Heavyweight | Dan's Weekly Boxer Rankings and Blog

Archive for the Heavyweight Category

Heavyweight: 2015, Mar 9-15

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Chris Arreola, Dominic Breazeale, Erkan Teper, Gerald Washington, Joey Dawejko, Joseph Parker, Mariusz Wach, Steve Cunningham, Vyacheslav Glazkov on February 2, 2021 by danboxing

Thursday in New Zealand, undefeated blue chip prospect Joseph Parker took care of 35 year-old one-loss fringe prospect Jason Pettaway of West Virginia in 4 rounds, which is probably roughly as expected. Parker had Pettaway down once each in rounds 3 and 4. There was a bit of drama at the very end, however, as Parker hit Pettaway with a pretty clean uppercut well after he had gone down to a knee. It was a dirty enough shot that, frankly, one could hardly have blamed anyone involved but Parker himself had it ended in disqualification. Luckily for Parker, he was fighting at home, and perhaps even more luckily, Pettaway didn’t force the issue by feigning additional injury. This took a lot of pressure off referee John Conway, who might have been obligated to at least give Pettaway five minutes to recover had Pettaway reacted to the punch with anything worse than an irritated look. It seemed instead that he’d had his fill of the fight by then. A dominant performance, but still in some way a narrow escape.

The following night in Philly, local slugger Joey Dawejko, who has made his way into the latter rungs of the top 50 in recent months, detonated the chin of Nigerian journeyman Enobong Umohette just 27 seconds into the fight, with a beautiful short left hook in an exchange. Umohette was out before he ever hit the ground. The Milwaukee-based Nigerian previously showed some degree of power against very basic competition, but wasn’t really a credible test for anyone at Dawejko’s level. Still, a thrilling performance by the local man.

In a non-televised tilt on the Thurman-Guerrero undercard in Vegas, undefeated prospect and former Olympian Dominic Breazeale apparently took card of business, scoring a 4th-round stoppage over half-decent Boricua journeyman Victor Bisbal. I wasn’t able to so much as find a highlight of the match, so I’ll have to leave it at that.

With none of the above results being particularly significant given the levels of competition, there’s no change to the rankings this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (298-511-511)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (56-56-56)

Last Fight: 2/28/2015- W (RTD8) vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Fury is now in a well-earned position as Klitschko’s mandatory, and says he wants exactly that fight.

2) Alexander Povetkin (41-385-385)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Negotiations are underway for a potential May 22 clash with Mike Perez in Moscow, with the winner to get a mandatory shot at Wilder’s belt.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (41-52-116)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham in March.

4) Amir Mansour (49-49-49)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour was ringside on the commentary team for Joey Dawejko’s recent win, and it sounds for all the world like they plan to fight each other next.

5) Kubrat Pulev (56-149-226)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Despite his knockout loss to the Champ, Pulev and Sauerland have recently extended their promotional contract, and Pulev is set to begin working with Uli Wegner, who is essentially Sauerland’s house trainer.

6) Carlos Takam (15-40-60)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (8-8-98)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors. He says he wants Fury next.

8) Dereck Chisora (8-171-234)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Tony Thompson (2-2-250)

Last Fight: 2/27/2015- W (RTD8) vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Next Fight: Unknown

Thompson cleared up any doubt as to who the better fighter is with an easy night’s work against the badly out of shape Odlanier Solis.

10) Bermane Stiverne (2-44-106)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

11) Steve Cunningham (2-116)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

12) Odlanier Solis (8-250)

Last Fight: 2/27/2015- L (RTD8) vs. #11 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: Unknown

If the Thompson rematch is an indication of his current ability, Solis would be overrated even at #100, and his promoter seems to be publicly of the same mind, saying essentiallly that Solis is now a journeyman, and that he’s going to feed him to anybody willing to pay for a fight.

13) Chris Arreola (18-79)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: 3/13/2015- vs. Curtis Harper (UNR)

Arreola’s return has now been set for March 13 in Ontario, CA. His opponent is journeyman Curtis Harper.

14) Malik Scott (18-27)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (18-80)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (13-13)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

After being shelved by Showtime due to steroids a few years back, Tarver has landed another commentary gig for Premiere Boxing Champions.

17) Bryant Jennings (12-33)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (12-18)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (12-33)

Last Fight: 2/5/2015- TKO2 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
See Povetkin’s notes, above.

20) Alex Leapai (12-12)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Friday

#13 Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper; Ontario, CA; SpikeTV

Arreola gets a TV showcase against a relatively soft touch as he looks to rebound from the stoppage loss to Stiverne last time out. Arreola comes of a 10-month layoff. Harper does come in with a modest 5-fight win streak (including an upset over an undefeated local fighter), but has typically only succeeded against basic competition. His three losses include stoppages to Yasmany Conseguera and Gerald Washington, and a decision against Donovan Dennis.

Gerald Washington vs. Jason Gavern; Ontario, CA; Off TV

I don’t believe this one will make the broadcast, but the aforementioned Washington gets a decent development fight against Gavern, a sometimes good journeyman who was last seen being served up as an out-of-shape short-notice sacrificial lamb for Deontay Wilder in August. Still, Gavern is proven on a certain level, and inasmuch as Washington hasn’t particularly impressed against a similar level (eg Nagy Aguilera) in the past, it wouldn’t shock me to see this be a competitive fight. Unfortunately, I understand it is unlikely to make the Spike broadcast.

Saturday

#3 Vyachelsav Glazkov vs. #11 Steve Cunningham; Montreal, Quebec; HBO

Glazkov comes off a fairly dominant win over a top-5 contender in Adamek. Cunningham’s most recent effort was a gutty win over Mansour, in a fight he nevertheless should have lost on the cards, despite a strong comeback in the end. Glazkov is likely the harder puncher, and also has youth on his side, as he comes in at just 30 compared to Cunningham’s 38 years. The winner would make an excellent case for a Klitschko shot, almost needless to say.

#15 Erkan Teper vs. Johann Duhaupas; Stuttgart, Germany; TV Unknown

Teper is a ranked and undefeated German who has risen to relative prominence with a couple first round stoppages over aging gatekeepers Martin Rogan and Michael Sprott, but has been somewhat derailed over the past year by health issues. DuHaupas is a French prospect whose only loss is to a prime Francesco Pianeta in 2008, but who also hasn’t beaten anyone of note. Duhaupas, at 34, is no spring chicken, but he is likely significantly more fresh than any worthwhile opponents Teper has faced, even if he isn’t really proven at a top-50 level by any means.

Mariusz Wach vs. Gbenga Oluokun; Lubin, Poland; TV Unknown

Wach is a gargantuan Polish fighter who was dominated by Wlad in a 2012 title shot before testing dirty for steroids in the post-fight drug tests. To his credit, he made no excuses, and took a lengthy suspension. He’s fought a couple mediocrities since then, and looks to continue on the comeback trail against Nigeria’s Oluokun. Oluokun was at one time a 16-0 propsect, but has only had his hand raised three times since 2008, and hasn’t beaten anyone even remotely worth fighting since 2010.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Mar 2-8

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Arnold Gjergjaj, Charles Martin, Christian Hammer, Dominic Breazeale, Joey Dawejko, Joseph Parker, Odlanier Solis, Tony Thompson, Tyson Fury on May 14, 2020 by danboxing

Last week’s action:
Friday

Odlanier Solis apparently didn’t get the memo that his career was on the line against Tony Thompson. He came in at the heaviest weight of his career: 271.75. He’s always been somewhat of a chubby lump, let’s be honest. Even at his career-best weight of 246+, he was well overweight, as he’s under 6’2″. At 271, he’s practically useless. He probably averaged about 5 punches per round, and many of those were cursory slaps. In the meantime, he basically just covered up and gave Thompson a light cardio workout, which is probably more than Solis himself managed to get at any point during his training camp. And that was while he was still fighting. He quit in his corner after the 8th, having never really done anything to try to win.

I mean don’t get me wrong- I like Tony Thompson, and he’s clearly got plenty of power. But Solis allowed him to just casually maul him without any worry or care in the world. For a guy of Solis’s immense talent, this was an absolutely embarrassing performance. And don’t just take my word for it. The Cuban showed more fire in a post-fight confrontation with his own chief second (who was understandably furious at Solis’s effort and helped Thompson celebrate after the bout) than he ever did against Tony the Tiger. According to Boxingscene.com, Solis’s trainer- who was not in his corner due to schedule conflicts- said that Solis only spent 18 days total in serious training for the fight, despite the fact that it was originally signed in mid-September and was postponed 3 times. Ahmet Oner, Solis’s promoter, was as candid as I’ve ever heard any promoter be about his fighter’s shortcomings. He essentially said that while he’s still obligated to promote Solis, he’s now going to treat him as a journeyman and try and feed him to any prospect willing to pay for a name on his record. This was one of the most embarrassing performances I’ve ever witnessed, all things considered.

In other action lower down the ranks, two borderline top-50 prospects in Arnold Gjergjaj and Zoltan Csala hooked up in an 8-rounder in Basel, Switzerland. The official tallies were 79-72 (x2) and 78-74, all for Gjergjaj. I’ve only been able to find a two-minute highlight film and a cellphone video of round one online. Based on that, I’d say I’m just slightly suspicious that Csala may have done better than that, although I’m far from being able to say that Gjergjaj didn’t deserve to win legitimately. The suspicion comes from the fact that the Swiss crowd was losing their minds every time a Gjergjaj right hand hit Csala’s gloves, and consistent crowd overreaction like that can sometimes influence judges. But more importantly, the highlight film showed what appeared to be a light but legit knockdown by Csala ruled a slip by ref Beat Hausamann, which obviously would mean he at least likely did better than the 79-72 cards. In any case, I can’t remotely argue with the overall result on the little footage I have, so it is what it is.

Saturday

London played host to a one-sided scrap between #1 Tyson Fury and gatekeeper Christian Hammer, who made a good effort in roughly the first three rounds, but smothered his work a bit too much before fading thereafter. Fury fought as a boxer, and dominated the fight behind the jab until he was able to catch Hammer with a southpaw right hook to put Hammer down in the 5th. Fury went back to dominating thereafter, until Hammer decided to call it a night in his corner after round 8. I always viewed Hammer- whom Boxrec had at #11- as significantly overrated, and I think it showed.

In non-televised action from Phoenix, undefeated prospect Charles Martin knocked out Brazilian journeyman Raphael Zumbano in the 10th and final round, making it two knockout losses for Zumbano in the first two months of the year.

Rankings Analysis

Fury has no rungs left to climb, short of taking on Wlad, so the dominant win over Hammer amounts to a stay-busy fight of little consequence, in retrospect.

Thompson returns to the top 10 after 6 weeks on the outside, but stalls at #9, with Chisora’s stolen win over 4th-ranked Helenius still serving as the difference. This forces Stiverne to #10 and Cunningham to #11 (the latter exiting the top 10 after 114 consecutive weeks within it).

Gjergjaj has started to build a resume, but is still working his way into the mid-30s for my money, while Martin still hasn’t beaten anybody in the top 50.

As for Solis, I tried bending my mind into position to really savage his ranking, but although his performance was shameful and I doubt he could have beaten the #100 heavyweight in the world on the night, he still has a pretty worthy resume, objectively speaking. Thompson was ranked #13 and #11, respectively, in the two recent fights, and honestly I thought Solis may have nicked the first one. I considered swapping him with Arreola, but the big knock on the Nightmare is that he lost twice to Stiverne, who I now have ranked below Thompson, and who was ranked #19 and #12 when he decisioned and knocked out Arreola, respectively. Arreola does have a 1st-round KO over then-#12 Seth Mitchell, but Solis can answer with the debateable loss to Thompson, a win over #14 Ray Austin a few years ago, and some decent gatekeeper/fringe contender level wins. Based on results, Solis appears to hit his ceiling somewhere between #9 and #13-ranked opposition, while Arreola does so in the same general region. Ultimately the longer resume of Solis won out, as counter-intuitive as it might seem on the surface.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (297-510-510)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (55-55-55)

Last Fight: 2/28/2015- W (RTD8) vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Fury is now in a well-earned position as Klitschko’s mandatory, and says he wants exactly that fight.

2) Alexander Povetkin (40-384-384)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Negotiations are underway for a potential May 22 clash with Mike Perez in Moscow, with the winner to get a mandatory shot at Wilder’s belt.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (40-51-115)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (48-48-48)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (55-148-225)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

6) Carlos Takam (14-39-59)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (7-7-97)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (7-170-233)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

Chisora apparently doesn’t want to leave the bad taste in his mouth from his last performance, as he is reportedly planning to fight again on February 28. He is also said to be splitting from trainer Don Charles.

9) Tony Thompson (1-1-249)

Last Fight: 2/27/2015- W (RTD8) vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Next Fight: Unknown

Thompson cleared up any doubt as to who the better fighter is with an easy night’s work against the badly out of shape Odlanier Solis.

10) Bermane Stiverne (1-43-105)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

11) Steve Cunningham (1-115)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

12) Odlanier Solis (7-249)

Last Fight: 2/27/2015- L (RTD8) vs. #11 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: Unknown

13) Chris Arreola (17-78)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: 3/13/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Arreola’s return has now been set for March 13 in Ontario, CA. No opponent yet.

14) Malik Scott (17-26)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (17-79)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (12-12)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

After being shelved by Showtime due to steroids a few years back, Tarver has landed another commentary gig for Premiere Boxing Champions.

17) Bryant Jennings (11-32)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (11-17)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (11-32)

Last Fight: 2/5/2015- TKO2 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
See Povetkin’s notes, above.

20) Alex Leapai (11-11)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Thursday

Joseph Parker vs. Jason Pettaway; Manukau City, New Zealand; Sky Arena (NZ), Main Event (AUS)

Pettaway comes a long way from West Virginia, and this does look a lot like a stay-busy fight for undefeated top-level prospect Parker. If you’re looking for some hope for Pettaway or for a competitive fight, the American does have only one loss. It was a 4th-round stoppage, but it did come against a credible prospect in Magomed Abdusalamov. On the downside, he’s yet to beat anyone anywhere near the level of Abdusalamov or Parker, so it’s a stretch for him by any measure. Pettaway is also already nearly 35.

Friday

Joey Dawejko vs. Enobong Umohette; Philadelpha, Pennsylvania; gofightlive.tv

Dawejko is an exciting brawler who has made a bit of a name for himself with a close win over Derric Rossy and an early-career draw with prospect Jarrell Miller. Umohette hails from Nigeria. He’s coming off a stoppage loss to a complete non-entity, so you can’t like his chances of the upset. If you’re looking for a silver lining, it would be that with Dawejko not being extremely difficult to hit, Umohette does have 8 knockouts in 12 fights, albeit against rather basic opposition.

Saturday

Dominic Breazeale vs. Victor Bisbal; Las Vegas, Nevada; Off-TV

Breazeale, the former Olympian, is a rising prospect still waiting to step up to competition against which he can seriously be measured. At 21-2, Bisbal isn’t necessarily a pushover, having probably been in the hunt for a top-50 ranking about 4 years ago. But he’s never been a world-beater by any means, and is coming off a stoppage loss to Magomed Abdusalamov and an accompanying 2-year layoff. Bisbal actually started pretty solidly in that fight, but seemed to burn out after about 2 rounds. If Breazeale is a legitimate prospect, Bisbal doesn’t look like a serious threat at this point.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Feb 23- Mar 1

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Arnold Gjergjaj, Charles Martin, Christian Hammer, David Price, Odlanier Solis, Tony Thompson, Tyson Fury, Zoltan Csala on May 12, 2020 by danboxing

Saturday in Berlin, the comebacking David Price won by 6th-round TKO over Brazilian journeyman Irineu Beato Costa. Costa seemed to be mostly in survival mode from the start, which may have been the major factor in Price looking fairly pedestrian over the first 5 rounds (despite winning them all). The tall Liverpudlian broke through in a big way in round 6, however, bludgeoning Costa to 3 knockdowns and a stoppage.

Price came in at about #30 in the Boxrec rankings, and I’m sure his win over Costa (whom I think they had ranked around #69) will probably improve that a bit. As for me, I’ve got him at about #37, and that wasn’t changed by this one.

No changes this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (296-509-509)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (54-54-54)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

Christian Hammer is a very beatable gatekeeper, but did look good in his last fight, and is probably about a class better than you’d expect a guy with a mandatory championship shot coming his way to stay busy against.

2) Alexander Povetkin (39-383-383)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Negotiations are underway for a potential May 22 clash with Mike Perez in Moscow, with the winner to get a mandatory shot at Wilder’s belt.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (39-50-114)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (47-47-47)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (54-147-224)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

6) Carlos Takam (13-38-58)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (6-6-96)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (6-169-232)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (6-42-104)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (6-114-114)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (6-248)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 2/27/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

It looked for a couple days that the Solis fight was going to be postponed for a 4th time due to problems with the local Hungarian promotion, but Solis’s promotional team appears to have rescued the February 27 date by moving the fight to Turkey.

12) Odlanier Solis (6-248)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 2/27/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (16-77)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: 3/13/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Arreola’s return has now been set for March 13 in Ontario, CA. No opponent yet.

14) Malik Scott (16-25)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (16-78)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (11-11)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

After being shelved by Showtime due to steroids a few years back, Tarver has landed another commentary gig for Premiere Boxing Champions.

17) Bryant Jennings (10-31)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (10-16)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (10-31)

Last Fight: 2/5/2015- TKO2 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
See Povetkin’s notes, above.

20) Alex Leapai (10-10)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Friday

#11 Tony Thompson vs. #12 Odlanier Solis; Antalya, Turkey; Eurosport

This oft-delayed rematch finally appears good to go for Friday. A clear win would obviously be a huge boon to the career of either man, neither of whom is getting any younger. The first fight was very close, with Thompson getting what I saw as the benefit of the doubt to pull off a split decision victory by a one-round margin on both cards. The 3rd judge had it 116-112 for Solis, which matched my own score. In any case, it was a debatable contest. Solis has been seen as an underachiever for the majority of his professional career, after having been a storied amateur in Cuba. Thompson is the division’s ultimate dark horse spoiler, especially with his recent impressive run at a current age of 43. If Solis plans to ever realize his presumed potential, he needs to emerge from this fight with a win, with his reputation among the public, the media, and the power brokers of the sport probably being even worse than he deserves with his actual performances.

Zoltan Csala vs. Arnold Gjergjaj; Basel, Switzerland; TV Unknown

This is an intriguing little scrap between undefeated European prospects. Csala is from Hungary, and quite long in the tooth at 37. On the bright side, he is coming off a knockout win only two months ago against borderline top-50 gatekeeper Zoltan Petranyi. Gjergjaj has 26 spotless professional fights compared to Csala’s 6, and has won his last 13 by knockout.

Saturday

#1 Tyson Fury vs. Christian Hammer; London, England; BoxNation (UK)

Fury, with two wins over Chisora and a stoppage of Steve Cunningham, is the top contender in the division and in line for a Klitschko shot in his next fight. Boxrec has Hammer ranked #11, making him an apparent solid challenge. I’ve personally got him ranked no better than #42, in part because of a couple losses in 2010, and in part because I believe he lost what shows up in the record as his best win- a December 2013 decision he was given over Kevin Johnson. In my view, this is still a well-above-average tune-up for a guy in line for a Championship fight, but still not a major threat.

Charles Martin vs. Raphael Zumbano; Phoenix, AZ; Off-TV

Undefeated prospect Charles Martin takes on journeyman Raphael Zumbano on a non-televised Phoenix card which I doubt anyone outside Arizona will ever see. Zumbano is approximately a top-75 journeyman, which is about on par with Martin’s previous top opposition to date. Zumbano fought Eric Molina about 6 weeks ago, and was battered to an 8th-round stoppage in that one. His chin probably earned more time off than this, to be honest.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Feb 16-22

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Akhror Muralimov, Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, David Price, Derric Rossy, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on May 11, 2020 by danboxing

Saturday in Queens, credible journeyman Derric Rossy pulled out a unanimous decision over Uzbekisatan’s Akhror Muralimov in a see-saw fight that frankly could have gone either way. I personally had it a draw, with Rossy winning the last two rounds to even it up on my card. Rossy was the more active of the two fighters, and kept the jab going enough to nick some close rounds, for me. Muralimov missed many an opportunity by not jabbing his way in, as Rossy tended to back straight up anytime Muralimov threw. Muralimov appeared to hurt Rossy multiple times in the fight, but never really doubled down on his advantage.

In the end, judges Perez and Roldan had it 96-94, while Pasquale saw it 97-93. I thought there was room for a couple toss-up rounds to be flipped in both directions on my card, so I have no particular complaints about the individual scores, though honestly I thought Muralimov deserved better than to lose unanimously, at the very least.

It’s a tricky result to unpack. Boxrec, I think, had Rossy ranked about #49 going in, with Muralimov at around #47. Muralimov hadn’t fought any top-50 opposition yet, so he wasn’t eligible. Rossy had a long resume, though, and I have to say that for me, he was pretty clearly outside the top 50 going in. I personally had him at #57 in my unofficial background rankings, which doesn’t include any rising prospects who might legitimately be ranked higher, but who do not yet qualify by having had success against the top 50 as Rossy has done. The disparity may be due to Rossy’s prizefighter outing against Ian Lewison in particular- a fight I had him clearly losing, though he was the official winner.

In any case, both guys showed themselves to be competitive on the fringe of the top 50, and as the official winner Rossy probably creeps his way barely into my unofficial top 50, while Muralimov still needs to do something against a bona fide top 50 fighter to get his name on my ledger at all.

No changes this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (295-508-508)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (53-53-53)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (38-382-382)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Negotiations are underway for a potential May 22 clash with Mike Perez in Moscow, with the winner to get a mandatory shot at Wilder’s belt.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (38-49-113)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (46-46-46)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (53-146-223)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

6) Carlos Takam (12-37-57)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (5-5-95)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (5-168-231)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (5-41-103)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (5-113-113)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (5-247)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 2/27/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

12) Odlanier Solis (5-247)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 2/27/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (15-76)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: 3/13/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Arreola’s return has now been set for March 13 in Ontario, CA. No opponent yet.

14) Malik Scott (15-24)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (15-77)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (10-10)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (9-30)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (9-15)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (9-30)

Last Fight: 2/5/2015- TKO2 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
See Povetkin’s notes, above.

20) Alex Leapai (9-9)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

On the Abraham-Smith undercard in Berlin, 31 year-old David Price looks to keep his comeback on track against decent Brazilian journeyman Irineu Beato Costa Junior. I would call it a step up from recent opposition, except I think he’s on a similar level to Ondrej Pala, who was Price’s opponent two fights ago.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Feb 9-15

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Akhror Muralimov, Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, Kubrat Pulev, Mike Perez, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on May 11, 2020 by danboxing

#19 Mike Perez took care of 40 year-old journeyman Darnell Wilson in two rounds in Costa Mesa, CA on Thursday, in non-televised action.

No changes this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (294-507-507)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (52-52-52)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (37-381-381)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

The WBC has ordered a final eliminator between Povetkin and Mike Perez, with the winner to get a mandatory shot at Wilder’s belt.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (37-48-112)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (45-45-45)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (52-145-222)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (11-36-56)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (4-4-94)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (4-167-230)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (4-40-102)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (4-112-112)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (4-246)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 2/27/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Yet another delay for Thompson-Solis II, with a 4th date now scheduled for February 27 in Hungary, of all places.

12) Odlanier Solis (4-246)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 2/27/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (14-75)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (14-23)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (14-76)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (9-9)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (8-29)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (8-14)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (8-29)

Last Fight: 2/5/2015- TKO2 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
See Povetkin’s notes, above.

20) Alex Leapai (8-8)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Undefeated Houston-based Uzbek prospect Akhror Muralimov tests himself on Saturday against tough journeyman Derric Rossy in a mid-level crossroads fight in Queens, which is being carried on CBS Sports Network.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Feb 2-8

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, Carlos Takam, Kubrat Pulev, Mike Perez, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on May 11, 2020 by danboxing

Nothing to report from last week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (293-506-506)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (51-51-51)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (36-380-380)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Nothing has been signed yet, but the WBC has given approval for Povetkin to fight an eliminator with Mike Perez.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (36-47-111)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (44-44-44)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (51-144-221)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (10-35-55)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (3-3-93)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (3-166-229)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (3-39-101)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (3-111-111)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (3-245)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 2/27/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Yet another delay for Thompson-Solis II, with a 4th date now scheduled for February 27 in Hungary, of all places.

12) Odlanier Solis (3-245)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 2/27/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (13-74)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (13-22)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (13-75)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (8-8)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (7-28)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (7-13)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 4/24/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Now advised by Al Haymon and trained by Ronnie Shields, Szpilka will debut his new team against an opponent to be announced on an April 24 Showtime card in Chicago.

19) Mike Perez (7-28)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- L* (SD12) vs. Bryant Jennings (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/5/2015- vs. Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Perez will stay busy on February 5 against Darnell Wilson in Costa Mesa, California.

20) Alex Leapai (7-7)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

#19 Mike Perez takes on half-decent but likely overmatched journeyman Darnell Wilson on Thursday in Costa Mesa, California.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Jan 26- Feb 1

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, Carlos Takam, Deontay Wilder, Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on May 11, 2020 by danboxing

No action or changes to report for the division this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (292-505-505)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (50-50-50)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (35-379-379)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Nothing has been signed yet, but the WBC has given approval for Povetkin to fight an eliminator with Mike Perez.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (35-46-110)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (43-43-43)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (50-143-220)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (9-34-54)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (2-2-92)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (2-165-228)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (2-38-100)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (2-110-110)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (2-244)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 2/27/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Yet another delay for Thompson-Solis II, with a 4th date now scheduled for February 27 in Hungary, of all places.

12) Odlanier Solis (2-244)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 2/27/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (12-73)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (12-21)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (12-74)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. Johann Duhaupas (UNR)

Teper-Duhaupas has a new date: March 14 in Stuttgart.

16) Antonio Tarver (7-7)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (6-27)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (6-12)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 3/?/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Szpilka was originally due back on January 31, but after signing with Al Haymon, it appears he’s pushed that back to a Showtime card in late March.

19) Mike Perez (6-27)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- L* (SD12) vs. Bryant Jennings (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/5/2015- vs. Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Perez will stay busy on February 5 against Darnell Wilson in Costa Mesa, California.

20) Alex Leapai (6-6)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

A second straight week with no major heavyweights on the schedule.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Jan 19-25

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, Bermane Stiverne, Deontay Wilder, Eric Molina, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on May 10, 2020 by danboxing

#12 Deontay Wilder made his long-heralded arrival in the top tier of contenders on Saturday, outboxing #8 Bermane Stiverne in a responsible, somewhat careful performance that, while impressive, cost him his career-long knockout streak. I think it was a pretty clear-cut 116-112 fight. The judges, apparently in the tank for Wilder for whatever reason, not only gave the winner too many rounds, but also uniformly awarded him a 10-8 round in a fight with no knockdowns. Stiverne did pretty clearly go down from a punch at one point, but it was 2 or 3 seconds after the bell to end the 2nd and required a flying tackle of Wilder by referee Tony Weeks. The biased scores were 118-109 (Adelaide Byrd), 119-108 (Jerry Roth), and 120-107 (Craig Metcalfe). The best of the judges I think was clearly two rounds off from reality, and all of them, perhaps mistakenly, in effect made themselves referees by crediting Wilder with a knockdown that not only wasn’t ruled by the referee, but which didn’t legitimately happen. The poor judging shouldn’t take away from Wilder’s clear and convincing win, however.

On the undercard, gatekeeper or perhaps fringe prospect Eric Molina nearly went the distance himself with decent journeyman Rafael Zumbano of Brazil before stopping his man on accumulation in the last round of a scheduled 8. Molina consistently landed a crushing uppercut that dominated the fight. Zumbano showed a ridiculous chin, but outside of a decent and aggressive first round or two, that’s about all the Brazilian was able to show.

Wilder makes his debut as a top 10 fighter at #7, while Stiverne slips behind Dereck Chisora and lands at #9. Cunningham, Thompson, and Solis each drop one rank.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (291-504-504)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (49-49-49)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (34-378-378)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Nothing has been signed yet, but the WBC has given approval for Povetkin to fight an eliminator with Mike Perez.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (34-45-109)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #10 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (42-42-42)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected- while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (49-142-219)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (8-33-53)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Deontay Wilder (1-1-91)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- UD12 #8 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

With an alphabet belt under his…um…belt….Wilder will have plenty of suitors.

8) Dereck Chisora (1-164-227)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

9) Bermane Stiverne (1-37-99)

Last Fight: 1/17/2015- L (UD12) vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Next Fight: Unknown

No word just yet on what’s next for now former beltholder Stiverne.

10) Steve Cunningham (1-109-109)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

11) Tony Thompson (1-243)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 1/24/2015 – vs. #12 Odlanier Solis

Yet another delay for Thompson-Solis II, with a 4th date now scheduled for April 27 in Hungary, of all places.

12) Odlanier Solis (1-243)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 1/24/2015- vs. #11 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (11-72)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (11-20)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (11-73)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight:Unknown

Teper will most likely fight France’s Johann Duhaupas at some point, but the fight has been postponed to a later date due to Teper having his appendix out.

16) Antonio Tarver (6-6)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (5-26)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (5-11)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 3/?/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Szpilka was originally due back on January 31, but after signing with Al Haymon, it appears he’s pushed that back to a Showtime card in late March.

19) Mike Perez (5-26)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- L* (SD12) vs. Bryant Jennings (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/5/2015- vs. Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Perez will stay busy on February 5 against Darnell Wilson in Costa Mesa, California.

20) Alex Leapai (5-5)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

No significant action on tap for this week..

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Jan 12-18

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Bermane Stiverne, Charles Martin, Deontay Wilder, Eric Molina, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko on January 24, 2016 by danboxing

Unbeaten prospect Charles Martin did what he had to do on the non-televised ShoBox undercard on Friday in Cabazon, California, dispatching 41 year-old fattened-up super middleweight Damon McCreary late in the first round. I was able to find a youtube video of the last few seconds of the fight, and it appears that Martin caught McCreary coming in reckless, with a southpaw counter left hand high on the head. Martin pretty much had to win by stoppage inside of 2 rounds to avoid negative comparisons to Deontay Wilder and even cruiserweight Jordan Shimmell, both of whom took care of McCreary within 2. No changes this week.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (290-503-503)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (48-48-48)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (33-377-377)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Nothing has been signed yet, but the WBC has given approval for Povetkin to fight an eliminator with Mike Perez.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (33-44-108)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #9 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (41-41-41)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (48-141-218)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (7-32-52)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Dereck Chisora (7-163-226)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

8) Bermane Stiverne (32-36-98)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- TKO6 #13 Chris Arreola

Next Fight: 1/17/2015- vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Stiverne-Wilder is finally set for January 17 at the MGM Grand in Vegas, it would appear.

9) Steve Cunningham (32-108-108)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

10) Tony Thompson (32-43-242)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 1/24/2015 – vs. #11 Odlanier Solis

Maybe the third time will be the charm. Thompson-Solis II gets its 3rd intended date on January 24.

11) Odlanier Solis (10-242)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 1/24/2015- vs. #10 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

12) Deontay Wilder (10-90)

Last Fight: 8/16/2014- W(RTD4) vs. Jason Gavern (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/17/2015 – vs. #8 Bermane Stiverne

See Stiverne’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (10-71)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (10-19)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (10-72)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight:Unknown

Teper will most likely fight France’s Johann Duhaupas at some point, but the fight has been postponed to a later date due to Teper having his appendix out.

16) Antonio Tarver (5-5)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (4-25)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (4-10)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 3/?/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Szpilka was originally due back on January 31, but after signing with Al Haymon, it appears he’s pushed that back to a Showtime card in late March.

19) Mike Perez (4-25)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- L* (SD12) vs. Bryant Jennings (UNR)

Next Fight: 2/5/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Perez looks like he’s on his way to a fight with Povetkin, but will stay busy against an unknown opponent on February 5.

20) Alex Leapai (4-4)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Saturday

#8 Bermane Stiverne vs. #12 Deontay Wilder; Las Vegas, NV; ESPN

In the first major heavyweight fight of 2016, two rising stars with plenty of knockout power compete for the alphabet belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko and picked up by Stiverne in his rematch with Arreola. It’s being billed as the return of heavyweight title boxing to basic cable. It’s an interesting matchup with plenty of potential for fireworks.

Eric Molina vs. TBA; Las Vegas, NV; Off TV

Molina has the distinct edge against TBA, who rarely wins, and never does so under his own name.

Leave a comment »

Heavyweight: 2015, Jan 5-11

Posted in Heavyweight, Rankings with tags Alexander Povetkin, Amir Mansour, Charles Martin, Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Wladimir Klitschko, Zoltan Csala on January 22, 2016 by danboxing

37 year-old whippersnapper Zoltan Csala won the battle of the Zoltans (sounds like a really bad sci-fi film, right?) in Budapest on Monday, lifting 48 year-old Zoltan Petranyi’s Hungarian title and halting the career momentum that remarkably had his ancient countryman in the top 50 for the first time in his career. Maybe it was as much opportunism as ability, but the 3rd round knockout gives Csala, at only 6-0, a real prospect and minor player on the world stage. No changes to the rankings.

Dan’s Top 20 (Weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)

Champ: Wladimir Klitschko (289-502-502)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- KO5 #5 Kubrat Pulev

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. #17 Bryant Jennings

Klitschko-Jennings is on, and figures to be a fairly average defense for the Champ.

1) Tyson Fury (47-47-47)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- RTD10 #6 Dereck Chisora

Next Fight: 2/28/2015- vs. Christian Hammer (UNR)

2) Alexander Povetkin (32-376-376)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- KO10 #7 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: Unknown

Nothing has been signed yet, but the WBC has given approval for Povetkin to fight an eliminator with Mike Perez.

3) Vyacheslav Glazkov (32-43-107)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- TKO7 Darnell Wilson (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #9 Steve Cunningham

With Main Events behind both fighters, you could almost see this one coming. Glazkov will take on Steve Cunningham, likely on NBC Sports, in March.

4) Amir Mansour (40-40-40)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- KO7 Fred Kassi (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Mansour’s power was brought to bear on the mediocre Kassi, who did a good job of hanging in there- perhaps for longer than most expected while losing every round.

5) Kubrat Pulev (47-140-217)

Last Fight: 11/15/2014- L (KO5) vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Next Fight: Unknown

Back to the drawing board for the Bulgarian. He at least mounted an attack. That’s more than some challengers can say.

6) Carlos Takam (6-31-51)

Last Fight: 10/24/2014- L (KO10) vs. #2 Alexander Povetkin

Next Fight: Unknown

Takam found the ceiling on his rise to the top in #2 Povetkin. He actually appeared more than a match for the Russian early in the fight, but couldn’t hang in the later rounds.

7) Dereck Chisora (6-162-225)

Last Fight: 11/29/2014- L (RTD10) vs. #1 Tyson Fury

Next Fight: Unknown

8) Bermane Stiverne (31-35-97)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- TKO6 #13 Chris Arreola

Next Fight: 1/17/2015- vs. #12 Deontay Wilder

Stiverne-Wilder is finally set for January 17 at the MGM Grand in Vegas, it would appear.

9) Steve Cunningham (31-107-107)

Last Fight: 10/18/2014- W (RTD7) vs. Natu Visinia (UNR)

Next Fight: 3/14/2015- vs. #3 Vyacheslav Glazkov

See Glazkov’s notes, above.

10) Tony Thompson (31-42-241)

Last Fight: 6/6/2014- L (UD12) vs. #12 Carlos Takam

Next Fight: 1/24/2015 – vs. #11 Odlanier Solis

Maybe the third time will be the charm. Thompson-Solis II gets its 3rd intended date on January 24.

11) Odlanier Solis (9-241)

Last Fight: 3/22/2014- L* (SD12) vs. #13 Tony Thompson

Next Fight: 1/24/2015- vs. #10 Tony Thompson

See Thompson’s notes, above.

12) Deontay Wilder (9-89)

Last Fight: 8/16/2014- W(RTD4) vs. Jason Gavern (UNR)

Next Fight: 1/17/2015 – vs. #8 Bermane Stiverne

See Stiverne’s notes, above.

13) Chris Arreola (9-70)

Last Fight: 5/10/2014- L (TKO6) vs. #12 Bermane Stiverne

Next Fight: Unknown

Arreola advised Boxingscene.com that he’s likely back in late January or February, and called out Antonio Tarver, as well.

14) Malik Scott (9-18)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- UD10 #16 Alex Leapai

Next Fight: Unknown

After an apparently dominant win over Leapai, Scott is probably back in the mix for some sort of big fight.

15) Erkan Teper (9-71)

Last Fight: 6/13/2014- RTD6 Newfel Ouatah (UNR)

Next Fight:Unknown

Teper will most likely fight France’s Johann Duhaupas at some point, but the fight has been postponed to a later date due to Teper having his appendix out.

16) Antonio Tarver (4-4)

Last Fight: 12/11/2014- TKO7 Johnathon Banks (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Tarver has recently challenged a comebacking David Haye.

17) Bryant Jennings (3-24)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- W* (SD12) vs. Mike Perez (UNR)

Next Fight: 4/25/2015- vs. Champ Wladimir Klitschko

Jennings has got his shot at Klitschko for April 25. Almost certanily too soon for him, given his mediocre last performance against Perez.

18) Artur Szpilka (3-9)

Last Fight: 11/8/2014- W (UD10) vs. #11 Tomasz Adamek

Next Fight: 1/31/2015- vs. Unknown Opponent

Szpilka returned to camp just a week after the Adamek fight, as he is planning a return for January 31 in Torun, Poland.

19) Mike Perez (3-24)

Last Fight: 7/26/2014- L* (SD12) vs. Bryant Jennings (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown

Perez looks like he’s on his way to a fight with Povetkin.

20) Alex Leapai (3-3)

Last Fight: 10/31/2014- L (UD10) vs. #20 Malik Scott

Next Fight: Unknown

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Friday

Charles Martin vs. Damon McCreary; Cabazon, California; Off TV

Martin is a rising prospect from St. Louis. McCreary has a decent enough record at 15-3, but it’s a very hollow 15-3. First, he’s really just a fattened-up super middleweight. He’s been in with Deontay Wilder and cruiserweight prospect Jordan Shimmell, but was blown out in 2 rounds by both. He did go the 6-round distance in an apparently competitive fight with unbeaten Ali Mansour, but Mansour hasn’t fought anyone before or since. At 41, he does have two decent wins in his career, but those were about 15 years ago and at light heavyweight or below. If Martin wants to make any kind of point with this fight, he’s gotta make a short night of it like Wilder and Shimmell did. Because of McCreary’s mediocrity, I am guessing this won’t make the ShoBox telecast.

Leave a comment »

Archive for the Heavyweight Category

Pages