Heavyweight: 2014, Apr 21-27
Wednesday in Santa Monica, California, undefeated prospect Charles Martin of California by way of St. Louis scored a knockout midway through the 4th round of his high-stakes early career showdown with fellow undefeated Alex Flores. The card was not televised despite having several fairly compelling fights, so I can’t give you much more info than that, unfortunately.
Last Fight: 10/5/2013- UD12 #3 Alexander Povetkin
Next Fight: 4/26/2014- vs. #16 Alex Leapai
Klitschko-Leapai appears to be finalized for April 26 in Germany. 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) Tyson Fury (10-10-10) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- TKO4 Joey Abell (UNR) Next Fight: 7/26/2014- vs. #6 Dereck Chisora Fury-Chisora has been made. July 26, in Manchester. The winner will become one of Wlad’s mandatories. 2) Vyacheslav Glazkov (6-6-70) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- UD12 #4 Tomasz Adamek
Next Fight: Unknown Glazkov reportedly has a fight in the works with Povetkin for early June, in what would be one of the best matchups possible right now in the division- to say nothing of the Russia-Ukraine angle. 3) Alexander Povetkin (6-339-339) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
Next Fight: Unknown
See Glazkov’s notes, above. 4) Amir Mansour (3-3-3) Last Fight: 4/4/2014- Robbery L (UD10) vs. #4 Steve Cunningham Next Fight: Unknown Cunningham had the more sympathetic story and a legitimately great comeback attempt, but Mansour had the better collection of rounds legitimately won. Mansour was robbed even though the fight was close, and deserves Cunningham’s former position in the rankings for his effort. 5) Kubrat Pulev (10-103-180) Last Fight: 4/5/2014- RTD3 Ivica Perkovic (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It’s sounding increasingly likely that Pulev will get a long awaited shot at the Klitschko-Leapai winner. 6) Dereck Chisora (10-125-188) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- UD12 Kevin Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/26/2014- vs. #1 Tyson Fury
See Fury’s notes, above. 7) Steve Cunningham (3-70-70) Last Fight: 4/4/2014- Robbery W (UD10) vs. Amir Mansour (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown I hope you’ll all pray for his daughter to recover from her life-threatening health condition, and the guy had guts to come back from the 2 knockdowns. But he didn’t win the fight. 8) Tony Thompson (3-5-204) Last Fight: 3/22/2014- W* (SD12) vs. #8 Odlanier Solis
Next Fight: 6/6/2014- vs. #11 Carlos Takam Thompson- no stranger to the road- will visit France for a fight with tough customer Carlos Takam on June 6. 9) Tomasz Adamek (3-209-209) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- L (UD12) vs. #18 Vyacheslav Glazkov
Next Fight: Unknown I’d have to think Adamek would at least consider retirement after being brutalized for 12 rounds by a guy that had looked like he might top out around the top 15. He’s recently announced his candidacy for the European parliament elections in May, so that may be a sign that he’s leaning that direction. 10) Odlanier Solis (3-57-204) Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson
Next Fight: Unknown
The Solis haters are out in force, claiming a clear loss in a fight that Solis deserved to win. You might not like his physique or his training habits or his style, but if he outfights the other guy, he still deserves to be respected as a winner at least as much as a disappointment. A loss to Thompson is not that embarrassing, especially when you ought to have won it. 11) Carlos Takam (3-14) Last Fight: 1/18/2014- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #11 Mike Perez Next Fight: 6/6/2014- vs. #8 Tony Thompson See Thompson’s notes, above. 12) Bermane Stiverne (3-60) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12 #15 Chris Arreola Next Fight: 5/10/2014- vs. #13 Chris Arreola ESPN has landed the fight- their biggest score in a while on that front. May 10 in Los Angeles. 13) Chris Arreola (3-33) Last Fight: 9/7/2013- TKO1 #12 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: 5/10/2014- vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne See Stiverne’s notes, above. 14) Deontay Wilder (3-52) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- KO1 #19 Malik Scott Next Fight: Unknown With the win over Scott, Wilder appears poised to fight the Stiverne-Arreola winner for an alphabet title and probably near-universal recognition as the best American heavyweight. If that falls through for some reason, Andy Ruiz wants to step in to fight him. 15) Erkan Teper (3-34) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO1 Martin Rogan (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 16) Alex Leapai (3-22) Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD10 #20 Denis Boytsov Next Fight: 4/26/2014- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Leapai-Klitschko is done for April 26 in Germany. 17) Andy Ruiz (3-22) Last Fight: 11/24/2013- RTD3 Tor Hamer (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2014- vs. Manuel Quezada (UNR) Ruiz was scheduled to fight on the Marquez-Alvarado undercard on May 10, but has been bumped back a week to a fight in Fresno against Manuel Quezada. 18) Seth Mitchell (3-46) 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. 19) Johnathon Banks (3-7) Last Fight: 6/22/2013- L (UD12) vs. #20 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown 20) Francesco Pianeta (3-6) Last Fight: 12/6/2013- TKO2 Robert Teuber (UNR) Next Fight: 5/30/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Pianeta makes his 2014 debut in Dresden on May 30 against a TBA opponent.
In a similarly non-televised fight of some significance from Hammond, Indiana on Friday, quality Hollywood-based Russian journeyman Andrey Fedosov propelled himself well into the top 50 with a second-round knockout of veteran gatekeeper Maurice Harris. Boxrec tells me that Harris was down twice in the second round, but that’s all I can tell you.
Martin is now clearly one to watch, but Flores hadn’t proven quite enough to this point to serve as a springboard to rankability for Martin. Fedosov’s win is a bit more credible in that respect, to the extent that he’s on my radar now. Still, nowhere near the top 20, especially considering his two relevant losses, to Bryant Jennings and especially Lance Whittaker.
No changes.
Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20) Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (252-465-465)
Last Fight: 10/5/2013- UD12 #3 Alexander Povetkin
Next Fight: 4/26/2014- vs. #16 Alex Leapai
Klitschko-Leapai appears to be finalized for April 26 in Germany. 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) Tyson Fury (10-10-10) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- TKO4 Joey Abell (UNR) Next Fight: 7/26/2014- vs. #6 Dereck Chisora Fury-Chisora has been made. July 26, in Manchester. The winner will become one of Wlad’s mandatories. 2) Vyacheslav Glazkov (6-6-70) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- UD12 #4 Tomasz Adamek
Next Fight: Unknown Glazkov reportedly has a fight in the works with Povetkin for early June, in what would be one of the best matchups possible right now in the division- to say nothing of the Russia-Ukraine angle. 3) Alexander Povetkin (6-339-339) Last Fight: 10/5/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko
Next Fight: Unknown
See Glazkov’s notes, above. 4) Amir Mansour (3-3-3) Last Fight: 4/4/2014- Robbery L (UD10) vs. #4 Steve Cunningham Next Fight: Unknown Cunningham had the more sympathetic story and a legitimately great comeback attempt, but Mansour had the better collection of rounds legitimately won. Mansour was robbed even though the fight was close, and deserves Cunningham’s former position in the rankings for his effort. 5) Kubrat Pulev (10-103-180) Last Fight: 4/5/2014- RTD3 Ivica Perkovic (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It’s sounding increasingly likely that Pulev will get a long awaited shot at the Klitschko-Leapai winner. 6) Dereck Chisora (10-125-188) Last Fight: 2/15/2014- UD12 Kevin Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: 7/26/2014- vs. #1 Tyson Fury
See Fury’s notes, above. 7) Steve Cunningham (3-70-70) Last Fight: 4/4/2014- Robbery W (UD10) vs. Amir Mansour (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown I hope you’ll all pray for his daughter to recover from her life-threatening health condition, and the guy had guts to come back from the 2 knockdowns. But he didn’t win the fight. 8) Tony Thompson (3-5-204) Last Fight: 3/22/2014- W* (SD12) vs. #8 Odlanier Solis
Next Fight: 6/6/2014- vs. #11 Carlos Takam Thompson- no stranger to the road- will visit France for a fight with tough customer Carlos Takam on June 6. 9) Tomasz Adamek (3-209-209) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- L (UD12) vs. #18 Vyacheslav Glazkov
Next Fight: Unknown I’d have to think Adamek would at least consider retirement after being brutalized for 12 rounds by a guy that had looked like he might top out around the top 15. He’s recently announced his candidacy for the European parliament elections in May, so that may be a sign that he’s leaning that direction. 10) Odlanier Solis (3-57-204) Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson
Next Fight: Unknown
The Solis haters are out in force, claiming a clear loss in a fight that Solis deserved to win. You might not like his physique or his training habits or his style, but if he outfights the other guy, he still deserves to be respected as a winner at least as much as a disappointment. A loss to Thompson is not that embarrassing, especially when you ought to have won it. 11) Carlos Takam (3-14) Last Fight: 1/18/2014- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #11 Mike Perez Next Fight: 6/6/2014- vs. #8 Tony Thompson See Thompson’s notes, above. 12) Bermane Stiverne (3-60) Last Fight: 4/27/2013- UD12 #15 Chris Arreola Next Fight: 5/10/2014- vs. #13 Chris Arreola ESPN has landed the fight- their biggest score in a while on that front. May 10 in Los Angeles. 13) Chris Arreola (3-33) Last Fight: 9/7/2013- TKO1 #12 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: 5/10/2014- vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne See Stiverne’s notes, above. 14) Deontay Wilder (3-52) Last Fight: 3/15/2014- KO1 #19 Malik Scott Next Fight: Unknown With the win over Scott, Wilder appears poised to fight the Stiverne-Arreola winner for an alphabet title and probably near-universal recognition as the best American heavyweight. If that falls through for some reason, Andy Ruiz wants to step in to fight him. 15) Erkan Teper (3-34) Last Fight: 11/16/2013- KO1 Martin Rogan (UNR) Next Fight: Unknown 16) Alex Leapai (3-22) Last Fight: 11/23/2013- UD10 #20 Denis Boytsov Next Fight: 4/26/2014- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko Leapai-Klitschko is done for April 26 in Germany. 17) Andy Ruiz (3-22) Last Fight: 11/24/2013- RTD3 Tor Hamer (UNR) Next Fight: 5/17/2014- vs. Manuel Quezada (UNR) Ruiz was scheduled to fight on the Marquez-Alvarado undercard on May 10, but has been bumped back a week to a fight in Fresno against Manuel Quezada. 18) Seth Mitchell (3-46) 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. 19) Johnathon Banks (3-7) Last Fight: 6/22/2013- L (UD12) vs. #20 Seth Mitchell Next Fight: Unknown 20) Francesco Pianeta (3-6) Last Fight: 12/6/2013- TKO2 Robert Teuber (UNR) Next Fight: 5/30/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent Pianeta makes his 2014 debut in Dresden on May 30 against a TBA opponent.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Saturday Champ Wladimir Klitschko vs. #16 Alex Leapai; Oberhausen, Germany; ESPN (US) What more can you say about the Champ? He’s untouchable. Leapai is a relatively short (6’0″) Samoan heavyweight who lives in Australia. He’s fairly unheralded, and many fans and media are criticizing Wlad for taking the fight. On the other hand, Leapai did recently soundly defeat a long-standing prospect in Boytsov, and there are only a handful of guys who have a better claim and who have not been beaten by one of the Klitschkos yet. Some might wonder what Leapai’s chances are in the fight. Well, he’s not an especially gifted boxer, nor does he have the kind of size or reach that might lead one to believe a guy like Tyson Fury might have a chance. On the other hand, we know Wlad has had chin problems in the now-distant past, and Leapai does figure to have above average power, although he’s never stopped anyone close to a top 50 heavyweight. Puncher’s chance? Arguably. Anything beyond that? Not remotely.
Lucas Browne vs. Eric Martel Bahoeli; Sheffield, England; BoxNation (UK) Browne is an Australian fringe contending prospect who will look to pick up the vacant Commonwealth title against French Canadian journeyman Bahoeli who, despite some not-so-forgivable losses two or three years ago, got himself to the doorstep of the top 50 with an upset stoppage of undefeated prospect Didier Bence in his last fight. Browne has got to be the favorite, but Bahoeli has enough career momentum to make it at least a little interesting.
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