Middleweight: 2013, Dec 23-29
Class shows over time. That boxing maxim was demonstrated on Saturday in Moscow, as #20 Dmitry Chudinov initially had trouble breaking through the defense of serviceable Colombian journeyman Juan Camilo Novoa, who fought the Russian prospect extremely tough for a nearly even first two rounds, but Chudinov took the decided advantage with his heavier hands in round 3, and began breaking Novoa down from there. There was a slight hiccup in the 4th, when Chudinov was cut around the lower outside corner of his right eye from what appeared to be an intentional headbutt, but by the 6th round, it was an all-out beatdown. It strikes me that Novoa’s corner might not like their fighter very much, as I have to think you’d want to stop it about halfway through that frame. Novoa had no chance to win at that point, and was taking hard shots repeatedly. It wasn’t until about 8 seconds before the bell that referee Guillermo Perez mercifully stopped the beating.
Next Fight: 6/7/2014- vs. # 8 JMW Miguel Cotto According to fighthype.com, citing anonymous sources close to Cotto, there is now no doubt that Cotto-Martinez will happen on June 7 in New York. 1) Gennady Golovkin (2-69-132) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens
Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Osumanu Adama (UNR) Golovkin returns February 1 in Monte Carlo. Originally it looked like Murray was the opponent, but he will instead fight former borderline top 10 contender Osumanu Adama, who was removed from a #13 berth in September for failing to make 160 for 18 months. 2) Felix Sturm (2-536-536) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- TKO2 #3 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown
Soliman is the #1 contender for Sturm’s alphabet title, and Macklin and Geale are both trying to get rematches with him, as well. 3) Martin Murray (2-108-108) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- W* (PTS8) vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR) Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Jarrod Fletcher (UNR) Murray gets a shot at a second-rate alphabet title on February 1, against Australian prospect Jarrod Fletcher on the Golovkin-Adama undercard. 4) Darren Barker (3-19-115) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- L (TKO2) vs. #4 Felix Sturm Next Fight: Unknown Barker’s body failed him against Sturm, and it’s led to heavy speculation that we may have seen the last of him. His team has only fueled this speculation further. 5) Daniel Geale (19-236-236) Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (SD12) vs. #15 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown In the wake of Sturm’s victory over the man that beat him, Geale has renewed calls for what would be a very interesting rematch with the German. On the other hand, he’s got a loose verbal agreement to fight Golovkin, likely toward the end of 2014. 6) Matthew Macklin (19-131-222) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- UD10 Lamar Russ (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After a legitimate but very unspectacular win over only moderately proven prospect Lamar Russ, Macklin has joined the chorus of quality middleweights looking for a rematch with Sturm. He’s also pushing for a fight with Andy Lee. 7) Peter Quillin (35-62-83) 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) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (2-2-2) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD10 Anthony Fitzgerald (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown No word on a potential big fight for N’Dam, but at least he’s active again. 9) Sam Soliman (2-2-2) Last Fight: 12/11/2013- TKO9 Les Sherrington (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Soliman has been re-installed as the #1 contender to Sturm’s alphabet strap, and will likely get another shot soon. 10) Sergio Mora (2-26-26) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mora had hoped to fight Golovkin on February 1, but says he was never offered the fight. 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (2-152) 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, though that possibility has begun to look increasingly unlikely. The WBC has ordered a fight between Rubio and Domenico Spada, as an easy shot at the interim title, for whatever that’s worth. 12) Anthony Mundine (2-152) Last Fight: 11/27/2013- TKO7 #4 WW Shane Mosley (at JMW)
Next Fight: 1/29/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
In a quick turnaround, Mundine announced that he will headline a January 29 show in Brisbane. Most likely this will be nothing more than a quick payday, as I’m sure he won’t want to prepare for two big fights that close together. 13) Max Bursak (2-152) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD8 Gari Abajian (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Caleb Truax (2-14) Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Ossie Duran (UNR) Truax’s January 3 fight will likely be the first notable fight of the New Year. His opponent was to be Derek Ennis, but he’s been replaced by the marginally better Ossie Duran. 15) Bryan Vera (2-62) 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. 16) Grzegorz Proksa (2-141) 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. 17) Curtis Stevens (2-21) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L (RTD8) vs. #2 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Patrick Majewski (UNR) Stevens will make a surprisingly quick return from a grueling battle with Golovkin. His January 24 opponent will be one-loss Polish fringe prospect Patrick Majewski. 18) Andrey Meryasev (2-7) 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. 19) Danny Jacobs (2-18) 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. 20) Dmitry Chudinov (2-18) Last Fight: 12/21/2013- TKO6 Juan Camilo Novoa (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Chudinov would like to fight the winner of the February 1 fight between Martin Murray and Jarrod Fletcher.
Later that night in Tijuana, Mexico, undefeated Bolivian prospect Jose Uzcategui needed just under a round to dispose of much smaller, rather pudgy journeyman Francisco Villanueva, who is naturally probably a lightweight. Uzcategui honestly failed to impress me. He caught Villanueva with a wide open uppercut after the journeyman squared himself up following a miss. But Uzcategui looked very hittable, rather slow, and his reflexes seemed about a beat behind. He destroyed Uzcategui almost entirely with his advantages in size, power, and reach. He’ll need more than that when he starts fighting guys with real credentials at this weight. That being said, the fight was just a 6-rounder, so it appears that Uzcategui’s team doesn’t necessarily have an unrealistically rosy view of his progression to this point.
No changes this week.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20) Champ: Sergio Martinez (193-193-193) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12* #9 Martin Murray (Robbery- draw at best)
Next Fight: 6/7/2014- vs. # 8 JMW Miguel Cotto According to fighthype.com, citing anonymous sources close to Cotto, there is now no doubt that Cotto-Martinez will happen on June 7 in New York. 1) Gennady Golovkin (2-69-132) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens
Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Osumanu Adama (UNR) Golovkin returns February 1 in Monte Carlo. Originally it looked like Murray was the opponent, but he will instead fight former borderline top 10 contender Osumanu Adama, who was removed from a #13 berth in September for failing to make 160 for 18 months. 2) Felix Sturm (2-536-536) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- TKO2 #3 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown
Soliman is the #1 contender for Sturm’s alphabet title, and Macklin and Geale are both trying to get rematches with him, as well. 3) Martin Murray (2-108-108) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- W* (PTS8) vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR) Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Jarrod Fletcher (UNR) Murray gets a shot at a second-rate alphabet title on February 1, against Australian prospect Jarrod Fletcher on the Golovkin-Adama undercard. 4) Darren Barker (3-19-115) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- L (TKO2) vs. #4 Felix Sturm Next Fight: Unknown Barker’s body failed him against Sturm, and it’s led to heavy speculation that we may have seen the last of him. His team has only fueled this speculation further. 5) Daniel Geale (19-236-236) Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (SD12) vs. #15 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown In the wake of Sturm’s victory over the man that beat him, Geale has renewed calls for what would be a very interesting rematch with the German. On the other hand, he’s got a loose verbal agreement to fight Golovkin, likely toward the end of 2014. 6) Matthew Macklin (19-131-222) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- UD10 Lamar Russ (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After a legitimate but very unspectacular win over only moderately proven prospect Lamar Russ, Macklin has joined the chorus of quality middleweights looking for a rematch with Sturm. He’s also pushing for a fight with Andy Lee. 7) Peter Quillin (35-62-83) 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) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (2-2-2) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD10 Anthony Fitzgerald (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown No word on a potential big fight for N’Dam, but at least he’s active again. 9) Sam Soliman (2-2-2) Last Fight: 12/11/2013- TKO9 Les Sherrington (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Soliman has been re-installed as the #1 contender to Sturm’s alphabet strap, and will likely get another shot soon. 10) Sergio Mora (2-26-26) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mora had hoped to fight Golovkin on February 1, but says he was never offered the fight. 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (2-152) 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, though that possibility has begun to look increasingly unlikely. The WBC has ordered a fight between Rubio and Domenico Spada, as an easy shot at the interim title, for whatever that’s worth. 12) Anthony Mundine (2-152) Last Fight: 11/27/2013- TKO7 #4 WW Shane Mosley (at JMW)
Next Fight: 1/29/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
In a quick turnaround, Mundine announced that he will headline a January 29 show in Brisbane. Most likely this will be nothing more than a quick payday, as I’m sure he won’t want to prepare for two big fights that close together. 13) Max Bursak (2-152) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD8 Gari Abajian (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Caleb Truax (2-14) Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Ossie Duran (UNR) Truax’s January 3 fight will likely be the first notable fight of the New Year. His opponent was to be Derek Ennis, but he’s been replaced by the marginally better Ossie Duran. 15) Bryan Vera (2-62) 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. 16) Grzegorz Proksa (2-141) 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. 17) Curtis Stevens (2-21) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L (RTD8) vs. #2 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Patrick Majewski (UNR) Stevens will make a surprisingly quick return from a grueling battle with Golovkin. His January 24 opponent will be one-loss Polish fringe prospect Patrick Majewski. 18) Andrey Meryasev (2-7) 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. 19) Danny Jacobs (2-18) 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. 20) Dmitry Chudinov (2-18) Last Fight: 12/21/2013- TKO6 Juan Camilo Novoa (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Chudinov would like to fight the winner of the February 1 fight between Martin Murray and Jarrod Fletcher.
The Week Ahead: Have a holly-jolly Christmas!
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This entry was posted on March 23, 2014 at 6:36 pm and is filed under Middleweight, Rankings with tags Daniel Geale, Darren Barker, Dmitry Chudinov, Felix Sturm, Gennady Golovkin, Jose Uzcategui, Martin Murray, Sergio Martinez. 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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