Middleweight: 2013, Nov 18-24

2-loss prospect Fernando Guerrero got a tougher than expected battle from one-loss fringe prospect Ray Gatica in San Antonio on Monday. Guerrero must have known by the end of the first round that he was in for a tough night, as Gatica dropped him hard late in that frame. The two fighters alternated rounds on my card until round 7, when Guerrero tied it up by becoming the first fighter to win two in a row. Gatica retook the lead in the 8th by taking the one clearly, but Guerrero edged him out in each of the last two rounds to earn a narrow 1-point edge on my card. The judges had it a round wider at 96-93. They probably gave Guerrero round 5, which I had narrowly for Gatica. Either way, this fight raises the buff-looking Gatica’s stock immensely, and makes you wonder about Guerrero’s future. On a side note, Guerrero came in 2.5 pounds heavier than Gatica’s 160. Not sure whether that was bargained for or not.

What was mostly a very awkward, sloppy affair in Albertslund, Denmark was ended with a bang when undefeated Danish prospect Patrick Nielsen floored decent Mexican pressure fighting journeyman Jose Pinzon with a perfect looping southpaw left hand, right on the button. Pinzon scrambled to his feet, but had a bit of a stutter in his step when stepping to the referee, who waved off the fight in what I’d say was about a 50/50 call.

In San Luis Potosi, Mexico later that night, undefeated Venezuelan prospect Jose Uzcategui got rid of solid Mexican journeyman Michel Rosales in just 4 rounds, which is 7 rounds faster than Marco Rubio was able to stop him a year ago.

Finally, on the Ward-Rodriguez non-televised undercard in Ontario, California, #8 Sergio Mora knocked out low-level Colombian journeyman Milton Nunez in round 5, but didn’t make 160 on his way to the fight. Nunez was best known for almost stopping Deandre Latimore a couple years ago.

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

Champ: Sergio Martinez (188-188-188)

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 (30-103-103)

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

Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR)

Murray’s opponent for his short-notice fight this weekend will be Belorussian journeyman Sergey Khomitsky, in a rematch of a 2009 Murray points victory.

2) Gennady Golovkin (21-64-127)

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.

3) Darren Barker (14-14-110)

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 (21-531-531)

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 (14-231-231)

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 (14-126-217)

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 (30-57-78)

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 (5-21-21)

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

Next Fight: Unknown

Mora will fight Milton Nunez- best known for nearly knocking out Deandre Latimore a couple years ago- on the Ward-Rodriguez undercard.

9) Marco Antonio Rubio (5-7-147)

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 (5-5-147)

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 (5-147)

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 (5-9)

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 (5-57)

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 (5-136)

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 (5-16)

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

Next Fight: Unknown

Stevens might be back on January 24.

16) Andrey Meryasev (2-2)

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 (2-14)

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 (2-13)

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 (2-13)

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

Next Fight: Unknown

Chudinov weighed in at 174 to fight his already hopeless 162-pound opponent on September 21. He’s invited a great deal of scrutiny over his weight and discipline in doing so.

20) Akio Shibata (2-7)

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

Next Fight: Unknown

The Week Ahead: No action at this weight to report this week.

This entry was posted on January 17, 2014 at 2:11 am and is filed under Middleweight, Rankings with tags Darren Barker, Fernando Guerrero, Gennady Golovkin, Jose Uzcategui, Martin Murray, Patrick Nielsen, Sergio Martinez, Sergio Mora. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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