Junior Middleweight: 2014, Jan 27- Feb 2
#9 Cornelius Bundrage was, on Friday, the victim of very unfortunate boxing politics. First of all, he made just around $6,000 for the fight- minus managerial and other costs, I assume- meaning they likely didn’t pay him minimum wage if his training time is factored in. Not only that, but the fight was not even carried on the rather mediocre Golden Boy TV broadcast of the card, on which it would have been far and away the most important fight. With that being the case, I was unable to find any video of the fight whatsoever. Luckily for me, it appears there wasn’t much of a controversy about the outcome, as the scores were unanimously 118-110.
The following night in the nation’s capital, undefeated #18 Jermell Charlo got the benefit of some ridiculous judging to the extent that his opponent- the very capable Gabe Rosado- got only one round total on the two widest cards (those of Steve Rados and Wayne Smith, who both need to give serious consideration to retiring, in shame, from judging fights). The fight, as it actually happened, could have been a draw or a narrow win for Rosado, but I do believe the right man won, as I had it 96-94 for Charlo myself. The undefeated Charlo was very effective in the first half of the fight, boxing effectively and countering Rosado’s aggression with stinging counters. The valiant Rosado came back strong in the late rounds, but for me it was too little, too late.
Bundrage’s win, while nice, does nothing for him in the rankings. Hernandez wasn’t a bad opponent, but his resume was too mixed and his best win over a borderline top 50 opponent was too long ago (over 2 years) to make him clearly a top 50 fighter. As for Charlo, his impressive win earns him a promotion from #18 to #16. Charlo’s return to 154 prompts his return to the rankings, as he checks in at a fairly diminished rank of #17. This forces down Willie Nelson from #16 to #18, Brian Rose from #17 to #19, and Guido Pitto from #19 to #20. Kell Brook exits after 4 weeks in.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20) Champ: None 1) Carlos Molina (52-134-149) Last Fight: 9/14/2013- W (SD12) vs. #5 Ishe Smith Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. Jermall Charlo (UNR) Molina will put his belt on the line against the lower-ranked Charlo brother on the Canelo-Angulo undercard. 2) Erislandy Lara (8-134-156) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- UD12 #4 Austin Trout Next Fight: Unknown Lara wants Canelo next, but has reportedly been ruled out by the Mexican superstar. In the meantime, Ishe Smith is trying to fight him. 3) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (8-20-20) 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. The new kid on the block is Maidana, who it has been said has moved to the front of the line after his win over Broner. 4) Saul Alvarez (8-152-167) Last Fight: 9/14/2013- L* (MD12) vs. WW Champion Floyd Mayweather Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. #10 Alfredo Angulo Canelo says he will fight Angulo on March 8. 5) Austin Trout (8-87-156) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- L (UD12) vs. #5 Erislandy Lara Next Fight: Unknown Trout might be getting to that unfortunate position of having a record underwhelming enough to be low-reward, while still being easily skilled enough to be high-risk. He says essentially that he wants worthwhile fights in 2014, rather than a soft diet for rebuilding purposes. 6) Ishe Smith (20-49-49) 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. 7) Anthony Mundine (9-9-9) Last Fight: 11/27/2013- vs. #4 WW Shane Mosley Next Fight: 1/29/2014- vs. Gunnar Jackson (UNR) (at MW) Mundine has a new, very mediocre opponent after Carson Jones and then Billy Lyell both fell through. This fight will be at 160. 8) Miguel Cotto (9-191-191) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- TKO3 #11 Delvin Rodriguez Next Fight: 6/7/2014- vs. MW Champ Sergio Martinez (at MW) Cotto is said to be all but signed for a June 7 superfight with Sergio. 9) Cornelius Bundrage (9-182-182) Last Fight: 1/24/2014- UD12 Joey Hernandez (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 is set for Indio, California on January 24, but incredibly is not on the card’s telecast. 10) Alfredo Angulo (9-227-227) Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L (TKO10) vs. #4 Erislandy Lara Next Fight: 3/8/2014- vs. #4 Saul Alvarez Angulo gets a big shot against Canelo on a March 8 PPV. 11) Sergey Rabchenko (9-85) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Bradley Pryce (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Rabchenko is in line for an alphabet eliminator at any time. The EBU, meanwhile, has set a date of January 21 for purse bids for his mandatory European title defense against Emanuele Della Rosa. 12) Javier Maciel (9-14) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery L (SD12) vs. #14 Brian Rose Next Fight: Unknown Maciel’s scheduled January 17 fight was abruptly cancelled- with no real explanation- on about 2 days’ notice. 13) Demetrius Andrade (9-12) 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, with purse bids set for this week. 14) Delvin Rodriguez (9-133) 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 (9-139) Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (SD12) vs. Demetrius Andrade (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Vanes recently challenged Austin Trout, which seems like a good but unlikely matchup considering their ties to rival promoters. 16) Jermell Charlo (1-34) Last Fight: 1/25/2014- UD10 Gabriel Rosado (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Charlo let Rosado back into the fight late, but overall was very impressive against a battle-tested opponent. 17) Gabriel Rosado (1-1) Last Fight: 1/25/2013- L (UD10) vs. #18 Jermell Charlo Next Fight: Unknown Atrocious judges and a fragile eyelid have helped put Rosado’s career more or less in tatters. 18) Willie Nelson (1-48) Last Fight: 6/29/2013- UD10 Luciano Cuello (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Nelson’s promoter tells me that he’s recovered from the elbow injury that nixed his fight with Matthew Macklin, and that he might be in line for an alphabet title against Sergey Rabchenko if Mayweather chooses to vacate. 19) Brian Rose (1-45) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- Robbery W (Draw at best) vs. Javier Maciel (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown See Andrade’s notes, above. 20) Guido Pitto (1-7) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L* (UD12) vs. #20 Jack Culcay Next Fight: Unknown
The Week Ahead: Saturday Dennis Laurente vs. Singdet Nonpitayakom; Paranaque City, Philippines; TV Unknown Laurente is a top-50 gatekeeper-type from the Philippines. His opponent has a losing record and is a low-level journeyman, to be charitable. This fight is such a poor match-up that I’m embarrassed to even be mentioning it.
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