to victory, even if the fight had gone the distance. Finally, there’s no proof, even at that, that Heiland would not have gone on to more conclusively stop Godoy if allowed to continue. For this reason, I must give Heiland the benefit of the doubt (albeit somewhat marginally), in reshuffling my rankings. Godoy falls from the top 20 after 15 consecutive weeks in. Jacobs and Chudinov move up to fill the gap, while Heiland debuts at #19, held back a bit by the awkwardness of the result, and even more so by a handful of losses and draws in his past- some acceptable and some not so much. Akio Shibata hangs on at #20.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: Sergio Martinez (190-190-190)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12* #9 Martin Murray (Robbery- draw at best)

Next Fight: Unknown

Martinez wants to fight Miguel Cotto at 158, and considers Marco Antonio Rubio his fallback plan. Sergio reportedly has a $15 million offer on the table to Cotto, with June 7th being the target.

1) Martin Murray (32-105-105)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- L* (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez (Robbery- D at worst)

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR)

Murray’s fight with Khomitsky for the Froch-Groves undercard was cancelled on 3 days’ notice on account of a virus, but has been rescheduled for December 14.

2) Gennady Golovkin (23-66-129)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens

Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Golovkin returns February 1 in Monte Carlo. Originally it looked like Murray was the opponent, but that appears to be a no-go. He says he’s willing to fight Mayweather at 154 or Ward at 168.

3) Darren Barker (16-16-112)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- W (SD12) vs. #3 Daniel Geale

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #4 Felix Sturm

Another excellent middleweight match-up in 2013, as Barker will take on Felix Sturm in Germany on December 7.

4) Felix Sturm (23-533-533)

Last Fight: 7/6/2013- TKO4 Predrag Radosevic (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #3 Darren Barker

See Barker’s notes, above.

5) Daniel Geale (16-233-233)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (SD12) vs. #15 Darren Barker

Next Fight: Unknown

Geale wants a rematch, but will probably have to wait until at least 2014, since it appears likely Barker will make a mandatory defense in December against Sturm, instead. March appears to be the current target.

6) Matthew Macklin (16-128-219)

Last Fight: 6/29/2013- L (KO3) vs. #4 Gennady Golovkin

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Lamar Russ (UNR)

Macklin’s original 12/7 opponent, Willie Nelson, injured his elbow in sparring, and so far Macklin turned down Matt Korobov and was turned down by Max Bursak. The new opponent is borderline top 50 undefeated prospect Lamar Russ.

7) Peter Quillin (32-59-80)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO10 Gabriel Rosado (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Golden Boy is looking to match Quillin with Danny Jacobs in Brooklyn on February 1. A recent interview indicates he might prefer to fight some of the top contenders, instead. Unfortunately most of them fight on HBO in this division, while Quillin’s promoter is tied to Showtime.

8) Sergio Mora (7-23-23)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Marco Antonio Rubio (7-9-149)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- KO2 Dionisio Miranda (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rubio looks poised to take on Sergio if Maravilla’s intended fight with Cotto falls through.

10) Anthony Mundine (7-7-149)

Last Fight: 11/27/2013- TKO7 #4 WW Shane Mosley (at JMW)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mundine has renewed his familiar call for a shot at Mayweather after beating Mosley. That’s highly unlikely, given Mundine’s low profile stateside.

11) Max Bursak (7-149)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- UD12 Nick Blackwell (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Bursak had the opportunity to fill in for Willie Nelson for an HBO date against Matthew Macklin, but turned down that chance.

12) Caleb Truax (7-11)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Derek Ennis (UNR)

Truax’s January 3 fight will likely be the first notable fight of the New Year. He’ll face Derek Ennis.

13) Bryan Vera (7-59)

Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L* (UD10) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (UNR) (at LHW)

Next Fight: 3/1/2014- vs. Julio Cesar Chavez (UNR)

Vera-Chavez II now looks likely for March 1 in either Vegas or Texas, after a proposed February date was abandoned over concerns related to Olympic conflicts.

14) Grzegorz Proksa (7-138)

Last Fight: 6/28/2013- L (UD10) vs. Sergio Mora (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Proksa had another hand operation in August, but thinks he’ll be ready to go for a proposed February fight in Poland with undefeated prospect Maciej Suleckim.

15) Curtis Stevens (7-18)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L (RTD8) vs. #2 Gennady Golovkin

Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Stevens will make a surprisingly quick return from a grueling battle with Golovkin.

16) Andrey Meryasev (4-4)

Last Fight: 11/4/2013- UD10 Sergio Sanders (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

I’ve still yet to see Meryasev in action, but his win over Sanders at this point in his career proves that he’s a real prospect.

17) Danny Jacobs (1-15)

Last Fight: 8/19/2013- TKO3 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Golden Boy is apparently looking to match Jacobs and Quillin on February 1 in Brooklyn.

18) Dmitry Chudinov (1-15)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- W (PTS8) vs. Max Maxwell (UNR) (at SMW/LHW)

Next Fight: 12/21/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent

Chudinov makes his return in Moscow on December 21.

19) Jorge Heiland (1-1)

Last Fight: 11/29/2013- TKO*12 #17 Billi Godoy

Next Fight: Unknown

After two closely-contested battles, there’s already talk of a trilogy with Godoy.

20) Akio Shibata (4-9)

Last Fight: 8/25/2013- L (TKO2) vs. Ryoto Murata (UNR) (at SMW)

Next Fight: Unknown

The Week Ahead: Friday in Tokyo, ranked Super Middleweight Ryoto Murata- really just a middleweight who fought at a contract weight in his only fight- meets low-level and inactive Minnesota prospect Dave Petersen.

Saturday in Stuttgart, Germany, #3 Darren Barker and #4 Felix Sturm meet in a high-stakes battle that figures to be very closely contested.

Former junior middleweight contender James Kirkland returns to the ring on Saturday after a long layoff of nearly two years, fighting undefeated power puncher Glen Tapia in Atlantic City. The fight’s real implications will probably be at 154 in the real world, but it’s being fought at a 156 pound catchweight.

On the same card, #6 Matthew Macklin takes on prospect and late replacement Lamar Russ in what could be viewed as a potential crossroads fight.

And even deeper on the card, undefeated perennial prospect Matt Korobov continues his largely mediocre diet of competition, taking on somewhat low-level journeyman Derek Edwards.

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Super Middleweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags Anthony Dirrell, Badou Jack, Hadillah Mohoumadi, Jonathan Gonzalez, Maxim Vlasov, Ryoto Murata, Sakio Bika, Wilbeforce Shihepo on January 29, 2014 by danboxing

#17 Hadillah Mohoumadi snuck in an under-the-radar short notice fight, stopping low-level Polish journeyman Bartlomiej Grafka in 5 at Cergy-Pointoise, France.

No changes.

Dan’s Top 20

Champ: Andre Ward (103-237-237)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #13 Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown

Ward says he would fight Golovkin or Hopkins, but seems to doubt that either of them wants to fight him.

1) Carl Froch (80-390-390)
Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO9 #8 George Groves
Next Fight: Unknown

After a grueling fight that showed Froch returning to his pre-Super 6 ways by pulling one out of the fire late, Froch has a very credible and vehement rematch challenge in his lap, courtesy of George Groves. Rumor has it that he intends to refuse.

2) Robert Stieglitz (37-223-223)

Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. #4 Arthur Abraham

Abraham has announced a date of February 1 for his trilogy bout with Stieglitz.

3) Mikkel Kessler (51-469-469)

Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown

After meeting with Kessler, his promoter says he won’t be fighting anytime soon, and Kessler hinted at possible retirement immediately after the Froch fight. It’s not looking good for Kessler fans.

4) Arthur Abraham (29-215-215)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. #2 Robert Stieglitz

See Stieglitz’s notes, above.

5) Brandon Gonzales (23-23-23)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Jonathan Nelson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Gonzales says he is planning to fight again in early 2014, but nothing too specific right now.

6) Thomas Oosthuizen (10-131-179)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. LHW #18 Eleider Alvarez (at LHW)

Oosthuizen barely survived an upset for the second fight in a row. His promoter says it’s clear that he’s outgrown 168, so it’s very unlikely we’ll see him here again. He had a pre-arranged fight set up with Eleider Alvarez at 175 at last check.

7) Ezequiel Maderna (4-4-49)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen

Next Fight: Unknown

I doubt he’ll get much love from the alphabets for his effort, but I think you could make a better case for him winning than losing against Oosthuizen, though I had it a draw personally.

8) George Groves (4-51-73)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- L (TKO9) vs. #1 Carl Froch

Next Fight: Unknown

While I think the result of a TKO loss was an inevitable one, I also don’t fault Groves for the ultimatum he recently issued to Froch: rematch or retire. Obviously he can’t make Froch do that, but I think he earned the rematch, and I think there’s a lot of money in it for both guys.

9) James DeGale (3-26-112)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Dyah Davis (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

DeGale is agitating for a title fight after beating Davis, and thinks Froch and Groves are ducking him.

10) Christopher Rebrasse (3-3-26)

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) Sakio Bika (3-348)

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.

12) Maxim Vlasov (4-56)

Last Fight: 11/4/2013- TKO6 Artem Redko (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/5/2013- vs. Maxell Taylor (UNR)

Fresh off his win over Redko, Vlasov will go stateside and fight Baltimore journeyman Maxell Taylor in Orange County, California on Thursday, December 5.

13) Edwin Rodriguez (4-46)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward

Next Fight: Unknown

Rodriguez was overweight, dirty, and outclassed. Not a good night. He’s probably done with 168, at any rate.

14) Andy Lee (10-29)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013-TKO2 Ferenc Hafner (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Lee seems to be focused on a Macklin clash for the Spring.

15) Ryoto Murata (10-15)

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. He also recently signed with Top Rank, which gives hardcore US fans hope that we might see him eventually. The next step after Peterson is probably a February fight in Macau.

16) Caleb Truax (10-24)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW)

Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Derek Ennis (UNR)

Truax’s January 3 kickoff to 2014 will be on Friday Night Fights against Derek Ennis.

17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (10-40)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

18) Glen Johnson (10-31)

Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rumor has it that Johnson may replace Roy Jones on short notice as a replacement headliner for a cruiserweight fight with journeyman Bobby Gunn on December 18.

19) Badou Jack (10-20)

Last Fight: 9/12/2013- Draw (MD12) vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Rogelio Medina (UNR)

Jack’s opponent is a good journeyman, but took the fight on rather short notice.

20) Don Mouton (10-10)

Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Gilberto Ramirez (UNR) (at MW)

Mouton fights Mexican prospect Ramirez this weekend in Oklahoma.

The Week Ahead: This very busy week kicks off on Thursday, when #12 Maxim Vlasov keeps busy with Baltimore/D.C. journeyman Maxell Taylor in Costa Mesa, California.

Friday in Tokyo, #15 Ryoto Murata meets low-level and inactive one-loss Minnesota prospect Dave Petersen.

Later that night in Windhoek, Namibia, local gatekeeper Wilbeforce Shihepo meets mid-level Kenyan journeyman Daniel Wanyonyi for an African alphabet title.

On the Fragomeni-Wlodarczyk undercard in Chicago that same night, undefeated Puerto Rican prospect Jonathan Gonzalez meets very low-level journeyman Jaison Palomeque.

On a Shobox card from Shelton, Washington a little later, #19 Badou Jack meets top-level Mexican journeyman Rogelio Medina.

Finally, on Saturday’s Showtime card, #11 Sakio Bika meets (technically undefeated, but should be one-loss) prospect Anthony Dirrell. Dirrell was a respected undefeated fringe contender on a steep upward trajectory not all that long ago after beating Renan St. Juste, but his stock was diminished by a layoff induced by injuries from a motorcycle accident that followed it, and by the abysmal performance that followed it against Don Mouton.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Adonis Stevenson, Andrzej Fonfara, Enzo Maccarinelli, Ismayl Sillakh, Nadjib Mohammedi, Pawel Glazewski, Ryno Liebenberg, Sergey Kovalev, Thomas Williams Jr., Tony Bellew, Yusaf Mack on January 29, 2014 by danboxing

Last week’s marquee card was in Quebec City, where #1 Adonis Stevenson thumped a game but outgunned #6 Tony Bellew, showing that hit ’em and hurt ’em power that so few fighters possess. Bellew hung in there admirably, even edging the first two rounds on my card, but the Haitian-Canadian bruiser increasingly walked the Liverpool fighter down as the rounds wore on, dropped him in the 6th during an exchange, and seconds later, rubberized Bellew’s legs with what for any other fighter would be a fairly ordinary southpaw left. But Stevenson is not any other fighter. If he hits you clean, you’re not gonna like it. Credit to referee Michael Griffin for jumping in there just in time to save Bellew from becoming a tee ball.

In the co-main, #3 Sergey Kovalev didn’t feel like waiting around for 6 rounds. He actually got schooled a little bit in the first round, as the much faster and more nimble Ismayl Sillakh boxed expertly for a good solid round. But early in the second, after dancing around a bit, Sillakh got a little careless and leaned in to throw, but was beaten to the punch by a right hand right on the button from Kovalev, and he was still visibly shaken when the 8-count ended. Kovalev didn’t wait for a further invitation. As soon as the action resumed, the Russian charged in and blasted a helpless Sillakh more or less through the ropes to bring a swift end to proceedings.

Earlier that night in France, local gatekeeper Nadjib Mohammedi put a beating on Ukrainian peer Oleksandr Cherviak, in a manner reminiscent of Calzaghe vs. Lacy. Cherviak- normally a dangerous challenge, having stopped undefeated Sauerland prospect Dustin Dirks in his last fight- looked clumsy, sluggish, somewhat disinterested, and a bit out of shape. It was ugly. And it almost got uglier. Referee Giuseppe Quartarone- whom I’m more than happy to take another shot at, considering he was one of the crooks that robbed Chisora against Helenius- made a fool of himself, as usual. After three rounds of non-stop bludgeoning, Mohammedi pinned Cherviak on the ropes and landed 4 unanswered vicious shots flush on the face, as a dazed Cherviak held Mohammedi’s other arm. It was a crystal-clear moment to stop the fight. Instead, Quartarone broke the action to warn Cherviak for holding. Granted, he stopped it just seconds later when the Ukrainian’s corner threw in the towel, but that doesn’t excuse his complete disregard for Cherviak’s safety.

Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida, another gatekeeper- Philly’s Yusaf Mack- failed to keep the gate on undefeated Thomas Williams, Jr. of Maryland. Mack worked hard and looked like he came to try and win (unlike the Froch fight), and he generally held his own for the first half of the 10-rounder. But Williams proved to be a very strong puncher who looks like he can box a little. He did some very nice body work, and essentially beat the starch out of Mack by about round 5 or 6, by which time Mack’s strength had clearly waned. It was a clear decision win for Williams. Anything between a shutout and 97-93, with my score being 98-92. Judge Roark Young agreed with me, while Richard Green and Alex Levin had it one round different in either direction (Levin also gave Williams a 10-8, presumably in the 9th).

Least, but not last, unbeaten South African prospect Ryno Liebenberg finished off low-level Ghanaian journeyman Daniel Adotey Allotey at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park in under a round, despite being outweighed by 11 pounds at the weigh-in.

Despite no less than 4 fights featuring exclusively top 50 fighters, there is no change to the top 20 this week, as the winning and losing fighters all merely confirmed their relative merit at that level, while Mohammedi and Williams still haven’t yet proven enough to advance that far.

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Andre Ward (65-65-65)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)

Next Fight: Unknown

When asked about a fight with Hopkins, Ward acknowledged that it’s one of only two fights that would get him on PPV (the other being Chavez), but said he would only fight Hopkins if the legend called him out.

1) Adonis Stevenson (26-26-26)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew

Next Fight: Unknown

Stevenson-Kovalev is the obvious can’t-miss battle in the division.

2) Bernard Hopkins (65-391-391)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown

See Ward’s notes, above.

3) Sergey Kovalev (25-46-46)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO2 Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

See Stevenson’s notes, above.

4) Chad Dawson (25-392-392)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson

Next Fight: Unknown

Dawson is now a promotional free agent, and is looking to sign with a top promoter to start rebuilding after a rough year. He says he is interested in a Stevenson rematch.

5) Andrzej Fonfara (16-16-73)

Last Fight: 8/16/2013- KO9 #6 Gabriel Campillo

Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Samuel Miller (UNR)

Fonfara will return on December 6, on the Chicago undercard of Wlodarczyk-Fragomeni III.

6) Tony Bellew (16-112-112)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson

Next Fight: Unknown

Not the greatest birthday present for Bellew- getting blasted by Stevenson.

7) Gabriel Campillo (16-180-180)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- L (KO9) vs. #14 Andrzej Fonfara
Next Fight: Unknown

Campillo might be on his way to deserved obscurity after being robbed of deserved prominence for so much of his career. He still has plenty of boxing skill, but his will might be fading just a bit.

8) Tavoris Cloud (16-223-223)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown

Cloud should probably get himself back in the win column at some point.

9) Nathan Cleverly (16-200-200)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown

Cleverly withdrew from his cruiserweight debut against Daniel Ammann with a back injury, on just 4 days notice.

10) Isaac Chilemba (16-36-96)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

11) Cornelius White (16-103)

Last Fight: 6/14/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Sergey Kovalev

Next Fight: Unknown

White was blasted out by Kovalev, but at least he has good company in that regard.

12) Jürgen Brähmer (15-85)

Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 Stefano Abatangelo (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Marcus Oliveira (UNR)

Since getting dominated in your title fight, fighting journeymen, and then taking two years off is the required resume for becoming a WBA Super Champion, Beibut Shumenov has now assumed that dubious title. Braehmer will now fight prospect Marcus Oliveira for the “regular” title on December 14 in Neubrandenburg, Germany.

13) Karo Murat (6-6)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins

Next Fight: Unknown

14) Cedric Agnew (6-34)

Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack

Next Fight: Unknown

Agnew has been ordered to defend his regional title against fringe contender Anatoliy Dudchenko.

15) Edwin Rodriguez (6-21)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward

Next Fight: Unknown

Rodriguez came in two pounds overweight for the Ward fight, and couldn’t put it to much use. He will likely fight exclusively at 175 from now on.

16) Lucian Bute (6-57)

Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev

Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)

Bute-Pascal has been pushed back to January 18.

17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (6-23)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mohoumadi snuck in a low-level win on November 30, apparently at 168.

18) Eleider Alvarez (6-45)

Last Fight: 9/28/2013- UD10 Edison Miranda (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/18/2013- vs. #6 SMW Thomas Oosthuizen

Alvarez is tentatively scheduled to fight Oosthuizen in January, and I have no new information to suggest whether or not Oosthuizen’s shaky performance and bad cut against Maderna will affect that.

19) Dmitry Sukhotsky (2-2)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO5 Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

As conclusive as the Sukhotsky-Gutknecht result looks on paper, I’d actually like to see a rematch, since Gutknecht was having the better of it before his eye began to balloon.

20) Enzo Maccarinelli (2-16)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO11 Ovill McKenzie (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Courtney Fry (UNR)

Maccarinelli is back on December 7 against mid-level journeyman Courtney Fry of Liverpool.

The Week Ahead: Polish prospect Pawel Glazewski is in action for the first time since his loss to Hadillah Mohoumadi this Friday in his home country against low-level journeyman Andrei Salakhutdzinau.

Also on Friday, on the Wlodarczyk-Fragomeni undercard in Chicago, #5 Andrzej Fonfara stays busy against mid-level journeyman Samuel Miller.

Saturday features #20 Enzo Maccarinelli against his own mid-level journeyman, Liverpool’s Courtney Fry.

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Cruiserweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Cruiserweight, Rankings with tags Denis Lebedev, Dmitry Kudryashov, Firat Arslan, Giacobbe Fragomeni, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Marco Huck, Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Zack Mwekassa on January 21, 2014 by danboxing

Undefeated prospect Dmitry Kudryashov detonated Congolese gatekeeper Zack Mwekassa who, despite mixed results, can still claim a stoppage victory over no less a world-beater than Thabiso Mchunu. Kudryashov needed just 50 seconds. Kudryashov is fast building a case as the biggest puncher in the division. This victory may very well have earned the Russian a ranking, except that he came in a half-pound over the divisional limit, and is thus technically ineligible for consideration, considering this is his only top 50 win. It will be considered fully (or nearly so) if and when he adds to it while making weight, but not yet.

No changes.

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: None

1) Denis Lebedev (19-200-200)

Last Fight: 5/17/2013- L (TKO11) vs. Guillermo Jones (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

The rematch with Jones, according to Lebedev’s promoter, is all but done for mid-March in Moscow.

2) Yoan Pablo Hernandez (64-180-180)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO10 #12 Alexander Alekseev

Next Fight: Unknown

Hernandez still seems a little vulnerable, needing his power to bail him out a little against Alekseev.

3) Marco Huck (12-365-365)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- W (MD12) vs. #5 Ola Afolabi

Next Fight: 1/25/2014- vs. #5 Firat Arslan

Huck-Arslan II has a new date of January 25 after Huck suffered a hand injury.

4) Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (12-441-441)

Last Fight: 6/21/2013- TKO8 Rakhim Chakhkiev (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. #9 Giacobbe Fragomeni
Wlodarczyk will see action in the US for the first time since 2005 on December 6, fighting a trilogy bout with the rapidly aging Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni in Chicago.

5) Firat Arslan (12-82-125)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/25/2014- vs. #3 Marco Huck

See Huck’s notes, above.

6) Thabiso Mchunu (12-18-56)

Last Fight: 8/3/2013- UD10 Eddie Chambers (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mchunu recently signed a promotional deal with Main Events, the promoter of his recent victim Eddie Chambers. This ensures that US fans will be seeing him on NBC Sports in 2014, if not earlier.

7) Grigory Drozd (2-9-56)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO11 #13 Mateusz Masternak

Next Fight: 3/15/2013- vs. Jeremy Ouanna (UNR)

Drozd will defend his European title in March against solid French journeyman Jeremy Ouanna.

8) Ola Afolabi (2-247-247)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- W* (MD12) vs. Lukasz Janik (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Afolabi needed a gift to squeak by Janik.

9) Giacobbe Fragomeni (2-12-264)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- UD8 Toni Visic (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. #4 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk

See Wlodarczyk’s notes, above.

10) Silvio Branco (2-90)

Last Fight: 7/6/2013- W (TD10) vs. Juho Haapoja (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

I’ve heard unconfirmed reports that Russian prospect Chakhkiev wants a fight with Branco.

11) Ilunga Makabu (2-21)

Last Fight: 8/31/2013- TKO5 Eric Fields (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Pawel Kolodziej (UNR)

Makabu is set to fight undefeated Polish prospect Pawel Kolodziej in Monaco for an interim alphabet belt on February 1.

12) Alexander Alekseev (12-151)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- L (TKO10) vs. #2 Yoan Pablo Hernandez

Next Fight: Unknown

Alekseev acquitted himself better in his TKO loss to Hernandez than he has in some of his wins.

13) Santander Silgado (2-5)

Last Fight: 11/1/2013- TKO2 #20 Steve Herelius

Next Fight: Unknown

Silgado may have caught a finished fighter at the right time in stopping Herelius, but in a fairly shallow division, that’s enough for now.

14) Mateusz Masternak (2-88)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (TKO11) vs. #16 Grigory Drozd

Next Fight: Unknown

Masternak is still a legitimate prospect despite his first loss, but can no longer lay claim to the status of “top prospect” after losing to Drozd.

15) Lukasz Janik (2-5)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #7 Ola Afolabi

Next Fight: Unknown

Janik would like a well-deserved rematch with Afolabi.

16) Enad Licina (2-180)

Last Fight: 9/27/2013- TKO3 Levan Jomardashvili (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Licina needs a significant win before January, as his only relevant win in the last 5 years will become older than 5 years at that point, prompting his removal.

17) Danie Venter (2-12)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- KO1 Shawn Cox (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

I must admit I wrote Venter off when he lost a bit of an upset to Mchunu last year, but Mchunu has proven to be something of a world beater since, and Venter’s overall resume is quietly starting to look pretty solid.

18) Dmytro Kucher (2-75)

Last Fight: 7/13/2013- L (MD12) vs. Ilunga Makabu (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Kucher would like a rematch with Makabu, and has his sights set on Wlodarczyk down the road, as well. He expects to be back against someone in November or December.

19) Krzysztof Glowacki (2-19)

Last Fight: 10/19/2013- TKO3 Richard Hall (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Serdar Sahin (UNR)

Glowacki is keeping very busy, and will fight on December 14 in Poland, less than 2 months after his previous fight. His opponent is one-loss German prospect Serdar Sahin.

20) Rakhim Chakhkiev (2-2)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- KO10 Giulian Ilie (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD: Chicago plays host on Friday to a trilogy bout between #4 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk and #9 Giacobbe Fragomeni. But don’t be confused by the similar rankings. Wlodarczyk is the prohibitive favorite, as Fragomeni needed perhaps a bit of undue deference from the judges to emerge from his two razor-thin fights with the ancient Silvio Branco.

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Heavyweight: 2013, Dec 2-8

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Antonio Tarver, Dereck Chisora, Francesco Pianeta, Kyotaro Fujimoto, Lateef Kayode, Steve Cunningham, Wladimir Klitschko on January 21, 2014 by danboxing

Czech journeyman Ondrej Pala was actually having a fair amount of success in London against #5 Dereck Chisora on Saturday, visibly bothering Chisora with clean straight shots from the outside. But it could only last so long. Chisora kept the pressure up, intelligently utilizing the double jab to get in, landing power shots to shake Pala up, and then stopping him in the 3rd when Pala turned his back in the corner after a combination.

Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida, Antonio Tarver began a comeback attempt at a very advanced age after nearly 18 months of steroid-related inactivity. He didn’t look that great, but got a great result anyway. He looked generally sluggish and his knees looked stiff, but yet he had probably won all three rounds when the first was stopped before the 4th. Tarver began the three-knockdown onslaught that ended the fight when he caught Sheppard on the end of a perfectly timed, perfectly placed uppercut from the outside.

And Monday in Tokyo, one-loss prospect Kyotaro Fujimoto won a surprisingly close unanimous decision over 9-8 journeyman Kotatsu Takehara, defending his Japanese title, but winning by just a one-round margin on one card, and three points on a second. This probably indicates that he’s significantly overrated by his inclusion in Boxrec’s top 50.

No changes this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (232-445-445)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- UD12 #3 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

While the order is unclear at least to me, Klitschko’s current mandatory obligations include Alex Leapai and Kubrat Pulev. In the WBA, it looks like the spot would be filled by an eliminator at some point, either between Povetkin and Luis Ortiz, or whatever other fighters in their rankings would be available. The technically retired Tyson Fury also called Wlad out right before his retirement.

1) Alexander Povetkin (2-319-319)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Povetkin is calling for a rematch. He would probably need to become the WBA mandatory by winning an eliminator (possibly against Luis Ortiz) in order to get that shot. His promotional ties expire at the end of the year, and he says he’ll announce his next move in early 2014.

2) Steve Cunningham (2-50-50)

Last Fight: 4/20/2013- L (KO7) vs. #6 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent

Cunningham will appear on a December 14 card in Atlantic City.

3) Tomasz Adamek (2-189-189)

Last Fight: 8/3/2013- UD10 Dominick Guinn (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Kathy Duva, who promotes both fighters, says she will reschedule the cancelled Adamek-Glazkov fight. Adamek shot down rumors that he wants to fight Bryant Jennings in January, saying he’s fighting Glazkov in March.

4) Kubrat Pulev (2-83-160)

Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 #11 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Sherman Williams (UNR)

The reported match with Ondrej Pala was always a tenuous proposition. Pulev will now be fighting Sherman Williams on December 14, instead.

5) Dereck Chisora (2-105-168)

Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO3 Ondrej Pala (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Chisora looks likely to return in February, and David Price and Tyson Fury are apparently in the running.

6) Odlanier Solis (2-37-184)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- TKO7 Yakup Saglam (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Solis was briefly set to fight Kevin Johnson on November 26, but quickly withdrew due to an IBF mandate that he fight Carlos Takam, instead. Reportedly that fight will now happen in January, though it’s not finalized yet.

7) Bermane Stiverne (2-24-40)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12 #15 Chris Arreola

Next Fight: Unknown

Stiverne is currently fighting his promoter Don King, in court, for the right to possibly fight Vitali in February. But Klitschko has been given until December 15 to decide what he wants to do with his alphabet title, so the situation is very unclear at present.

8) Chris Arreola (2-13-13)

Last Fight: 9/7/2013- TKO1 #12 Seth Mitchell

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola may be a candidate for Wilder, or could fight for a vacant title in a rematch with Stiverne, should Vitali retire. Fury has also named him as someone he’d like to replace David Haye with for February 8.

9) Tony Thompson (2-3-184)

Last Fight: 8/24/2013- L (UD12) vs. #8 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: Unknown

Thompson is now actively seeking a fight with Povetkin, Fury, Adamek, or Wilder.

10) Erkan Teper (2-2-14)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO1 Martin Rogan (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Teper might have scored the heavyweight knockout of the year, and probably retired Martin Rogan in the process.

11) Mike Perez (2-5)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- UD10 Magomed Abdusalamov (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Perez will have to do what many great fighters have had to do in the past- get over the psychological difficulty of having beaten a man to within an inch of his life, just by doing his job.

12) Deontay Wilder (2-32)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO4 Nicolai Firtha (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

In the immediate aftermath of the Haye-Fury fallout, Wilder apparently agreed verbally to fight Fury on February 8. But a couple days later, Wilder’s promoter revealed that Fury’s management wasn’t returning phone calls, and Fury announced his retirement around that same time. The fight looks dead.

13) Alex Leapai (2-2)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD10 #20 Denis Boytsov

Next Fight: Unknown

Leapai, in Rocky-like fashion, now stands as one of Wlad’s two mandatory challengers, and should get his shot in the early part of 2014.

14) Robert Helenius (3-184)

Last Fight: 3/23/2013- W*(UD10) vs. Michael Sprott (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

If there was a fatal rift between Helenius and Sauerland, it appears to have been quietly repaired, as Helenius’ team now claims there is no plan to buy out his contract. Helenius is reportedly back in fighting condition after a wrist injury in his last fight, and intends to return in early 2014.

15) Andy Ruiz (2-2)

Last Fight: 11/24/2013- RTD3 Tor Hamer (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Ruiz has called out Tyson Fury, whose team says he’s out until at least March.

16) Seth Mitchell (3-26)

Last Fight: 9/7/2013- L (TKO1) vs. Chris Arreola (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mitchell’s chin is so fragile that he might want to consider calling it a career. Golden Boy’s CEO says he’s advised Mitchell to do just that, though he reports that Mitchell seems to have no such intention.

17) Alexander Dimitrenko (2-151)

Last Fight: 3/9/2013- UD8 Ivica Perkovic (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Dimitrenko is rumored at least to be fighting Sam Sexton in the first round of the WBC World Cup, but that tournament appears to be in limbo for the time being, at least.

18) Vyacheslav Glazkov (2-50)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Garrett Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

See Adamek’s notes, above.

19) Malik Scott (2-41)

Last Fight: 7/20/2013- L (KO6*) vs. #8 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: Unknown

Scott is getting serious buzz for a fight with Wilder.

20) Johnathon Banks (2-55)

Last Fight: 6/22/2013- L (UD12) vs. #20 Seth Mitchell

Next Fight: Unknown

Banks apparently dinged his hands up pretty good in the Mitchell fight- an alternate explanation for those who, like me, thought his inexplicable failure to follow up on his early success was a bit suspicious. He’s been doing physical therapy, and is about ready to get back in the ring. He’d like a rematch with Mitchell, but unfortunately a trilogy probably isn’t of much benefit to the fragile young contender at this point. He’s penciled-in for the second round of the WBC World Cup, against the winner of Sam Sexton and Alexander Dimitrenko, but as noted above, that whole tournament is delayed and in doubt.

THE WEEK AHEAD: Fringe contender Francesco Pianeta sees the inside of a ring for the first time since his TKO loss to Wladimir Klitschko in May on Friday, testing untested German undefeated prospect Robert Teuber in Brandenburg.

The same night in Santa Ynez, California, former cruiserweight contender Lateef Kayode returns from 18 months’ inactivity, and debuts at heavyweight against low-level journeyman Travis Fulton.

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Welterweight: 2013, Nov 25- Dec 1

Posted in Rankings, Welterweight with tags Brandon Rios, Jo Jo Dan, Jorge Paez Jr., Kevin Bizier, Manny Pacquiao, Randall Bailey, Teerachai Kratingdaenggym, Thomas Dulorme on January 21, 2014 by danboxing

Randall Bailey won on a DQ in Tampa, Florida on Saturday against Humberto Toledo, an experienced Ecuadorian journeyman who was DQ’d in Florida a few years ago for biting an opponent’s neck. This time he got the same treatment for shoving the referee. So Bailey got the win, but more importantly, unlike Toledo, he made 147 and thus regained rankability after being removed for inactivity a month ago.

Saturday in Macau, China, #3 Manny Pacquiao more or less dominated top-5 junior welterweight contender Brandon Rios over the 12 round distance. It was a pretty darned easy fight to score. Rios clearly won round 3, and Pacquiao clearly won every other round. Harold Lederman (who always gives Pacquiao a free round or two) and judge Michael Pernick both missed Rios’ performance in the 3rd and had it a shutout. Manfred Kuechler found an extra round for Rios (perhaps the 8th, which was the only other round that was even seriously competitive), and Lisa Giampa nailed it at 119-109. Pacquiao was, as is usually the case, very quick with good footwork. He darted in from angles and kept Rios off balance and off rhythm for virtually the entire fight. Though Rios has a pretty good chin, I think it’s fair to say that Manny really is not as concussive a puncher as he was a few years ago, but there wasn’t much else to fault in his performance.

When it comes to Jessie Vargas, Randall Bailey giveth, and Randall Bailey taketh away. When Bailey was removed 5 weeks ago for inactivity, Vargas assumed the #20 spot that he has maintained ever since. Now that Bailey returns at his familiar #10 perch, Vargas is forced back out. Everyone ranked #10 and below last week loses ground along with him, including Josesito Lopez, who falls to #11. Pacquiao simply can’t advance past the guy that clearly beat him and then knocked him out within the past couple years, and so he remains at #3. Rios still lacks any wins at 147, and is thus ineligible.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (187-219-219)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #2 JMW Saul Alvarez (at JMW)

Next Fight: Unknown

Floyd will likely be back on both May 3 and September 13, with Amir Khan being rumored as the May 3 opponent.

1) Timothy Bradley (7-7-77)

Last Fight: 10/12/2013- W (SD12) vs. #1 Juan Manuel Marquez

Next Fight: Unknown

Bradley says he wants a rematch with Pacquiao, and has also expressed interest in a likely impossible match-up with Mayweather.

2) Juan Manuel Marquez (7-107-107)

Last Fight: 10/12/2013- L (SD12) vs. #17 Timothy Bradley

Next Fight: Unknown

Marquez indicates that he’ll most likely retire if he can’t get a Bradley rematch, but has also been challenged by Provodnikov.

3) Manny Pacquiao (7-260-260)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD12 #5? JWW Brandon Rios

Next Fight: Unknown

Pacquiao’s logical next move after re-establishing himself against Rios would be a rematch against either Bradley or Marquez, since a Mayweather fight is now more impossible than ever before.

4) Shane Mosley (7-28-28)

Last Fight: 5/18/2013- UD12 Pablo Cesar Cano (UNR)

Next Fight: 11/27/2013- vs. #10 MW Anthony Mundine (at JMW)

Mundine-Mosley is now back on, having been delayed just over a month by major contractual issues.

5) Devon Alexander (7-92-92)

Last Fight: 5/18/2013- RTD7 Lee Purdy (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Shawn Porter (UNR)

Alexander’s fight with prospect Shawn Porter has been bumped back from November 30 to December 7, and will now be in Brooklyn instead of San Antonio.

6) Marcos Maidana (7-25-25)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- TKO6 #4 Josesito Lopez

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Adrien Broner (UNR)

The Maidana-Broner fight on December 14 will now headline a regular Showtime Championship boxing broadcast, instead of a PPV, as the undercard has suffered significant collapses.

7) Jesus Soto Karass (7-18-44)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- TKO12 #7 Andre Berto

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. #13 Keith Thurman

Soto Karass’s fight with Thurman has been moved from the December 7 Malignaggi-Judah undercard in Brooklyn to the following week’s pay-per-view tilt between Broner and Maidana.

8) Robert Guerrero (7-53-70)

Last Fight: 5/4/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Next Fight: Unknown

Guerrero turned down Keith Thurman for a proposed November fight, according to both fighters’ promoter. Dan Rafael reports that Guerrero might be waiting around to fight the winner of Maidana-Broner. He’s also been rumored to be in the mix to fight Khan, though his team has denied it.

9) Kell Brook (7-135-135)

Last Fight:10/26/2013- TKO4 Vyacheslav Senchenko (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Brook is now the mandatory for the winner of Alexander-Porter, and has talked about wanting to fight Broner, as well as his domestic rival Khan.

10) Randall Bailey (1-1-1)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- W (DQ8) vs. Humberto Toledo (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

11) Josesito Lopez (1-75)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #11 Marcos Maidana

Next Fight: 12/13/2013- vs. Mike Arnaoutis (UNR)

Just days after the fight was announced, Lopez’s December 13 opponent for on an FS1-televised card from Indio, California, Aaron Martinez, withdrew with injury. He’ll now be fighting veteran Mike Arnaoutis, instead.

12) Andre Berto (1-53)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- L (TKO12) vs. #11 Jesus Soto Karass

Next Fight: Unknown

Berto’s shoulder surgery will keep him out until sometime in 2014.

13) Keith Thurman (1-38)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- KO10 Diego Chaves (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. #7 Jesus Soto Karass

See Soto Karass’s notes, above.

14) Chris van Heerden (1-76)

Last Fight: 3/2/2013- UD12 Matthew Hatton (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Van Heerden is said to be planning a momentous fight in the US in February, but there’s also an effort underway to get him on a South African show in February, as well.

15) Luis Carlos Abregu (1-31)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD10 Antonin Decarie (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Abregu’s plans for an October fight have been scrapped, as he recently had 2013-ending hand surgery. The WBC is looking to match him with Antonin Decarie when he returns.

16) Jan Zaveck (1-207)

Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD8 Sebastien Allais (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

As expected, Zaveck had little trouble with French journeyman Allais.

17) Selcuk Aydin (1-241)

Last Fight: 9/27/2013- W (RTD4) vs. Demarcus Corley (UNR) (at JWW)

Next Fight: Unknown

The WBC has ordered an eliminator between Aydin and Viktor Postol for a shot at Garcia’s Championship at 140.

18) Ruslan Provodnikov (1-37)

Last Fight: 10/19/2013- RTD10 #3 JWW Mike Alvarado (at JWW)

Next Fight: Unknown

Provodnikov proved against Alvarado that the Bradley fight was no fluke. He’s a big-time fighter now. Mostly it’s all rumor at this point, but there has been speculation of his fighting Pac or Rios, as well as Juan Manuel Marquez.

19) Pablo Cesar Cano (1-11)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W (SD10*) vs. Ashley Theophane (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Cano said after the 143-pound catchweight win against Theophane that he intends to seek title contention at 140 now. I must say I’m surprised by the move, considering he failed to make weight for one of his biggest fights at 147 against Malignaggi.

20) Leonard Bundu (1-23)

Last Fight: 4/6/2013- KO11 Rafal Jackiewicz (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Lee Purdy (UNR)

Bundu will fight British gatekeeper Lee Purdy December 14 in London.

The Week Ahead: On the Stevenson-Bellew undercard Saturday in Quebec City, undefeated local prospect Kevin Bizier takes on gatekeeper Jo Jo Dan of Montreal by way of Romania.

That same night in Mexicali, Mexico, gatekeeper Jorge Paez, Jr. meets low-level journeyman Ivan Hernandez in a 10-rounder.

Also on Saturday, one-loss Puerto Rican prospect Thomas Dulorme will be in action in Carolina, PR against veteran journeyman Hector Velazquez.

Tuesday in Bangkok, Thailand, undefeated young Thai prospect Teerachai Kratingdaenggym gets what should be an easy night against a total novice in Omar Marabayev. Why we can’t call Kratingdaenggym by his birth name of Tewa Kiram, I don’t know.

#4 Shane Mosley is also in action, against Anthony Mundine, but that fight will be at 154.

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Junior Middleweight: 2013, Nov 25- Dec 1

Posted in Junior Middleweight, Rankings with tags Anthony Mundine, Austin Trout, Carlos Molina, Damian Jonak, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Saul Alvarez, Shane Mosley, Tadashi Yuba on January 21, 2014 by danboxing

Undefeated Polish prospect Damian Jonak won a pretty comfortable decision on Saturday in his home country over Scottish journeyman Kris Carslaw, a couple pounds over the divisional limit.

No changes.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: None

1) Carlos Molina (43-125-140)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W (SD12) vs. #5 Ishe Smith

Next Fight: Unknown

2) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (11-11-11)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #2 Saul Alvarez

Next Fight: Unknown

3) Saul Alvarez (11-143-158)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- L* (MD12) vs. WW Champion Floyd Mayweather

Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Alvarez will be back on March 8. He’s hoping for either Cotto or Sergio. After that, he expects to fight two additional times in 2014.

4) Austin Trout (11-78-147)

Last Fight: 4/20/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #2 Saul Alvarez

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #5 Erislandy Lara

It looks like Lara-Trout for December 7 is a done deal.

5) Erislandy Lara (11-125-147)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- TKO10 #8 Alfredo Angulo

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #4 Austin Trout

See Trout’s note, above.

6) Ishe Smith (11-40-40)

Last Fight: 9/14/2013- L (SD12) vs. #1 Carlos Molina

Next Fight: Unknown

7) Miguel Cotto (11-182-182)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO3 #11 Delvin Rodriguez

Next Fight: Unknown

Cotto reportedly has a $10 million offer to fight Canelo on the table, and is also being courted by Sergio Martinez.

8) Cornelius Bundrage (11-173-173)

Last Fight: 2/23/2013- L (MD12) vs. Ishe Smith (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Bundrage has been approved to fight Joey Hernandez in an IBF eliminator. Golden Boy won the purse bid at a paltry $11,000, meaning Bundrage will bank just $6,600. The fight appears likely for Indio, California on January 24.

9) Alfredo Angulo (11-218-218)

Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (TKO10) vs. #4 Erislandy Lara

Next Fight: Unknown

Angulo may be returning in January, and Carlos Molina has been discussed as a possible foe.

10) Sergey Rabchenko (30-30-76)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Bradley Pryce (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rabchenko is in line for an alphabet eliminator at any time.

11) Javier Maciel (5-5)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery L (SD12) vs. #14 Brian Rose

Next Fight: Unknown

The one upside to a guy being robbed of a win that should have propelled him very near the top 10 is that it allows me to shine a light on the incompetence and/or corruption that caused the situation by ranking him exactly where he deserves, despite their attempts.

12) Demetrius Andrade (3-3)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (SD12) vs. #13 Vanes Martirosyan

Next Fight: Unknown

Andrade wants to unify against Carlos Molina, but negotiations are underway for a Brian Rose fight.

13) Delvin Rodriguez (3-124)

Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #7 Miguel Cotto

Next Fight: Unknown

Rodriguez appears to be solid against borderline top-10 types (see Wolak), but completely out of his depth at just a tad higher level.

14) Vanes Martirosyan (3-130)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (SD12) vs. Demetrius Andrade (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

15) Willie Nelson (3-39)

Last Fight: 6/29/2013- UD10 Luciano Cuello (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Nelson has injured his elbow, and his middleweight fight with Macklin has been cancelled as a result.

16) Brian Rose (3-36)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery W (Draw at best) vs. Javier Maciel (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

17) Jermell Charlo (3-25)

Last Fight: 10/14/2013- TKO10 Jose Angel Rodriguez (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/25/2014- vs. Gabriel Rosado (UNR)

Charlo gets likely his toughest test to date in former junior middleweight contender Gabe Rosado, who has recently been used as an opponent at 160, but with mixed results.

18) Yuri Foreman (3-44)

Last Fight: 11/12/2013- KO1 Javier Gomez (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

19) Jack Culcay (3-8)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- W* (UD12) vs. #17 Guido Pitto

Next Fight: Unknown

Culcay is expected back in December.

20) Guido Pitto (3-31)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #20 Jack Culcay

Next Fight: Unknown

Pitto wants a 3rd fight with Mateo Veron, whom he pretty much dominated- but still somehow lost to- in 2012.

The Week Ahead: In a long-awaited fight that will certainly affect the rankings, #4 Welterweight Shane Mosley and #10 Middleweight Anthony Mundine collide at 154, and in doing so will put the old adage that a good big man will beat a good little man to the test.

Friday in Tokyo, Japanese gatekeeper Tadashi Yuba defends his national title against high-level journeyman Yoshihisa Tonimura.

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Middleweight: 2013, Nov 25- Dec 1

Posted in Middleweight, Rankings with tags Anthony Mundine, Billi Godoy, David Lemieux, Gennady Golovkin, Jorge Heiland, Jose Miguel Torres, Martin Murray, Sergio Martinez on January 20, 2014 by danboxing

Nothing significant to report from last week at 160.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20)

Champ: Sergio Martinez (189-189-189)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12* #9 Martin Murray (Robbery- draw at best)

Next Fight: Unknown

Martinez wants to fight Miguel Cotto at 158, and considers Marco Antonio Rubio his fallback plan.

1) Martin Murray (31-104-104)

Last Fight: 4/27/2013- L* (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez (Robbery- D at worst)

Next Fight: Unknown

Murray’s fight with Khomitsky for the Froch-Groves undercard was cancelled on 3 days’ notice on account of a virus.

2) Gennady Golovkin (22-65-128)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens

Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent

Golovkin returns February 1 in Monte Carlo. Originally it looked like Murray was the opponent, but that appears to be a no-go. He says he’s willing to fight Mayweather at 154 or Ward at 168.

3) Darren Barker (15-15-111)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- W (SD12) vs. #3 Daniel Geale

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #4 Felix Sturm

Another excellent middleweight match-up in 2013, as Barker will take on Felix Sturm in Germany on December 7.

4) Felix Sturm (22-532-532)

Last Fight: 7/6/2013- TKO4 Predrag Radosevic (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. #3 Darren Barker

See Barker’s notes, above.

5) Daniel Geale (15-232-232)

Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (SD12) vs. #15 Darren Barker

Next Fight: Unknown

6) Matthew Macklin (15-127-218)

Last Fight: 6/29/2013- L (KO3) vs. #4 Gennady Golovkin

Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Lamar Russ (UNR)

7) Peter Quillin (31-58-79)

Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO10 Gabriel Rosado (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

8) Sergio Mora (6-22-22)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Marco Antonio Rubio (6-8-148)

Last Fight: 7/27/2013- KO2 Dionisio Miranda (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Rubio looks poised to take on Sergio if Maravilla’s intended fight with Cotto falls through.

10) Anthony Mundine (6-6-148)

Last Fight: 1/30/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Daniel Geale

Next Fight: 11/27/2013- vs. #4 WW Shane Mosley (at JMW)

Mosley-Mundine has been rescheduled for a rather short-noticed date of November 27.

11) Max Bursak (6-148)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- UD12 Nick Blackwell (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Bursak had the opportunity to fill in for Willie Nelson for an HBO date against Matthew Macklin, but turned down that chance.

12) Caleb Truax (6-10)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Derek Ennis (UNR)

Truax’s January 3 fight will likely be the first notable fight of the New Year. He’ll face Derek Ennis.

13) Bryan Vera (6-58)

Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L* (UD10) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (UNR) (at LHW)

Next Fight: Unknown

Vera-Chavez II now looks likely for March 1 in either Vegas or Texas, after a proposed February date was abandoned over concerns related to Olympic conflicts.

14) Grzegorz Proksa (6-137)

Last Fight: 6/28/2013- L (UD10) vs. Sergio Mora (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Proksa had another hand operation in August, but thinks he’ll be ready to go for a proposed February fight in Poland with undefeated prospect Maciej Suleckim.

15) Curtis Stevens (6-17)

Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L (RTD8) vs. #2 Gennady Golovkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Stevens might be back on January 24.

16) Andrey Meryasev (3-3)

Last Fight: 11/4/2013- UD10 Sergio Sanders (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

I’ve still yet to see Meryasev in action, but his win over Sanders at this point in his career proves that he’s a real prospect.

17) Billi Godoy (3-15)

Last Fight: 7/19/2013- UD12 Mateo Veron (UNR)

Next Fight: 11/29/2013- vs. Jorge Heiland (UNR)

Godoy will fight high-level domestic journeyman Jorge Heiland in Neuquen, Argentina on November 29, in a rematch of their July 2012 fight.

18) Danny Jacobs (3-14)

Last Fight: 8/19/2013- TKO3 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Golden Boy is apparently looking to match Jacobs and Quillin on February 1 in Brooklyn.

19) Dmitry Chudinov (3-14)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- W (PTS8) vs. Max Maxwell (UNR) (at SMW/LHW)

Next Fight: 12/21/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent

Chudinov makes his return on the undercard of a Roy Jones showcase in Moscow on December 21.

20) Akio Shibata (3-8)

Last Fight: 8/25/2013- L (TKO2) vs. Ryoto Murata (UNR) (at SMW)

Next Fight: Unknown

The Week Ahead: Friday in Neuquen, Argentina, we’ve got an intriguing rematch between #17 Billi Godoy and gatekeeper and countryman Jorge Heiland.

2-loss prospect David Lemieux gets a golden opportunity to jump-start his rather sputtering career, as he takes on Jose Miguel Torres, a fighter I have ranked very near the top 20, but whom I expect is probably overrated at that position based on a single win over a prospect.

#10 Anthony Mundine is also in action, on Wednesday against Shane Mosley, but that fight is at 154 and will be discussed in more detail there.

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Super Middleweight: 2013, Nov 25- Dec 1

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags Andre Ward, Andy Lee, Arthur Abraham, Brandon Gonzales, Carl Froch, George Groves, Mikkel Kessler, Robert Stieglitz on January 19, 2014 by danboxing

Saturday’s Froch-Groves fight in Manchester, England could hardly have been more intriguing. Groves blitzed Froch in the first round, dropping the top contender heavily with a vicious right hand, and generally overwhelming the Nottingham superstar. Froch wasn’t particularly sharp at this stage, and perhaps expected Groves to try and outbox him, rather than press the action. Based on the clear contrast between his trademark pithy wit and the meandering ramble-fest that characterized his post-fight comments this time, it’s pretty clear that Froch was concussed, and that almost certainly was a result of the beating he took in the first round. With that being the case, perhaps it’s not as surprising as it may have seemed in the moment that Froch lost probably 5 of the next 6 rounds (my original scorecard was lost to computer issues, but that’s my best recollection of it), as Groves got back to his boxing, and was nothing short of masterful in beating Froch to the punch and frustrating the heavy favorite. The British broadcasters had Froch essentially needing a knockout or multiple knockdowns by the 9th, at which point I had him well behind, but still redeemable at either 77-74 or 78-73. But by the end of the 8th, Froch had begun to take over as he attacked with more urgency and Groves began to visibly tire. In the 9th, Groves got lit up with a barrage of punches, and badly hurt, began to stagger away with his hands down as Froch pressed forward. Referee Howard Foster stepped in at that point, and controversially stopped the fight.

I did think the stoppage was a little quick, since Groves had little or no time to regain his composure and demonstrate whether or not he could continue to defend himself. That being said, I think the answer to that issue is probably that he could not have, and most likely the fight would have been legitimately stopped a few seconds later after Groves ate a few more devastating punches. Froch also made a good-point post fight when he opined that the referee could not allow Groves to take what would essentially have been a free shot from a puncher of Froch’s caliber. In any case, it’s hard for me to imagine the fight ending as anything but a stoppage win for Froch, though I suppose stranger things have happened in the sport. In the end, there was really no loser. Froch got the “W,” while Groves pretty clearly established himself as elite, even in defeat. He may also have set up a big money rematch, though that remains to be seen.

Andy Lee saw fairly unimportant action on the undercard, dropping Hungarian journeyman Ferenc Hafner 3 times en route to a TKO in the first half of the 2nd round in a fight contested in the low 160s.

In terms of the rankings, it’s a wash. I don’t give fighters credit for losing unless they earned the win. For all of Groves’ success, he fell short of that. As for Froch, he can’t be punished for a gutsy TKO win, and even if I were to do so, he’s so far ahead of #2 Robert Stieglitz that it wouldn’t make a difference. No changes.

Dan’s Top 20

Champ: Andre Ward (102-236-236)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #13 Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown

Ward says he would fight Golovkin or Hopkins, but seems to doubt that either of them wants to fight him.

1) Carl Froch (79-389-389)
Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO9 #8 George Groves
Next Fight: Unknown

2) Robert Stieglitz (36-222-222)

Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. #4 Arthur Abraham

Abraham has announced a date of February 1 for his trilogy bout with Stieglitz.

3) Mikkel Kessler (50-468-468)

Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown

4) Arthur Abraham (28-214-214)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown

See Stieglitz’s notes, above.

5) Brandon Gonzales (22-22-22)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Jonathan Nelson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Gonzales says he is planning to fight again in early 2014, but nothing too specific right now.

6) Thomas Oosthuizen (9-130-178)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. LHW #18 Eleider Alvarez (at LHW)

7) Ezequiel Maderna (3-3-48)

Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen

Next Fight: Unknown

I doubt he’ll get much love from the alphabets for his effort, but I think you could make a better case for him winning than losing against Oosthuizen, though I had it a draw personally.

8) George Groves (3-50-72)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013- L (TKO9) vs. #1 Carl Froch

Next Fight: Unknown

9) James DeGale (2-25-111)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Dyah Davis (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

DeGale is agitating for a title fight after beating Davis, and thinks Froch and Groves are ducking him.

10) Christopher Rebrasse (2-2-25)

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) Sakio Bika (2-347)

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.

12) Maxim Vlasov (3-55)

Last Fight: 11/4/2013- TKO6 Artem Redko (UNR)

Next Fight: 12/5/2013- vs. Maxell Taylor (UNR)

Fresh off his win over Redko, Vlasov will go stateside and fight Baltimore journeyman Maxell Taylor in Orange County, California on Thursday, December 5.

13) Edwin Rodriguez (3-45)

Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward

Next Fight: Unknown

Rodriguez was overweight, dirty, and outclassed. Not a good night. He’s probably done with 168, at any rate.

14) Andy Lee (9-28)

Last Fight: 11/23/2013-TKO2 Ferenc Hafner (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

15) Ryoto Murata (9-14)

Last Fight: 8/25/2013- TKO2 #14 MW Akio Shibata

Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Dave Peterson (UNR)

16) Caleb Truax (9-23)

Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW)

Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Derek Ennis (UNR)

Truax’s January 3 kickoff to 2014 will be on Friday Night Fights against Derek Ennis.

17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (9-39)

Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR) (at LHW)

Next Fight: Unknown

18) Glen Johnson (9-30)

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 (9-19)

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 (9-9)

Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell

Next Fight: Unknown

The Week Ahead: Despite a pretty busy week in the sport as a whole, Super Middleweight doesn’t have anything significant scheduled.

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