Cruiserweight: 2014, Jan 20-26
No cruiserweight action last week.
Wlodarczyk had a relatively easy time in his third fight with Fragomeni, and is interested in Huck, Hernandez, Afolabi, Drozd, and Chakhkiev for his next fight. 5) Firat Arslan (19-89-132) 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 (19-25-63) Last Fight: 8/3/2013- UD10 Eddie Chambers (UNR) Next Fight: 1/24/2013- vs. Olanrewaju Durodola (UNR) Mchunu found a pretty decent replacement for would-be opponents Garrett Wilson and Santander Silgado. He’ll face hard-hitting former Nigerian Olympian Olanrewaju Durodola on January 24. Durodola has been fighting on a regional level around Missouri, and has only lost once when fighting a much larger prospect at heavyweight. He’s ranked in the top 40 by Boxrec. 7) Grigory Drozd (9-16-63) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO11 #13 Mateusz Masternak Next Fight: 3/15/2014- vs. Jeremy Ouanna (UNR) Drozd will defend his European title in March against solid French journeyman Jeremy Ouanna, though Wlodarczyk’s team seems to think they might get Drozd in their next fight. 8) Ola Afolabi (9-254-254) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- W* (MD12) vs. Lukasz Janik (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Afolabi needed a gift to squeak by Janik, and is on Wlodarczyk’s short list for the Pole’s next fight. 9) Giacobbe Fragomeni (9-19-271) Last Fight: 12/6/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #4 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown I really hope that Fragomeni will call it a career. 10) Silvio Branco (9-9-97) Last Fight: 7/6/2013- W (TD10) vs. Juho Haapoja (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Branco has been tabbed by the WBC to fight Chakhkiev for some silly color coded title belt, with January 3 the deadline to avoid purse bids. 11) Ilunga Makabu (9-28) Last Fight: 8/31/2013- TKO5 Eric Fields (UNR) Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Ruben Angel Mino (UNR) Nathan Cleverly withdrew with what his promoter calls a minor injury, leaving Makabu with a mere stay-busy outing on February 1.
12) Santander Silgado (7-12) Last Fight: 11/1/2013- TKO2 #20 Steve Herelius Next Fight: Unknown Silgado is being slammed by his own manager after he declined an arranged fight with Thabiso Mchunu. 13) Mateusz Masternak (7-95) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (TKO11) vs. #16 Grigory Drozd Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Sandro Siproshvili (UNR) Polish news reports have Masternak returning on February 1 against Georgian journeyman Siproshvili. 14) Lukasz Janik (7-12) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #7 Ola Afolabi Next Fight: Unknown Janik would like a well-deserved rematch with Afolabi. 15) Nuri Seferi (5-5) Last Fight: 12/20/2013- W (DQ7*) vs. Steve Herelius (UNR) Next Fight: 4/11/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Seferi will be among the headliners- against an unknown opponent- on April 11 on a show billed, a bit oddly, as “Evil Fight Night” in Hamburg. 16) Enad Licina (5-187) Last Fight: 9/27/2013- TKO3 Levan Jomardashvili (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Licina’s last win over a top 50 fighter was January 24, 2009. Since I only consider results from the last 5 years in my rankings, he will be removed next week, unless he gets used as a short-notice opponent by somoene good, and then beats that person. He’s essentially certain to be removed. 17) Danie Venter (5-19) 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 (5-82) 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) Victor Ramirez (3-3) Last Fight: 1/4/2014- UD10 Mariano Diaz Strunz (UNR) Next Fight: 1/31/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Ramirez was a fringe contender when he lost to Marco Huck in August 2009. He’s done nothing of note since then, having been inactive for more than 4 years. Yet his resume in the year that preceded that is still enough to claim a ranking in a shallow division. He will be back for the 3rd time in 6 weeks on January 31. 20) Krzysztof Glowacki (3-26) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- TKO9 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Glowacki is seriously interested in fighting Francisco Palacios.
Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20) Champ: None 1) Denis Lebedev (26-207-207) Last Fight: 5/17/2013- L (TKO11) vs. Guillermo Jones (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Lebedev-Jones II is expected in either March or April. 2) Yoan Pablo Hernandez (71-187-187) Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO10 #12 Alexander Alekseev Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. Pawel Kolodziej (UNR) Hernandez’s March 8 opponent is Pawel Kolodziej, an undefeated Polish prospect who would probably have been ranked here frequently if he ever bothered to make 200. 3) Marco Huck (19-372-372) 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 (19-448-448) Last Fight: 12/6/2013- TKO6 #9 Giacobbe Fragomeni Next Fight: Unknown
Wlodarczyk had a relatively easy time in his third fight with Fragomeni, and is interested in Huck, Hernandez, Afolabi, Drozd, and Chakhkiev for his next fight. 5) Firat Arslan (19-89-132) 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 (19-25-63) Last Fight: 8/3/2013- UD10 Eddie Chambers (UNR) Next Fight: 1/24/2013- vs. Olanrewaju Durodola (UNR) Mchunu found a pretty decent replacement for would-be opponents Garrett Wilson and Santander Silgado. He’ll face hard-hitting former Nigerian Olympian Olanrewaju Durodola on January 24. Durodola has been fighting on a regional level around Missouri, and has only lost once when fighting a much larger prospect at heavyweight. He’s ranked in the top 40 by Boxrec. 7) Grigory Drozd (9-16-63) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO11 #13 Mateusz Masternak Next Fight: 3/15/2014- vs. Jeremy Ouanna (UNR) Drozd will defend his European title in March against solid French journeyman Jeremy Ouanna, though Wlodarczyk’s team seems to think they might get Drozd in their next fight. 8) Ola Afolabi (9-254-254) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- W* (MD12) vs. Lukasz Janik (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Afolabi needed a gift to squeak by Janik, and is on Wlodarczyk’s short list for the Pole’s next fight. 9) Giacobbe Fragomeni (9-19-271) Last Fight: 12/6/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #4 Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Next Fight: Unknown I really hope that Fragomeni will call it a career. 10) Silvio Branco (9-9-97) Last Fight: 7/6/2013- W (TD10) vs. Juho Haapoja (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Branco has been tabbed by the WBC to fight Chakhkiev for some silly color coded title belt, with January 3 the deadline to avoid purse bids. 11) Ilunga Makabu (9-28) Last Fight: 8/31/2013- TKO5 Eric Fields (UNR) Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Ruben Angel Mino (UNR) Nathan Cleverly withdrew with what his promoter calls a minor injury, leaving Makabu with a mere stay-busy outing on February 1.
12) Santander Silgado (7-12) Last Fight: 11/1/2013- TKO2 #20 Steve Herelius Next Fight: Unknown Silgado is being slammed by his own manager after he declined an arranged fight with Thabiso Mchunu. 13) Mateusz Masternak (7-95) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (TKO11) vs. #16 Grigory Drozd Next Fight: 2/1/2014- vs. Sandro Siproshvili (UNR) Polish news reports have Masternak returning on February 1 against Georgian journeyman Siproshvili. 14) Lukasz Janik (7-12) Last Fight: 11/2/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #7 Ola Afolabi Next Fight: Unknown Janik would like a well-deserved rematch with Afolabi. 15) Nuri Seferi (5-5) Last Fight: 12/20/2013- W (DQ7*) vs. Steve Herelius (UNR) Next Fight: 4/11/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Seferi will be among the headliners- against an unknown opponent- on April 11 on a show billed, a bit oddly, as “Evil Fight Night” in Hamburg. 16) Enad Licina (5-187) Last Fight: 9/27/2013- TKO3 Levan Jomardashvili (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Licina’s last win over a top 50 fighter was January 24, 2009. Since I only consider results from the last 5 years in my rankings, he will be removed next week, unless he gets used as a short-notice opponent by somoene good, and then beats that person. He’s essentially certain to be removed. 17) Danie Venter (5-19) 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 (5-82) 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) Victor Ramirez (3-3) Last Fight: 1/4/2014- UD10 Mariano Diaz Strunz (UNR) Next Fight: 1/31/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Ramirez was a fringe contender when he lost to Marco Huck in August 2009. He’s done nothing of note since then, having been inactive for more than 4 years. Yet his resume in the year that preceded that is still enough to claim a ranking in a shallow division. He will be back for the 3rd time in 6 weeks on January 31. 20) Krzysztof Glowacki (3-26) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- TKO9 Varol Vekiloglu (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Glowacki is seriously interested in fighting Francisco Palacios.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Friday #6 Thabiso Mchunu vs. Olanrewaju Durodola; Atlantic City, New Jersey; NBC Sports (US) South African Mchunu is a rising star in the sport, while Nigeria’s Durodola is a former Olympian who showed immense power even in the amateurs. He has lost a fight already in his career- an upset to a much larger guy at heavyweight- but still finds himself easily in Boxrec’s top 50. Mchunu is on a higher level at this juncture, having dominated world class heavyweight Eddie Chambers.
Saturday #3 Marco Huck vs. #5 Firat Arslan; Stuttgart, Germany; ARD (Germany) This is a long-awaited rematch. Arslan had his way with Huck in the first fight, but was blatantly robbed. Huck is ranked above Arslan only because he legitimately avenged an arguable win over Afolabi in the meantime, while Arslan has done nothing of consequence. Having waited over a year since the first fight, Huck has opened himself up to criticism that he waited for the now-43 year-old Arslan to get old. Or older, I suppose. That being said, if he loses, it will be a blow to his career that will be difficult to recover from.
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