Heavyweight: 2013, Dec 23-29
Last week I referred to a possible hometown advantage being the largest potential edge for Christian Hammer on Friday against closely-matched fellow top-50 gatekeeper Kevin Johnson. Hammer is Romanian, but makes his home in Hamburg, where the fight went down, while Johnson is American. That turned out to be very true, unfortunately. The fight was razor-thin, with a lot of close rounds, and an even split in the few clear ones. I had Johnson winning 96-94. With anything between 98-92 either way being fairly reasonable. Johnson threw and landed more, while boxing on the outside and employing a defensive posture. Hammer came forward frequently, and landed the harder punches when he landed something, but was much more sparing in his output. You would think the scores would have tended to be varied but generally close, if the judges were being fair. Instead, judges Mihai Leu (a Romanian-born Hamburger who seems like an objectively bad choice to work this particular fight) and Joerg Ilinseer had it 98-92, which means they gave every debatable round to Hammer. Timo Habighorst, while still rather slanted, at least managed to see a couple of them even to arrive at 98-94.
Last Fight: 10/5/2013- UD12 #3 Alexander Povetkin
Next Fight: Unknown
Klitschko is in talks to fight his mandatory, Alex Leapai. He said recently that he wants to capture his brother’s old alphabet title, which would unify all the major titles for the first time since Lewis in 1999. He would have to wait for someone else to pick it up first, as the silly alphabets don’t let current titlists fight for vacant titles. 1) Alexander Povetkin (5-322-322) 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 (5-53-53) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD8 Manuel Quezada (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Cunningham had little trouble dominating a fading former gatekeeper in Quezada. 3) Tomasz Adamek (5-192-192) 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 (5-86-163) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- TKO5 Joey Abell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev was dropped (lightly) for the first time in his career, and seems to have taken Abell lightly in general. Nevertheless, he finished it off with an impressive stoppage. 5) Dereck Chisora (5-108-171) Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO3 Ondrej Pala (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/15/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Chisora returns on February 15, with an opponent as yet unannounced. There is a lot of speculation in Britain that he might be in line to fight Tyson Fury in a rematch for the vacated WBC title. How that would come to pass, when neither guy is at the top of the rankings in that organization, is beyond me. That being said, boxing politics seldom fails to surprise, and Chisora and Fury are more deserving at this point than Stiverne and Arreola, anyhow. 6) Odlanier Solis (5-40-187) Last Fight: 7/27/2013- TKO7 Yakup Saglam (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/22/2014- vs. #9 Tony Thompson
Solis was first set to fight Kevin Johnson. But he backed out because the IBF wanted him to fight Takam. But now word from Tony Thompson is that Solis will fight Thompson, instead, on March 22. 7) Bermane Stiverne (5-27-43) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12 #15 Chris Arreola Next Fight: Unknown Despite speculation in the UK of a possible match-up between Fury and Chisora for the WBC title, that organization has officially ordered Stiverne-Arreola, with purse bids due on January 17. Stiverne’s legal situation with Don King seems to be the only possible stumbling block at this point. 8) Chris Arreola (5-16-16) Last Fight: 9/7/2013- TKO1 #12 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown See Stiverne’s notes, above. 9) Tony Thompson (5-6-187) Last Fight: 8/24/2013- L (UD12) vs. #8 Kubrat Pulev
Next Fight: 3/22/2014- vs. #6 Odlanier Solis
Thompson says he’s fighting Odlanier Solis on March 22. 10) Erkan Teper (5-5-17) 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 (5-8) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- UD10 Magomed Abdusalamov (UNR) Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Carlos Takam (UNR) With Solis-Takam falling through, Takam will now be offered up to Perez, instead, on the Pascal-Bute undercard on January 18 in Montreal. 12) Deontay Wilder (5-35) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO4 Nicolai Firtha (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Wilder had hoped to supersede either Stiverne or Arreola for a shot at the WBC belt, but with that fight now officially ordered, he can only hope that Stiverne can’t work the fight out due to legal problems, or that he can fight the winner. 13) Alex Leapai (5-5) Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD10 #20 Denis Boytsov Next Fight: Unknown Leapai and Wlad are beginning negotiations for a mandatory fight. 14) Robert Helenius (6-187)
Last Fight: 3/23/2013- W*(UD10) vs. Michael Sprott (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
According to Per Ake Persson at Boxingscene, Helenius will be working with a Finnish team going forward, with German promotional powerhouse Sauerland still involved in a diminished role. He will talk about his future at a press conference later this week. 15) Andy Ruiz (5-5) 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 (6-29) 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 (5-154) 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 (5-53) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Garrett Wilson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Adamek’s notes, above. 19) Malik Scott (5-44) 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 (5-58) 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.
One-loss prospect Carlos Takam got some work in that same night in Martinique, knocking out low-level journeyman Jakov Gospic in 3.
Since I disagree with the still more-or-less reasonable result of Hammer-Johnson, I can only treat it as essentially a draw, but with the barest of edges to Hammer in deference to the official result, which fell short of an obvious robbery. It’s not going to be visible. Hammer moves from a mid-30s ranking unofficially to a high-30s one, while Johnson goes from mid-40s to high 30s. No changes.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20) Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (235-448-448)
Last Fight: 10/5/2013- UD12 #3 Alexander Povetkin
Next Fight: Unknown
Klitschko is in talks to fight his mandatory, Alex Leapai. He said recently that he wants to capture his brother’s old alphabet title, which would unify all the major titles for the first time since Lewis in 1999. He would have to wait for someone else to pick it up first, as the silly alphabets don’t let current titlists fight for vacant titles. 1) Alexander Povetkin (5-322-322) 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 (5-53-53) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD8 Manuel Quezada (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Cunningham had little trouble dominating a fading former gatekeeper in Quezada. 3) Tomasz Adamek (5-192-192) 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 (5-86-163) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- TKO5 Joey Abell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Pulev was dropped (lightly) for the first time in his career, and seems to have taken Abell lightly in general. Nevertheless, he finished it off with an impressive stoppage. 5) Dereck Chisora (5-108-171) Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO3 Ondrej Pala (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/15/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Chisora returns on February 15, with an opponent as yet unannounced. There is a lot of speculation in Britain that he might be in line to fight Tyson Fury in a rematch for the vacated WBC title. How that would come to pass, when neither guy is at the top of the rankings in that organization, is beyond me. That being said, boxing politics seldom fails to surprise, and Chisora and Fury are more deserving at this point than Stiverne and Arreola, anyhow. 6) Odlanier Solis (5-40-187) Last Fight: 7/27/2013- TKO7 Yakup Saglam (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/22/2014- vs. #9 Tony Thompson
Solis was first set to fight Kevin Johnson. But he backed out because the IBF wanted him to fight Takam. But now word from Tony Thompson is that Solis will fight Thompson, instead, on March 22. 7) Bermane Stiverne (5-27-43) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12 #15 Chris Arreola Next Fight: Unknown Despite speculation in the UK of a possible match-up between Fury and Chisora for the WBC title, that organization has officially ordered Stiverne-Arreola, with purse bids due on January 17. Stiverne’s legal situation with Don King seems to be the only possible stumbling block at this point. 8) Chris Arreola (5-16-16) Last Fight: 9/7/2013- TKO1 #12 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown See Stiverne’s notes, above. 9) Tony Thompson (5-6-187) Last Fight: 8/24/2013- L (UD12) vs. #8 Kubrat Pulev
Next Fight: 3/22/2014- vs. #6 Odlanier Solis
Thompson says he’s fighting Odlanier Solis on March 22. 10) Erkan Teper (5-5-17) 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 (5-8) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- UD10 Magomed Abdusalamov (UNR) Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Carlos Takam (UNR) With Solis-Takam falling through, Takam will now be offered up to Perez, instead, on the Pascal-Bute undercard on January 18 in Montreal. 12) Deontay Wilder (5-35) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO4 Nicolai Firtha (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Wilder had hoped to supersede either Stiverne or Arreola for a shot at the WBC belt, but with that fight now officially ordered, he can only hope that Stiverne can’t work the fight out due to legal problems, or that he can fight the winner. 13) Alex Leapai (5-5) Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD10 #20 Denis Boytsov Next Fight: Unknown Leapai and Wlad are beginning negotiations for a mandatory fight. 14) Robert Helenius (6-187)
Last Fight: 3/23/2013- W*(UD10) vs. Michael Sprott (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
According to Per Ake Persson at Boxingscene, Helenius will be working with a Finnish team going forward, with German promotional powerhouse Sauerland still involved in a diminished role. He will talk about his future at a press conference later this week. 15) Andy Ruiz (5-5) 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 (6-29) 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 (5-154) 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 (5-53) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Garrett Wilson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Adamek’s notes, above. 19) Malik Scott (5-44) 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 (5-58) 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: Merry Christmas!
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