Middleweight: 2014, Mar 10-16
Undefeated Venezuelan prospect Jose Uzcategui got his best win to date by knocking out veteran gatekeeper David Lopez in Nogales, Mexico on Saturday. The tall and thin Uzcategui, with his long arms, really needs to work on defense and controlling range, but he was younger and clearly fresher than the somewhat shopworn Lopez. That’s not to say that Lopez didn’t have his moments- in fact he held his own in many respects. The main difference is that Uzcategui’s combination of power and punch resistance was significantly better than the older man.
Next Fight: 6/7/2014- vs. # 8 JMW Miguel Cotto If there was any lingering doubt, Martinez-Cotto is now on for June 7 at Madison Square Garden. 1) Gennady Golovkin (13-80-143) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- TKO7 Osumanu Adama (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Golovkin was well on his way to signing for a fight with Andy Lee on April 26, but that fight and the date are off to allow GGG to mourn his father’s death. Now it looks like a Chavez fight might be in the offing for July 12. 2) Felix Sturm (13-547-547) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- TKO2 #3 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown
Soliman is the #1 contender for Sturm’s alphabet title, and Murray, Macklin, and Geale are all trying to get rematches with him, as well. There is also talk of an Arthur Abraham fight on May 31. 3) Daniel Geale (3-247-247) Last Fight: 2/19/2014- RTD6 Garth Wood (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Geale cut through Wood like an unsympathetic buzzsaw, and is hoping for a fight with Golovkin, who would also fit that description well. 4) Martin Murray (3-119-119) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- W* (PTS8) vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown After splitting with promoter Ricky Hatton, it looked like Murray was close to signing with Matchroom, another British firm. Instead, he surprisingly signed with Golden Gloves, the South African firm that is best known internationally for Monaco shows featuring Gennady Golovkin. Coincidence? 5) Matthew Macklin (8-142-233) 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 (possibly on April 26) and has expressed interest in Quillin. 6) Peter Quillin (8-73-94) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO10 Gabriel Rosado (UNR) Next Fight: 4/19/2014- vs. Lukas Konecny (UNR) Quillin will fight former 154-pound fringe contender Lukas Konecny, who will be making his first appearance in a meaningful fight at 160 on the Hopkins-Shumenov undercard on April 19 in D.C. 7) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (8-13-13) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- TKO4 Ricardo Ramallo (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown N’Dam totally dominated journeyman Ramallo. Here’s hoping he gets another worthwhile fight at something near championship-level soon. 8) Sam Soliman (8-13-13) 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. 9) Sergio Mora (8-37-37) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mora is reportedly in the mix for a fight with Quillin. 10) Osumanu Adama (6-6-6) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: Unknown Not the most pleasant entry into the rankings we’ve ever seen, but his resume stacks up pretty well as long as he’s active and on weight. 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (6-163) Last Fight: 7/27/2013- KO2 Dionisio Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/5/2014- vs. Domenico Spada (UNR) Rubio-Spada is now set for April 5 in Mexico. It’s for an interim title, if such trifles mean anything to you. 12) Anthony Mundine (6-163) Last Fight: 1/29/2014- UD10 Gunnar Jackson (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/2/2014- vs. Joshua Clottey (UNR) (at JMW) Mundine confirms that he will be fighting, of all people, the long-forgotten Joshua Clottey on April 2, and then perhaps Erislandy Lara in July if that works out for him. 13) Jarrod Fletcher (6-6) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- W* (UD12) vs. #12 Max Bursak Next Fight: Unknown Fletcher is said to have received 7 serious fight offers after he was given the nod against Bursak. The team behind Dmitry Chudinov, who presumably made one of those offers, says a fight is being discussed, possibly for March or April. There is also some talk of a domestic showdown with Geale. 14) Max Bursak (6-163) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- L* (UD12) vs. Jarrod Fletcher (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown He didn’t get robbed, and it’s hard to feel sorry for him considering how dirty he fought, but I did think Bursak deserved better than a loss against Fletcher. 15) Bryan Vera (6-73) Last Fight: 3/1/2014- L (UD10) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Vera’s loss to Chavez at a heavier weight has no effect on his ranking here. He will need to schedule a fight at 160 by March 29 to avoid removal here, though. 16) Grzegorz Proksa (6-152) Last Fight: 6/28/2013- L (UD10) vs. Sergio Mora (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Proksa is likely to fight again on April 19 according to Polish news reports. 17) Caleb Truax (6-25) Last Fight: 1/3/2014- Draw (UD10) vs. Ossie Duran (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Truax’s status as a promising prospect has been derailed somewhat by the very tough Ossie Duran. 18) Curtis Stevens (6-32) Last Fight: 1/24/2014- TKO1 Patrick Majewski (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Stevens has his sites set on Peter Quillin. 19) Andrey Meryasev (6-18) 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. 20) Daniel Jacobs (6-29) Last Fight: 8/19/2013- TKO3 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR) Next Fight: 3/15/2014- vs. Milton Nunez (UNR) Jacobs shouldn’t have too much trouble with Nunez, who has some name recognition due to a near-upset of overrated Deandre Latimore a few years ago, but who really a low-level journeyman overall, and is consistently knocked out against most guys on that level.
Lopez at this point isn’t a good enough mark to support a ranking for Uzcategui all by himself, though the young Venzuelan does establish himself at approximately the fringe contender level…top 25, give or take.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in Current Position-Weeks in Top 10 if applicable-Weeks in Top 20) Champ: Sergio Martinez (204-204-204) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12* #9 Martin Murray (Robbery- draw at best)
Next Fight: 6/7/2014- vs. # 8 JMW Miguel Cotto If there was any lingering doubt, Martinez-Cotto is now on for June 7 at Madison Square Garden. 1) Gennady Golovkin (13-80-143) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- TKO7 Osumanu Adama (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Golovkin was well on his way to signing for a fight with Andy Lee on April 26, but that fight and the date are off to allow GGG to mourn his father’s death. Now it looks like a Chavez fight might be in the offing for July 12. 2) Felix Sturm (13-547-547) Last Fight: 12/7/2013- TKO2 #3 Darren Barker
Next Fight: Unknown
Soliman is the #1 contender for Sturm’s alphabet title, and Murray, Macklin, and Geale are all trying to get rematches with him, as well. There is also talk of an Arthur Abraham fight on May 31. 3) Daniel Geale (3-247-247) Last Fight: 2/19/2014- RTD6 Garth Wood (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Geale cut through Wood like an unsympathetic buzzsaw, and is hoping for a fight with Golovkin, who would also fit that description well. 4) Martin Murray (3-119-119) Last Fight: 12/14/2013- W* (PTS8) vs. Sergey Khomitsky (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown After splitting with promoter Ricky Hatton, it looked like Murray was close to signing with Matchroom, another British firm. Instead, he surprisingly signed with Golden Gloves, the South African firm that is best known internationally for Monaco shows featuring Gennady Golovkin. Coincidence? 5) Matthew Macklin (8-142-233) 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 (possibly on April 26) and has expressed interest in Quillin. 6) Peter Quillin (8-73-94) Last Fight: 10/26/2013- TKO10 Gabriel Rosado (UNR) Next Fight: 4/19/2014- vs. Lukas Konecny (UNR) Quillin will fight former 154-pound fringe contender Lukas Konecny, who will be making his first appearance in a meaningful fight at 160 on the Hopkins-Shumenov undercard on April 19 in D.C. 7) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (8-13-13) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- TKO4 Ricardo Ramallo (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown N’Dam totally dominated journeyman Ramallo. Here’s hoping he gets another worthwhile fight at something near championship-level soon. 8) Sam Soliman (8-13-13) 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. 9) Sergio Mora (8-37-37) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO5 Milton Nunez (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown Mora is reportedly in the mix for a fight with Quillin. 10) Osumanu Adama (6-6-6) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Gennady Golovkin Next Fight: Unknown Not the most pleasant entry into the rankings we’ve ever seen, but his resume stacks up pretty well as long as he’s active and on weight. 11) Marco Antonio Rubio (6-163) Last Fight: 7/27/2013- KO2 Dionisio Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/5/2014- vs. Domenico Spada (UNR) Rubio-Spada is now set for April 5 in Mexico. It’s for an interim title, if such trifles mean anything to you. 12) Anthony Mundine (6-163) Last Fight: 1/29/2014- UD10 Gunnar Jackson (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/2/2014- vs. Joshua Clottey (UNR) (at JMW) Mundine confirms that he will be fighting, of all people, the long-forgotten Joshua Clottey on April 2, and then perhaps Erislandy Lara in July if that works out for him. 13) Jarrod Fletcher (6-6) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- W* (UD12) vs. #12 Max Bursak Next Fight: Unknown Fletcher is said to have received 7 serious fight offers after he was given the nod against Bursak. The team behind Dmitry Chudinov, who presumably made one of those offers, says a fight is being discussed, possibly for March or April. There is also some talk of a domestic showdown with Geale. 14) Max Bursak (6-163) Last Fight: 2/1/2014- L* (UD12) vs. Jarrod Fletcher (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown He didn’t get robbed, and it’s hard to feel sorry for him considering how dirty he fought, but I did think Bursak deserved better than a loss against Fletcher. 15) Bryan Vera (6-73) Last Fight: 3/1/2014- L (UD10) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Vera’s loss to Chavez at a heavier weight has no effect on his ranking here. He will need to schedule a fight at 160 by March 29 to avoid removal here, though. 16) Grzegorz Proksa (6-152) Last Fight: 6/28/2013- L (UD10) vs. Sergio Mora (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Proksa is likely to fight again on April 19 according to Polish news reports. 17) Caleb Truax (6-25) Last Fight: 1/3/2014- Draw (UD10) vs. Ossie Duran (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Truax’s status as a promising prospect has been derailed somewhat by the very tough Ossie Duran. 18) Curtis Stevens (6-32) Last Fight: 1/24/2014- TKO1 Patrick Majewski (UNR) (at SMW) Next Fight: Unknown Stevens has his sites set on Peter Quillin. 19) Andrey Meryasev (6-18) 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. 20) Daniel Jacobs (6-29) Last Fight: 8/19/2013- TKO3 Giovanni Lorenzo (UNR) Next Fight: 3/15/2014- vs. Milton Nunez (UNR) Jacobs shouldn’t have too much trouble with Nunez, who has some name recognition due to a near-upset of overrated Deandre Latimore a few years ago, but who really a low-level journeyman overall, and is consistently knocked out against most guys on that level.
The Week Ahead: Saturday #20 Daniel Jacobs vs. Milton Nunez; Bayamon, Puerto Rico; Showtime Extreme (US) The newly formal Daniel Jacobs has replaced the younger Danny. He will be in with normally low-level Colombian banger Milton Nunez, who gave Deandre Latimore a life-and-death struggle a few years ago, but got blasted out by the likes of Jorge Melendez, Dmitry Chudinov, and even the light-hitting Sergio Mora in his last fight. My money is on another stoppage loss for him.
Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog 
Leave a Reply