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Super Middleweight: 2013, Nov 18-24

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , , on January 16, 2014 by danboxing
Champ Andre Ward successfully defended his title in dominant fashion on Saturday against #13 Edwin Rodriguez, who came in 2 pounds overweight, but failed to turn his size advantage into any kind of tangible results.  After a close first round, Ward reeled off 11 straight.  His jab, which he shot like a piston while darting in from angles, was consistently landing as if it was a lead right hand, instead.  The biggest single story of the fight, however, was an ugly episode in the fourth, in which Ward hit Rodriguez low, Rodriguez jerked his head down, got caught over the top in that clinch, and then threw about 5 punches after referee Jack Reiss had wrestled Ward away, one of which hit Reiss himself.  Reiss recommended fines for both fighters to the commission, and then deducted two points from each for intentional fouls.  Honestly, that may have been a bit harsh against Ward, whose foul or fouls was/were pretty ordinary in character.  But it did send a strong message, and the fight was much cleaner thereafter.  It had been extremely grabby and otherwise dirty before that.

 

A bit earlier in the night, #10 James DeGale mostly had his way with inactive fringe contender Dyah Davis in Bluewater, Kent.  DeGale- whose career has mostly been stalled in neutral while he wins in underwhelming fashion during recent fights- did have one lull mid-fight, but generally controlled it in every way for the majority of the duration.  Davis fell behind early, and didn’t really have the power to seriously challenge from that position.  I scored it 117-111, while all of the official judges had it a resaonable 118-110.

 

On the non-televised Ward-Rodriguez undercard, #5 Brandon Gonzales did little more than keep busy against undefeated but untested Arkansas prospect Jonathan Nelson, winning a comfortable 10-round decision.

 

Undefeated Russian Fedor Chudinov- brother of notable middleweight Dmitry- dominated light middleweight gatekeeper Jimmy Colas to a 10-round shutout in Podolsk, Russia on Friday.  Both guys were just short of top-50 status in this division going in, but I figure I should mention it since I teased it last week.  Chudinov will be a definite notable going forward.

 

Returning to Saturday, Argentine 154-pound gatekeeper Mateo Veron moved up all the way to 168 to defeat gatekeeper Ricardo Ramallo.  Well, not quite.  Veron weighed in at just 162, while Ramallo scaled 164.5.  It was a pretty wild, entertaining fight.  Veron’s technique has the relative length of Thomas Hearns, but wings punches from crazy angles with everything he has.  Ramallo likes to potshot from the outside, as well, but was more careful about picking his shots.  Nevertheless, Veron’s relentless motor allowed him to grind down the bigger man, even after absorbing a significant knockdown in the opening round.  Veron most likely evened things up with a dominant and punishing second round that didn’t feature a knockdown, but was probably 10-8 anyway.  He went on to win every round after that, and caught a fatigued-looking Ramallo with a crazy uppercut from way on the outside that landed right on the button.  This had to be one of the best fights in the division this year.

 

DeGale’s win gets him a promotion to #9, though he probably would have landed there anyway, since Sakio Bika’s best win in the previous five years exceeded that 5-year threshold this week and is thus no longer considered.  Accordingly, Bika falls from #9 to #11- his first time out of the top 10 in 40 weeks.  This allows Christopher Rebrasse to reprise his role as a top-10 fighter after just one week away.  None of the other fights leads to any change that shows up in the top 20.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (101-235-235)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #13 Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward says he would fight Golovkin or Hopkins, but seems to doubt that either of them wants to fight him.
1) Carl Froch (78-388-388)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #8 George Groves
Froch-Groves is set for November 23 in Manchester.
2) Robert Stieglitz (35-221-221)
Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Stieglitz and Abraham’s recent wins over mediocre competition sets them up for a likely trilogy battle in early 2014, which the WBO has now ordered.
3) Mikkel Kessler (49-467-467)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
After meeting with Kessler, his promoter says he won’t be fighting anytime soon, and Kessler hinted at possible retirement immediately after the Froch fight.  It’s not looking good for Kessler fans.
4) Arthur Abraham (27-213-213)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Abraham-Stieglitz III is being negotiated.
5) Brandon Gonzales (21-21-21)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD10 Jonathan Nelson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Gonzales will fight undefeated but untested prospect Jonathan Nelson on the Ward-Rodriguez undercard.
6) Thomas Oosthuizen (8-129-177)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. LHW #18 Eleider Alvarez (at LHW)
Oosthuizen barely survived an upset for the second fight in a row.  His promoter says it’s clear that he’s outgrown 168, so it’s very unlikely we’ll see him here again.  He had a pre-arranged fight set up with Eleider Alvarez at 175 at last check.
7) Ezequiel Maderna (2-2-47)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen
Next Fight: Unknown
I doubt he’ll get much love from the alphabets for his effort, but I think you could make a better case for him winning than losing against Oosthuizen, though I had it a draw personally.
8) George Groves (2-49-71)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- TKO5 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch
Groves and Froch will face off on November 23 in Manchester.
9) James DeGale (1-24-110)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
DeGale is agitating for a title fight after beating Davis, and thinks Froch and Groves are ducking him.
10) Christopher Rebrasse (1-1-24)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #10 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye
Next Fight: Unknown
Rebrasse’s unnecessary rematch with Ndiaye appears to have been cancelled. 
11) Sakio Bika (1-346)
Last Fight: 6/22/2013- MD12 Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Anthony Dirrell (UNR)
Bika will be fighting Anthony Dirrell on the Malignaggi-Judah undercard on December 7.
12) Maxim Vlasov (2-54)
Last Fight: 11/4/2013- TKO6 Artem Redko (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/5/2013- vs. Maxell Taylor (UNR)
Fresh off his win over Redko, Vlasov will go stateside and fight Baltimore journeyman Maxell Taylor in Orange County, California on Thursday, December 5.
13) Edwin Rodriguez (2-44)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez was overweight, dirty, and outclassed.  Not a good night.
 14) Andy Lee (8-27)
Last Fight: 5/15/2013- TKO1 Darryl Cunningham (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. Ferenc Hafner (UNR)
Lee now says he’s in talks to fight Macklin in March.
15) Ryoto Murata (8-13)
Last Fight: 8/25/2013- TKO2 #14 MW Akio Shibata
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Dave Peterson (UNR)
Murata is back in action on December 6 in Tokyo against unproven Minnesota prospect Dave Peterson.  He also recently signed with Top Rank, which gives hardcore US fans hope that we might see him eventually.  The next step after Peterson is probably a February fight in Macau.
16) Caleb Truax (8-22)
Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Derek Ennis (UNR)
Truax’s January 3 kickoff to 2014 will be on Friday Night Fights against Derek Ennis.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (8-38)
Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Glen Johnson (8-29)
Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Johnson needs to schedule a fight at 168 before mid-December to keep his ranking.
19) Badou Jack (8-18)
Last Fight: 9/12/2013- Draw (MD12) vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Jack will be back in action against an opponent to be announced on a December 6 ShoBox telecast.
20) Don Mouton (8-8)
Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: #1 Carl Froch takes on #8 George Groves in what will be a huge event in England on Saturday.

 

On the undercard, Andy Lee gets a stay-busy outing against low-level Hungarian journeyman Ferenc Hafner.

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Super Middleweight: 2013, Nov 11-17

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2014 by danboxing
#11 Maxim Vlasov dominated and stopped low-level Ukrainian journeyman Artem Redko on Monday, in a rematch of a fairly interesting 6-round scrap they had in 2006.  Coincidentally, this fight ended in 6, as well, but with a TKO late in that round.

 

Fast-forwarding to Saturday, #6 Thomas Oosthuizen had his hands full for the second fight in a row, this time against one-loss Argentine prospect, #13 Ezequiel Maderna, at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa.  Just as in his last fight with Brandon Gonzales, he got a little bit of luck on the cards.  I had it all even at 114-114, even after scoring the first 4 in a sweep for Oosthuizen, though the first three at least were toss-ups.  Maderna dominated the middle rounds, earning a sweep from rounds 5-9 on my card to lead by a point.  Oosthuizen appeared to edge the 10th, having gotten his second wind, and easily won the 11th before Maderna reasserted himself to conclusively capture the 12th.  In fairness to Oosthuizen, he was dealing with a cut that appeared to be a threat to stop the fight at any time after the 5th or 6th when it happened.

 

 I counted no less than 6 toss-up rounds in the fight, and while I think Maderna, if anyone, deserved the edge, Oosthuizen’s win wasn’t fundamentally unfair.  England’s Dave Parris (whom I’m seldom a fan of) actually had the best card at 114-114.  Stanley Christodoulou, the aging hall of fame ref/judge, who appears to be losing his ability if recent performances are any measure, apparently gave Oosthuizen all the close rounds to arrive at 116-112.  Canadian judge Benoit Roussel turned in a rather indefensible 117-111 in favor of Oosthuizen.  Since the fight obviously could have gone either way, I will treat Oosthuizen as the winner in deference to the official scores, but, appropriately, I think, by only the narrowest of margins.

 

For ratings purposes, the fight will have an effect similar to a draw.  Maderna, as a result, is really the big winner.  Oosthuizen stands pat at #6, while Maderna moves up to meet him at #7.  This forces everyone ranked #7-12 last week down one place each, and causes Christopher Rebrasse to slip from the top 10 for the first time in 6 weeks.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (100-234-234)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. #13 Edwin Rodriguez
Ward has finally secured an opponent for his November 16 return: two-division fringe contender Edwin Rodriguez.
1) Carl Froch (77-387-387)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #7 George Groves
Froch-Groves is set for November 23 in Manchester.
2) Robert Stieglitz (34-220-220)
Last Fight: 10/19/2013- UD12 Isaac Ekpo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Stieglitz and Abraham’s recent wins over mediocre competition sets them up for a likely trilogy battle in early 2014, which the WBO has now ordered.
3) Mikkel Kessler (48-466-466)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
Froch is interested in a trilogy on neutral ground, perhaps even more so than a Ward rematch.  But it’s not even clear that Kessler will fight again, after saying pre-fight he might retire.
4) Arthur Abraham (26-212-212)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Abraham-Stieglitz III is being negotiated.
5) Brandon Gonzales (20-20-20)
Last Fight: 6/29/2013- D* vs. #5 Thomas Oosthuizen
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Jonathan Nelson (UNR)
Gonzales will fight undefeated but untested prospect Jonathan Nelson on the Ward-Rodriguez undercard.
6) Thomas Oosthuizen (7-128-176)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- W* (MD12) vs. #13 Ezequiel Maderna
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. LHW #18 Eleider Alvarez (at LHW)
Oosthuizen barely survived an upset for the second fight in a row.  His promoter says it’s clear that he’s outgrown 168, so it’s very unlikely we’ll see him here again.  He had a pre-arranged fight set up with Eleider Alvarez at 175 at last check.
7) Ezequiel Maderna (1-1-46)
Last Fight: 11/9/2013- L* (MD12) vs. #6 Thomas Oosthuizen
Next Fight: Unknown
I doubt he’ll get much love from the alphabets for his effort, but I think you could make a better case for him winning than losing against Oosthuizen, though I had it a draw personally.

8) George Groves (1-48-70)

Last Fight: 5/25/2013- TKO5 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/23/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch
Groves and Froch will face off on November 23 in Manchester.
9) Sakio Bika (1-39-345)
Last Fight: 6/22/2013- MD12 Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Anthony Dirrell (UNR)
Bika will be fighting Anthony Dirrell on the Malignaggi-Judah undercard on December 7.
10) James DeGale (1-23-109)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- RTD4 Stjepan Bozic (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Dyah Davis (UNR)
DeGale will return to action in Bluewater, Kent on November 16.  He’ll be up against a good measuring stick in Dyah Davis.
11) Christopher Rebrasse (1-23)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- Robbery Draw (W) vs. #10 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye
Next Fight: Unknown
Rebrasse’s unnecessary rematch with Ndiaye appears to have been cancelled. 
12) Maxim Vlasov (1-53)
Last Fight: 11/4/2013- TKO6 Artem Redko (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/5/2013- vs. Maxell Taylor (UNR)
Fresh off his win over Redko, Vlasov will go stateside and fight Baltimore journeyman Maxell Taylor in Orange County, California on Thursday, December 5.
13) Edwin Rodriguez (1-43)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- TKO1 #16 LHW Denis Grachev (at LHW)
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward
Rodriguez will get a shot at reigning two-division Champion Andre Ward in mid-November, after a drama-filled negotiation.
 
14) Andy Lee (7-26)
Last Fight: 5/15/2013- TKO1 Darryl Cunningham (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Lee now says he’s in talks to fight Macklin in March.
15) Ryoto Murata (7-12)
Last Fight: 8/25/2013- TKO2 #14 MW Akio Shibata
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Dave Peterson (UNR)
Murata is back in action on December 6 in Tokyo against unproven Minnesota prospect Dave Peterson.  He also recently signed with Top Rank, which gives hardcore US fans hope that we might see him eventually.
16) Caleb Truax (7-21)
Last Fight: 9/21/2013- TKO4 Ceresso Fort (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: 1/3/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Truax looks to get off to a fast start in 2014, likely participating in the first notable fight of the year in Minneapolis.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (7-37)
Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Glen Johnson (7-28)
Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Johnson needs to schedule a fight at 168 before mid-December to keep his ranking.
19) Badou Jack (7-17)
Last Fight: 9/12/2013- Draw (MD12) vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Jack will be back in action against an opponent to be announced on a December 6 ShoBox telecast.
20) Don Mouton (7-7)
Last Fight: 5/13/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: Undefeated Russian Fedor Chudinov (brother of Middleweight notable Dmitry) takes a step up in competition against gatekeeper Jimmy Colas.  It should be noted that Colas is moving up two divisions from his normal 154.  Even so, he’s a borderline top 50 fighter in the very shallow 168 pound ranks.  That’s Friday in Barnaul, Russia.

 

The next night is a busy one.  Champion Andre Ward defends his titles against #13 Edwin Rodriguez in Ontario, California.  

 

On the undercard, #5 Brandon Gonzales battles undefeated but untested prospect Jonathan Nelson of Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

Back to the theme of 154 pounders moving up to super middle, Mateo Veron of Argentina takes a trip up in weight to take on the bigger Ricardo Ramallo, a top 50 operator at 168.  Very interesting tilt.

 

A little earlier that night, in a pretty good test given his recent performances, #10 James DeGale takes on the serviceable but inactive Dyah Davis, who is roughly a top-20-level guy when he’s active, in Bluewater, Kent.

 

This is more of a note for myself than anything else, but Sakio Bika is likely to fall in the rankings next week, as his best win of the last 5 years will be more than 5 years old this time next week.

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Super Middleweight: 2013, Jun 3-9

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on June 6, 2013 by danboxing
No action to report in the division from last week, but #15 Dyah Davis last fought on June 2, 2012, has nothing scheduled, and is therefore removed for inactivity.  Alexander Brand, Stanislav Kashtanov, and Brian Magee are all practically tied for the vacant #20 spot, but I give it to Magee simply because he has two wins of some consequence as opposed to just one for everyone else.  He also has 2 relevant losses, but both of them came against #3 contenders, and thus hardly hurt him for top 20 consideration.  If you needed any more evidence that this division is regressing overall, consider that Dyah Davis was ebbing and flowing in and out of the rankings at one point, and now is being removed from the #15 spot after doing nothing but losing and being inactive since. 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (77-211-211)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
It sounds like both sides are interested in a Froch rematch.  There was no controversy the first time, but the Brit has definitely earned it since.
1) Carl Froch (54-364-364)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: Unknown
See Ward’s notes, above.
2) Robert Stieglitz (11-197-197)
Last Fight: 3/23/2013- TKO3 #2 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: Unknown
Stieglitz has signed a TV deal with SAT1, which due to a conflict with Abraham’s ARD contract makes a once-likely trilogy bout appear unlikely for the near future.
3) Mikkel Kessler (25-443-443)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #1 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
Froch is interested in a trilogy on neutral ground, perhaps even more so than a Ward rematch.  But it’s not even clear that Kessler will fight again, after saying pre-fight he might retire.
4) Arthur Abraham (3-189-189)
Last Fight: 3/23/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Robert Stieglitz
Next Fight: 8/24/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Abraham will likely be back on August 24, against an opponent to be determined.
5) Thomas Oosthuizen (3-105-153)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. Brandon Gonzales (UNR)
Oosthuizen will be fighting highly overrated and nominally “undefeated ” prospect Brandon Gonzales on the Golovkin-Macklin undercard.
6) Adonis Stevenson (3-78-78)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO6 Darnell Boone (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. LHW #1 Chad Dawson (at LHW)
After tending to unfinished business with the lowly Boone, Stevenson will now set sites on #1 light heavyweight Chad Dawson, who most outlets still consider the Champ.
7) George Groves (3-25-47)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- TKO5 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Groves is pressuring Froch to fight him.
8) Sakio Bika (3-16-322)
Last Fight: 2/16/2013- UD12 Nikola Sjekloca (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/22/2013- vs. Marco Antonio Periban (UNR)
Bika will fight undefeated Mexican Marco Antonio Periban in California on June 22 for the WBC belt that that organization just heisted from Andre Ward.
9) Will Rosinsky (3-5-51)
Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: 6/29/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Rosinsky has been added to the Golovkin-Macklin undercard, but no opponent yet.
10) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (3-3-82)
Last Fight: 3/23/2013- W (PTS6) vs. Jevgenijs Andrejevs (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Christopher Rebrasse (UNR)
Ndiaye battles French gatekeeper Christopher Rebrasse on June 8 in Italy.
11) James DeGale (3-86)
Last Fight: 5/17/2013- KO2 Sebastian Demers (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Stjepan Bozic (UNR)
DeGale is taking a page from the book of rival George Groves in terms of activity, taking on at least an arguably top 50 opponent just 3 weeks after handling Demers in Canada.
12) Maxim Vlasov (3-30)
Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
13) Edwin Rodriguez (3-20)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- W* (UD10) vs. #15 Ezequiel Maderna
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. #14 LHW Denis Grachev (at LHW)
After getting the benefit of yet another questionable but not totally out-of-bounds decision against Maderna, Rodriguez remains in the mix, but kinda on the periphery of the division’s contenders.  He gets a chance at a million bucks against Grachev, who also arguably deserved to lose his first round fight.
14) Ezequiel Maderna (3-23)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- L* (UD10) vs. #17 Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown
Maderna, despite arguably deserving a win against Rodriguez, did himself few favors in dropping the decision, especially considering how ugly the fight was.  I don’t imagine he’ll be getting too many international suitors anytime soon since he seems difficult to look good against.
15) Don George (1-11)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- Draw* (SD10) vs. David Lopez (should be win)
Next Fight: 6/21/2013- vs. Caleb Truax (UNR)
Another reasonably decent challenge for George, as he travvels to Caleb Truax’s hometown of Minneapolis for their fight.
16) Andy Lee (1-3)
Last Fight: 5/15/2013- TKO1 Darryl Cunningham (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Yes, I know.  Andy Lee is not a Super Middleweight.  The only problem is he almost exclusively fights as one, if only barely.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (1-14)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- UD10 Cedric Bellais (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/22/2013- vs. Giovanni De Carolis (UNR)
Mohoumadi gets a halfway decent outing on June 22 against borderline top 50 Italian Giovanni De Carolis, for the European Union title.
18) Glen Johnson (1-5)
Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Johnson should be retired, but instead finds himself clinging to a ranking in a very shallow division.
19) Don Mouton (1-3)
Last Fight: 5/3/2013- L* (UD8) vs. #10 Anthony Dirrell (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Mouton deserved to beat Dirrell, whom he also spotted nearly a full weight class.  Mouton was also a short-notice opponent.
20) Brian Magee (1-1)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. L (TKO3) vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: One-loss Philly prospect Farah Ennis gets us started on the Friday Night Fights undercard in Shelton, Washington against journeyman Anthony Hanshaw.

 

Saturday features a couple pretty solid fights, as well.  The first is in Brindisi, Italy, where #10 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye of Italy by way of Senegal takes on French gatekeeper Christopher Rebrasse for the EBU European belt.

 

The same night in Bluewater, Kent, #11 James DeGale takes on Slovenian-born Croatian borderline journeyman/gatekeeper Stjepan Bozic. 

 

#6 Adonis Stevenson is in action against Chad Dawson, but that is at light heavyweight and will be detailed there.

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Super Middleweight: 2013, Feb 25- Mar 3

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on March 2, 2013 by danboxing
Last week’s #18 Jesus Gonzales has not fought in more than a year, and seemingly has no fight scheduled now that his oft-delayed date with Albert Onolunose has apparently been nixed permanently.  Accordingly, he is removed for inactivity.  #19 Maxim Vlasov and #20 Edwin Rodriguez each see an uptick in their rankings due to the change, and Dyah Davis returns to the ranks for the first time in a bit over a year, narrowly beating out Hadillah Mohoumadi and Glen Johnson for the honor.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (63-197-197)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward’s done with surgery, and is likely out until at least the Summer.
1) Carl Froch (40-350-350)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- KO3 LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Mikkel Kessler
The deal is done.  Froch will get a rematch with Kessler on May 25 in London.
2) Arthur Abraham (11-175-175)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- TKO8 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- vs. #5 Robert Stieglitz
Abraham will rematch Stieglitz on March 23 in Stieglitz’s hometown of Magdeburg.
3) Mikkel Kessler (11-429-429)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO3 Brian Magee (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Carl Froch
See Froch’s notes, above.
4) Lucian Bute (27-359-359)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 LHW #16 Denis Grachev (at LHW)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bute appeared to be in line for Bika, and that may still be so, but apparently he has already agreed to fight Jean Pascal.  Both men have good opportunities in front of them already, so we’ll see if this fight will get in the way.
5) Robert Stieglitz (27-183-183)
Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- #2 Arthur Abraham
See Abraham’s notes, above.
6) Thomas Oosthuizen (27-91-139)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Oosthuizen was supposed to be fighting this weekend, but no opponent was ever named, and the fight seems to have quietly vacated the schedule.
7) Adonis Stevenson (20-64-64)
Last Fight: 10/12/2012- TKO12 Don George (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Darnell Boone (UNR)
With his hopes of fighting Carl Froch dashed for the moment, Stevenson will tend to some unfinished business when he tries to avenge his 2010 stoppage loss to Darnell Boone on March 22 in Montreal.
8) George Groves (6-11-33)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- UD12 Glen Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #14 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye
Ndiaye-Groves now has a date.  March 16, as part of what’s shaping up to be a Frank Warren megacard at Wembley Arena in London.
9) Karoly Balzsay (6-31-45)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison
Next Fight: Unknown
Balzsay suffered a back injury way back in August, but I don’t know if that remains a factor as to why he hasn’t scheduled a fight since then.  More likely, his ties to practically defunct promotional company Universum are the primary reason.
10) Sakio Bika (2-2-308)
Last Fight: 2/16/2013- UD12 Nikola Sjekloca (UNR)

Next Fight: Unknown
Bika did as expected and outclassed Sjekloca, and now has a fight with Bute (possibly) on the horizon, with an upside of a theoretical rematch with Andre Ward.
11) Andy Lee (2-103)
Last Fight: 2/9/2013- W(PTS10) vs. Anthony Fitzgerald (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Having not fought in anything truly resembling a super middleweight fight since March 10, Lee will be subject to removal if he hasn’t scheduled a relevant fight by that date.
12) Anthony Dirrell (6-65)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After his motorcycle crash, Anthony Dirrell was said to be out until at least November.  November has come and gone, and not a peep.  As for his ranking, I will now commit to not remove him until at least June 2, 2013 due to his very serious injury situation.
13) Will Rosinsky (6-37)
Last Fight: 12/19/2012- UD10 Otis Griffin (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Rosinsky was cut and also outmuscled for much of his fight with Griffin, but managed to cobble together enough rounds to eek out a decision.  He admitted after the fight that he’s too small for light heavyweight, and pledged to return here or, possibly, even drop down to 160.
14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (6-68)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. #8 George Groves
Ndiaye-Groves is set for March 16 in London.
15) Dimitri Sartison (6-139)
Last Fight: 1/27/2013- UD6 Artem Solomko (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison appeared to have a fight scheduled for 3/9, but it’s no longer showing up on boxrec.
16) James DeGale (6-72)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- UD12 Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/23/2013- vs. Pablo Farias (UNR)
DeGale takes on 2-loss Argentine prospect Pablo Farias in Bluewater, England on March 23.
17) Ezequiel Maderna (6-9)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- RTD7 Claudio Abalos
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #19 Edwin Rodriguez
Maderna gets the first real international break of his career on March 30, when he fights fellow up-and-coming prospect Edwin Rodriguez of Massachusetts by way of the Dominican Republic, with the winner to fight the winner of Erdei-Grachev.  I actually can’t find it anywhere, but the fact that Grachev and especially Erdei are light heavyweights typically would seem to indicate that Maderna-Rodriguez might be at that weight, too.
18) Maxim Vlasov (1-16)
Last Fight: 12/30/2012- RTD7 Geard Ajetovic (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/6/2013- vs. Ruben Acosta (UNR)
Vlasov has been keeping busy against basically a good journeyman level of opposition, and continues that trend by taking on Argentina’s Ruben Acosta in Russia.
19) Edwin Rodriguez (1-6)
Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #17 Ezequiel Maderna
See Maderna’s notes, above.
20) Dyah Davis (1-1)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- L (TKO10) vs. #9 Sakio Bika
Next Fight: Unknown
Davis backs into the #20 spot, having lost his last fight and not having fought at all since early June.

 

The Week Ahead: No action to report this week.

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Super Middleweight: 2012, Oct 8-14

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on October 9, 2012 by danboxing
Two-loss Cameroonian prospect Serge Yannick decisioned high-level Australian journeyman Nader Hamdan over 10 rounds in Ardeer, Australia on Friday.  The fight was technically for the Australian title.  I’m not sure I’m on board with that.  The best two Super Middleweights listed by Boxrec as being Australian are Bika and Yannick, both of whom were born in Cameroon and represented that country in international competition as amateurs.  Maybe they’re both Australian citizens now, but I have trouble calling a guy an Australian fighter when he literally just moved there to further his boxing career.  Bika has even relocated to the US. 

 

Last week’s #16 Bryan Vera is removed this week because he has fought exclusively under the middleweight limit for the past year.  With nobody really knocking on the door too hard, Dyah Davis is able to slip into the rankings at #20.  It’s kind of an interesting phenomenon.  I had rated Davis at light heavyweight at one point due to his tendency to fight at contract weights over the 168 limit, but I was surprised just now to learn that even while he was outfighting Francisco Sierra and dominating Alfonso Lopez, I never managed to fit him into my rankings here.  But now that his prestige has taken a hit with his comprehensive loss to Bika, he manages to back in to the thinning ranks.  Very interesting.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (43-177-177)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward has floated Andre Dirrell and Kelly Pavlik as possible opponents.
1) Carl Froch (20-330-330)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- TKO5 #1 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: 11/17/2012- vs. LHW #11 Yusaf Mack
After the negotiations initially appeared to have failed, Froch eventually secured a fight with Yusaf Mack, afterall.
2) Arthur Abraham (7-155-155)
Last Fight: 8/25/2012- UD12 #4 Robert Stieglitz
Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Abraham will make a fairly weak follow-up to his big win over Stieglitz.  His opponent is Mehdi Bouadla, who made a brave stand against Kessler before getting stopped fairly early in their 2011 fight.  Since then, Bouadla- essentially a journeyman- has been fighting exclusively nobodies, mostly at middleweight, since the Kessler fight.
3) Mikkel Kessler (7-409-409)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- KO5 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Brian Magee (UNR)
Kessler fights fringe contender Brian Magee in Herning, Denmark on December 8.
4) Lucian Bute (7-339-339)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- L(TKO5) vs. #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: 11/3/2012- vs. LHW #15 Denis Grachev (at LHW)
Bute will exercise his rematch clause to fight Froch in March, but will be fighting an interim fight in November against otherwise mediocre but hard-hitting light heavyweight Denis Grachev.
5) Robert Stieglitz (7-163-163)
Last Fight: 8/25/2012- L(UD12) vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Next Fight: Unknown
Stieglitz was somewhat busted up in the tough Abraham fight, and so I expect him to take a few months off at least.
6) Thomas Oosthuizen (7-71-119)
Last Fight: 8/2/2012- UD12 Rowland Bryant (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/10/2012- vs. Fulgencio Zuniga (UNR)
Oosthuizen will fight Colombia’s Fulgencio Zuniga in South Africa on November 10.
7) Kelly Pavlik (14-14-14)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- UD10 #12 Will Rosinsky
Next Fight: Unknown
Pavlik at this point appears to be Ward’s most likely next opponent.
8) Adonis Stevenson (14-44-44)
Last Fight: 4/20/2012- TKO2 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: 10/12/2012- vs. Don George (UNR)
Stevenson’s ill-fated fight with Don George has been rescheduled for October 12, in Montreal.
9) Sakio Bika (11-43-288)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
10) Karoly Balzsay (11-11-25)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison
Next Fight: Unknown
Balzsay pulled out of a scheduled alphabet title defense with fringe contender Brian Magee with a back injury.
11) Andy Lee (14-83)
Last Fight: 6/16/2012- L(TKO7) vs. MW#? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW)
Next Fight: Unknown
12) Anthony Dirrell (11-45)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Dirrell had been all set for a somewhat goofy vacant title opportunity against the underwhelming Nikola Sjekloca, but Dirrell crashed his motorcycle, breaking an arm and leg.  He’s expected to be out of action until approximately November at the earliest.
13) Will Rosinsky (11-17)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- L(UD10) vs. Kelly Pavlik (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (11-48)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
15) Dimitri Sartison (11-119)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- L(TKO12) vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison has been medically cleared following his third knee surgery, and is looking to return in December.
16) Jesus Gonzales (1-66)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: 11/9/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Gonzales will return from 9-month layoff in Calgary this November.  No opponent yet, but since it’s taking place in a nightclub, I can only assume it won’t be anyone spectacular.
17) James DeGale (1-52)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO4 Cristian Sanavia (UNR)
Next Fight: 10/13/2012- vs. Hadillah Mohoumadi (UNR)
DeGale will have his first fight under promotion of Mick Hennessey when he takes on 2-loss French fringe prospect Hadillah Mohoumadi in England on October 13.
18) George Groves (1-13)
Last Fight: 7/28/2012- TKO6 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/15/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Groves will be back in the ring on December 15, with opponent TBA.
19) Edwin Rodriguez (1-11)
Last Fight: 9/29/2012- TKO8 Jason Escalera (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez is now fighting with Andre Ward………for a chance to fight Kelly Pavlik next.  Just keeping you on your toes.
20) Dyah Davis (1-1)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- L(TKO10) vs. #9 Sakio Bika
Next Fight: Unknown
 

 

The Week Ahead: Friday in Montreal, #8 Adonis Stevenson returns from injury to face Chicago fringe contender Don George, whom he was supposed to fight originally back in August.  Both guys are known for their one-punch power, so it should be a fun fight.

 

Saturday, #18 James DeGale takes on French gatekeeper Hadillah Mohoumadi in Bluewater, England.  In Newark, New Jersey.  Boxrec has the fight between Ghanaian gatekeeper Ossie Duran and American journeyman Joshua Snyder- both usually middleweights- listed as a super middleweight fight, as well.  It could be that it’s at a contract weight of about 161 or something.  I’ll discuss it here next week only if it seems relevant in retrospect.

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Super Middleweight: 2012, Jun 4-10

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on June 16, 2012 by danboxing
#9 Sakio Bika was sensational on Saturday, dominating a pretty good fighter in Dyah Davis before stopping the overmatched fringe contender in the 10th and final round.    In other action, fringe contender Francisco Sierra, who got the benefit of a controversial draw with Davis last year, won a 6-round decision over undefeated local prospect Rogelio Ruvalcaba in Tijuana.

 

Bika’s lack of recent success against good competition prior to last week renders him unable to advance, as he stands pat at #9, and there are no changes to the rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (25-159-159)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Ward and Dawson are now set to make history in September.  As far as I know, this may be the first time in history a reigning champion has challenged for a championship at a lower weight.  Since Dawson and Ward will be fighting at or below both the Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight limits, both Championships will be on the line as far as I’m concerned.
1) Carl Froch (2-312-312)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- TKO5 #1 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
The two most likely fights for Froch at this point appear to be the contractually required rematch with Bute (if Bute wants it) or Kessler (if not).  Could a third consecutive #1 vs. #2 matchup in this division be too much to ask for?
2) Mikkel Kessler (2-391-391)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- KO5 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Kessler would have been subject to removal next week, but the fact that he weighed less than 2 pounds over the 168 limit for the Green fight gives him an extra 6 months to schedule a super middleweight fight based on prior precedent.
3) Lucian Bute (2-321-321)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- L(TKO5) vs. #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute appears uncertain as to whether he’ll exercise his right to a home-field rematch against Froch.  It sounds like he’ll fight someone else first, even if so.
4) Robert Stieglitz (25-145-145)
Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD12 Nader Hamdan (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/25/2012- vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Stieglitz vs. Abraham is official- August 25 in Berlin.
5) Thomas Oosthuizen (25-53-101)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- UD10 Marcus Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/3/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
In the wake of Oosthuizen’s victory over Johnson, Adonis Stevenson has expressed interest in fighting him.
6) Arthur Abraham (25-137-137)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- UD12 Piotr Wilczewski (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/25/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz
See Stieglitz’s notes, above.
7) Adonis Stevenson (16-26-26)
Last Fight: 4/20/2012- TKO2 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
DeGale, Oosthuizen, and Edwin Rodriguez have all turned down fights with Stevenson.  Now Kelly Pavlik is the next in line, and we’re awaiting his answer.
8) Peter Quillin (7-58-58)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD10 Winky Wright (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: Unknown
On July 23, it will have been a year since his last fight over the 160 pound limit.
9) Sakio Bika (7-25-270)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO10 Dyah Davis (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bika proved against Dyah Davis that he hasn’t lost much during his long period of high-level inactivity.
10) Andy Lee (7-7-65)
Last Fight: 3/10/2012- TKO2 Saul Duran (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/16/2012- vs. MW #? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW)
Lee gets the fight he’s been waiting for, against the best opponent of his career in Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.  The fight will be in El Paso in mid-June.
11) Karoly Balzsay (7-7)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison
Next Fight: Unknown
Balzsay has been ordered to defend against fringe contender Brian Magee before the end of July.  Magee’s team won the purse bid, and the fight will likely take place in Belfast as a result.
12) Anthony Dirrell (25-27)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Dirrell had been all set for a somewhat goofy vacant title opportunity against the underwhelming Nikola Sjekloca, but Dirrell crashed his motorcycle, breaking an arm and leg.  He’s expected to be out of action until approximately November at the earliest.
13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (25-30)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Glen Johnson (25-83)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: 7/13/2012- vs. Andrzej Fonfara (UNR)
Johnson will now be in a clear gatekeeper role for the first time since he knocked out Yusaf Mack in 2009 when he takes on Polish steroid user/prospect Andrzej Fonfara on Friday Night Fights on July 13- apparently at Light Heavyweight.
15) Dimitri Sartison (7-101)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- L(TKO12) vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison unfortunately underwent another knee surgery following his loss to Balzsay, and will be out until at least October.  It’s looking more and more likely that he’ll never be the same fighter.
16) Bryan Vera (7-70)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD8 Taronze Washington (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: Unknown
17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (25-57)
Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/14/2012- vs. Will Rosinsky (UNR)
An intriguing fight on tap for the 14th: a battle of two guys that probably deserved, but did not receive, decision wins over Edwin Rodriguez, as Pryor fights Will Rosinsky in New York.
18) Jesus Gonzales (25-48)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
19) James DeGale (25-34)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO4 Cristian Sanavia (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Easy pickings for a European defense against the faded Sanavia.
20) George Groves (25-25)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Groves (or in this case, his promoter) has once again scuttled a fight, and for the second time in the last three, the victim is domestic rival Kenny Anderson.

 

The Week Ahead: One fight of note this week: former Middleweight Champ Kelly Pavlik takes on a likely overmatched opponent in journeyman Scott Sigmon in the Friday Night Fights main event from Vegas.

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Super Middleweight: 2012, May 28- Jun 3

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on June 3, 2012 by danboxing
It’s not a shock that Carl Froch won this weekend, though he was the underdog to the apparently more dynamic if less-tested Lucian Bute even in his own hometown.  What was a shock was how thoroughly the destroyed the Romanian contender.  After a fairly tactical, pretty even first round, Froch took over.  He blasted Bute after backing him to the ropes time and time again.  Bute was seemingly badly hurt for what felt like the majority of the fight, and finally the ref mercifully stopped it with encouragement from Bute’s corner after Froch had pummeled the helpless Canadian resident to a technical knockdown on the ropes in the 5th.

 

Bute had been the subject of a great deal of speculation as to how he would have fared had he been included in the Super Six.  For what it’s worth, had this fight been included in the tournament, it would have been the tournament’s most lopsided mismatch.  It remains to be seen whether Bute will dare exercise his contractual option of a Quebec rematch.

 

Undefeated Argentine prospect Ezequiel Maderna reinforced his comfortable decision win from last year over countryman and gatekeeper Ruben Acosta with a 12-round decision on Saturday.  In Italy earlier in the night, #13 Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye beat Spaniard Jose Maria Guerrero when the Spanish journeyman retired in his corner after the 9th round.

 

Speaking of Italy, there was a fight there on Friday, as well.  Ndiaye’s most recent prior victim, prospect Andrea Di Luisa, won by DQ in the 4th round over journeyman Luciano Lombardi for the Italian title.

 

As for the rankings, Froch ascends to the #1 contender position he so emphatically removed Bute from.  Bute drops to #3, behind new #2 Mikkel Kessler, who picked up a tossup-type decision over Froch during a Super Six fight in Kessler’s back yard a couple years ago.  No other changes.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (24-158-158)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. LHW Champ Chad Dawson
Ward and Dawson are now set to make history in September.  As far as I know, this may be the first time in history a reigning champion has challenged for a championship at a lower weight.  Since Dawson and Ward will be fighting at or below both the Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight limits, both Championships will be on the line as far as I’m concerned.
1) Carl Froch (1-311-311)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- TKO5 #1 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
The two most likely fights for Froch at this point appear to be the contractually required rematch with Bute (if Bute wants it) or Kessler (if not).  Could a third consecutive #1 vs. #2 matchup in this division be too much to ask for?
2) Mikkel Kessler (1-390-390)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- KO5 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Kessler said recently that he is willing to fight Ward next, or Froch- even in England.
3) Lucian Bute (1-320-320)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- L(TKO5) vs. #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute appears uncertain as to whether he’ll exercise his right to a home-field rematch against Froch.  It sounds like he’ll fight someone else first, even if so.
4) Robert Stieglitz (24-144-144)
Last Fight: 5/5/2012- UD12 Nader Hamdan (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/25/2012- vs. #6 Arthur Abraham
Stieglitz vs. Abraham is official- August 25 in Berlin.
5) Thomas Oosthuizen (24-52-100)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- UD10 Marcus Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
In the wake of Oosthuizen’s victory over Johnson, Adonis Stevenson has expressed interest in fighting him.
6) Arthur Abraham (24-136-136)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- UD12 Piotr Wilczewski (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/25/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz
See Stieglitz’s notes, above.
7) Adonis Stevenson (15-25-25)
Last Fight: 4/20/2012- TKO2 Noe Gonzalez (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Even as he appears in line for a completely ridiculous and likely very easy WBC title shot against Nikola Sjekloca, the IBF just ordered a fight for that title between him and Edwin Rodriguez.  But didn’t Carl Froch just win that title?  Who knows anymore…
8) Peter Quillin (6-57-57)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Winky Wright (UNR) (at MW?)
After it originally appeared a no-go, Quillin’s proposed fight with inactive former champ Winky Wright is now on for the Tarver-Kayode undercard on Showtime.
9) Sakio Bika (6-24-269)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- RTD3 Alfredo Contreras (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Dyah Davis (UNR)
Bika’s manager finally deserves credit.  After spending the last few years fighting either nearly unbeatable world-beaters like Andre Ward and rank journeyman like Alfredo Contreras, Bika finally takes a middle road by signing on to fight steady fringe contender Dyah Davis on the Tarver-Kayode undercard.
10) Andy Lee (6-6-64)
Last Fight: 3/10/2012- TKO2 Saul Duran (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/16/2012- vs. MW #? Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (at MW)
Lee gets the fight he’s been waiting for, against the best opponent of his career in Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.  The fight will be in El Paso in mid-June.
11) Karoly Balzsay (6-6)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO12 #8 Dimitri Sartison
Next Fight: Unknown
Balzsay has been ordered to defend against fringe contender Brian Magee before the end of July.  Magee’s team won the purse bid, and the fight will likely take place in Belfast as a result.
12) Anthony Dirrell (24-26)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Dirrell had been all set for a somewhat goofy vacant title opportunity against the underwhelming Nikola Sjekloca, but Dirrell crashed his motorcycle, breaking an arm and leg.  He’s expected to be out of action until approximately November at the earliest.
13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (24-29)
Last Fight: 5/26/2012- RTD9 Jose Maria Guerrero (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Glen Johnson (24-82)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: 7/13/2012- vs. Andrzej Fonfara (UNR)
Johnson will now be in a clear gatekeeper role for the first time since he knocked out Yusaf Mack in 2009 when he takes on Polish steroid user/prospect Andrzej Fonfara on Friday Night Fights on July 13- apparently at Light Heavyweight.
15) Dimitri Sartison (6-100)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- L(TKO12) vs. Karoly Balzsay (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison unfortunately underwent another knee surgery following his loss to Balzsay, and will be out until at least October.  It’s looking more and more likely that he’ll never be the same fighter.
16) Bryan Vera (6-69)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD8 Taronze Washington (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Vera will fight no-name journeyman Taronze Washignton on April 21.
17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (24-56)
Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Well, it’s clear that he can’t play with at least one of the big boys.  Every division needs fringe contenders, though, and that looks like Pryor’s lane for the time being.
18) Jesus Gonzales (24-47)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L(KO1) vs. #9 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
19) James DeGale (24-33)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- TKO4 Cristian Sanavia (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Easy pickings for a European defense against the faded Sanavia.
20) George Groves (24-24)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/30/2012- vs. Kenny Anderson (UNR)
Groves is once again scheduled for a rematch against Kenny Anderson- a fight which he backed out of on fight week last time around.

 

The Week Ahead: Two notable fights on Saturday:

 

In Tijuana, gatekeeper Francisco Sierra takes on journeyman Rogelio Ruvalcaba.

 

On the Tarver-Kayode undercard in Carson, California, #9 Sakio Bika returns to meaningful competition when he takes on fringe contender Dyah Davis.  This fight will most likely be featured on the Showtime Extreme undercard.

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Super Middleweight: 2012, Jan 9-15

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on May 24, 2012 by danboxing
Dyah Davis won a pretty dominant (if rather boring) 10-round decision over Alfonso Lopez on Friday Night Fights this weekend.  Joe and Teddy were content to focus on the boring part, and so the fact that Davis showed a ton of skill in completely owning a guy that all but beat Kelly Pavlik not too long ago was largely lost.  Davis’s win moved him up the ranks enough to where, a couple months ago, he likely would have claimed a ranking.  Unfortunately for him, the top 20 has heated up enough recently that some of the guys that were ranked a while ago are barely in the top 25 today.  No changes to the rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (4-138-138)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
A little bit of a disappointing batch of initial rhetoric coming out of the Ward camp.  While Bute says he is willing to travel to Oakland to fight Ward, Ward himself seems more interested in Kessler.  Normally I wouldn’t knock a Champ-#3 contender matchup, but we’ve already got that one figured out.  He’s also said he’s willing to fight J.C. Chavez in Mexico.
1) Lucian Bute (4-300-300)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: Unknown
After initially saying he’d go to Oakland to fight Ward, and after Ward gave a tepid reaction to the idea, Bute is now apparently in serious discussions to fight a 2-fight series with Froch.  One in Montreal, one in Nottingham.  Reportedly the deal is almost done, with dates being 4/14 and 8/4.
2) Carl Froch (4-291-291)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
See Bute’s notes, above.
3) Mikkel Kessler (4-370-370)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz
The big fight between Kessler and Stieglitz finally has a date: April 14.
4) Robert Stieglitz (4-124-124)
Last Fight: 4/9/2011- W(DQ10) vs. Khoren Gevor (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/14/2012- vs. Henry Weber (UNR)
Stieglitz will fight a tune-up against middling prospect Henry Weber before the big one with Kessler.
5) Thomas Oosthuizen (4-32-80)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Oosthuizen had no problem with trial horse Francisco Sierra, and we hope to see him in with a world-class opponent soon.
6) Arthur Abraham (4-116-116)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: 1/14/2012- vs. Pablo Farias (UNR)
Abraham’s January opponent will be Argentine prospect Pablo “Pokemon” Farias.
7) Dimitri Sartison (4-76-80)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison had trouble keeping up with the movement of truly awful journeyman Arturs Kulikauskis in his comeback fight from knee surgery.  Hopefully it gets better with time, because otherwise the once-promising Sartison is fodder.
8) Peter Quillin (4-37-37)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Quillin netted a nice win at Middleweight against Craig McEwan, though it doesn’t affect his ranking here.
9) Adonis Stevenson (4-5-5)
Last Fight: 12/10/2012- TKO9 #12 Aaron Pryor, Jr.
Next Fight: Unknown
Stevenson is an exciting contender to be sure.  His ability to walk through and destroy his opposition is Tyson-like, at least to the naked eye.  His only drawbacks?  He obviously has a vulnerable chin considering his early knockout loss to journeyman Darnell Boone, and he’s getting up there in age (34) for such a fresh face on the scene.
10) Sakio Bika (4-4-249)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- RTD3 Alfredo Contreras (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Avoided removal by the skin of his teeth, but he’s going to start plummeting any month now if he doesn’t beat someone decent.
11) Andy Lee (4-44)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera
Next Fight: Unknown
Lee was seeking a fight with J.C. Chavez, Jr. that was declined by the Mexican star, and the same fate befell a proposed St. Patrick’s Day slugfest with Martin Murray.
12) Anthony Dirrell (4-6)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Finally stepped up to the fringe contender level against St. Juste.  Verdict: not too shabby.
13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (4-9)
Last Fight: 11/11/2011- TKO12 Andrea Di Luisa (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Dominated and stopped a bona fide fringe contender in Di Luisa, and earned a nice ranking in the process.
14) Glen Johnson (4-62)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
The Bute fight was the only one of Johnson’s recent career that wasn’t really close.  Bute is certainly a top fighter, but it could be that the Road Warrior is starting to wind down a bit.
15) Bryan Vera (4-49)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- L(UD10) vs. #15 Andy Lee
Next Fight: Unknown
Totally outclassed by Lee in the rematch of a fight he won last time around.
16) Librado Andrade (4-20)
Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Don George (UNR)
After Don George backed out of the fight due to an improperly-sized ring, the word is that fight will be rescheduled.
17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (4-36)
Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Well, it’s clear that he can’t play with at least one of the big boys.  Every division needs fringe contenders, though, and that looks like Pryor’s lane for the time being.
18) Jesus Gonzales (4-27)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
With a fairly comfortable win over a generally solid and much bigger opponent, Gonzales finds his way easily within the top 20.
19) James DeGale (4-13)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After initially being delayed, DeGale now says he will not fight his scheduled fight with Spanish journeyman Jose Maria Guerrero on 1/27, and is looking for a bigger fight.
20) George Groves (4-4)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Groves is looking likely to fight a rematch with domestic rival Kenny Anderson before May, 2012.

 

The Week Ahead: Two fights in Offenburg, Germany this week: #4 Robert Stieglitz tunes up for the Kessler fight against somewhat non-threatening undefeated prospect Henry Weber, who, from what I’ve heard, should not be undefeated at all.  #6 Arthur Abraham is also in action against Argentine prospect Pablo “Pokemon” Farias.

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Super Middleweight: 2012, Jan 2-8

Posted in Rankings, Super Middleweight with tags , , , , , , , on May 13, 2012 by danboxing
Andre Dirrell returned to action for the first time since he was fouled hard by Arthur Abraham in March 2010.  He’s a shoe-in, as an active super middleweight, to regain his top-5 ranking, but unfortunately he came in at 169 for the fight and is thus not eligible to re-enter.  For what it’s worth, he stopped journeyman Darryl Cunningham by crunching knockout in the 2nd round.  He looked aggressive, powerful, and sharp after the long layoff.  Very impressive, though against limited opposition.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Andre Ward (3-137-137)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD12 #2 Carl Froch
Next Fight: Unknown
A little bit of a disappointing batch of initial rhetoric coming out of the Ward camp.  While Bute says he is willing to travel to Oakland to fight Ward, Ward himself seems more interested in Kessler.  Normally I wouldn’t knock a Champ-#3 contender matchup, but we’ve already got that one figured out.
1) Lucian Bute (3-299-299)
Last Fight: 11/5/2012- UD12 #13 Glen Johnson
Next Fight: Unknown
After initially saying he’d go to Oakland to fight Ward, and after Ward gave a tepid reaction to the idea, Bute is now apparently in serious discussions to fight a 2-fight series with Froch.  One in Montreal, one in Nottingham.
2) Carl Froch (3-290-290)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
See Bute’s notes, above.
3) Mikkel Kessler (3-369-369)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #4 Robert Stieglitz
The big fight between Kessler and Stieglitz finally has a date: April 14.
4) Robert Stieglitz (3-123-123)
Last Fight: 4/9/2011- W(DQ10) vs. Khoren Gevor (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/14/2012- vs. Henry Weber (UNR)
Stieglitz will fight a tune-up against middling prospect Henry Weber before the big one with Kessler.
5) Thomas Oosthuizen (3-31-79)
Last Fight: 11/23/2011- TKO11 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Oosthuizen had no problem with trial horse Francisco Sierra, and we hope to see him in with a world-class opponent soon.
6) Arthur Abraham (3-115-115)
Last Fight: 5/14/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Andre Ward
Next Fight: 1/14/2012- vs. Pablo Farias (UNR)
Abraham’s January opponent will be Argentine prospect Pablo “Pokemon” Farias.
7) Dimitri Sartison (3-75-79)
Last Fight: 11/12/2011- W(MD8) vs. Arturs Kulikauskis (UNR) (at LHW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sartison had trouble keeping up with the movement of truly awful journeyman Arturs Kulikauskis in his comeback fight from knee surgery.  Hopefully it gets better with time, because otherwise the once-promising Sartison is fodder.
8) Peter Quillin (3-36-36)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO6 Craig McEwan (UNR) (at MW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Quillin netted a nice win at Middleweight against Craig McEwan, though it doesn’t affect his ranking here.
9) Adonis Stevenson (3-4-4)
Last Fight: 12/10/2012- TKO9 #12 Aaron Pryor, Jr.
Next Fight: Unknown
Stevenson is an exciting contender to be sure.  His ability to walk through and destroy his opposition is Tyson-like, at least to the naked eye.  His only drawbacks?  He obviously has a vulnerable chin considering his early knockout loss to journeyman Darnell Boone, and he’s getting up there in age (34) for such a fresh face on the scene.
10) Sakio Bika (3-3-248)
Last Fight: 12/3/2011- RTD3 Alfredo Contreras (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Avoided removal by the skin of his teeth, but he’s going to start plummeting any month now if he doesn’t beat someone decent.
11) Andy Lee (3-43)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- UD10 #14 Bryan Vera
Next Fight: Unknown
Lee was seeking a fight with J.C. Chavez, Jr. that was declined by the Mexican star, and the same fate befell a proposed St. Patrick’s Day slugfest with Martin Murray.
12) Anthony Dirrell (3-5)
Last Fight: 12/2/2011- TKO4 Renan St. Juste (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Finally stepped up to the fringe contender level against St. Juste.  Verdict: not too shabby.
13) Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (3-8)
Last Fight: 11/11/2011- TKO12 Andrea Di Luisa (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Dominated and stopped a bona fide fringe contender in Di Luisa, and earned a nice ranking in the process.
14) Glen Johnson (3-61)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- L(UD12) vs. #3 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
The Bute fight was the only one of Johnson’s recent career that wasn’t really close.  Bute is certainly a top fighter, but it could be that the Road Warrior is starting to wind down a bit.
15) Bryan Vera (3-48)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- L(UD10) vs. #15 Andy Lee
Next Fight: Unknown
Totally outclassed by Lee in the rematch of a fight he won last time around.
16) Librado Andrade (3-19)
Last Fight: 8/27/2011- TKO3 Matt O’Brien (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Don George (UNR)
After Don George backed out of the fight due to an improperly-sized ring, the word is that fight will be rescheduled.
17) Aaron Pryor, Jr. (3-35)
Last Fight: 12/10/2011- L(TKO9) vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Well, it’s clear that he can’t play with at least one of the big boys.  Every division needs fringe contenders, though, and that looks like Pryor’s lane for the time being.
18) Jesus Gonzales (3-26)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
With a fairly comfortable win over a generally solid and much bigger opponent, Gonzales finds his way easily within the top 20.
19) James DeGale (3-12)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W(MD12) vs. Piotr Wilczewski (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
After initially being delayed, DeGale now says he will not fight his scheduled fight with Spanish journeyman Jose Maria Guerrero on 1/27, and is looking for a bigger fight.
20) George Groves (3-3)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- TKO2 Paul Smith (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Groves is looking likely to fight a rematch with domestic rival Kenny Anderson before May, 2012.

 

The Week Ahead: Fringe contenders Dyah Davis and Alfonso Lopez collide in an intriguing Friday Night Fights main event this week.

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, Feb 6-12

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 5, 2012 by danboxing
It was a tale of two fights on Friday  In the Friday Night Fights main event in Vegas, #16 Edison Miranda got off to a good start in what was shaping up as a close, competitive fight with fringe contender Isaac Chilemba.  On my card, he won the first 3 rounds (though two of those could have gone either way), but then suffered a cut from a clash of heads that seems to have affected him, as he probably didn’t win another round thereafter.  Scores and blood aside, Chilemba looked much crisper than he did in his other signature win in the US against Maxim Vlasov. 

 

#8 Eduard Gutnknecht battled Ukrainian fringe contender Vyacheslav Uzelkov on the Cunningham-Hernandez undercard on Saturday, and…hmm.  Let’s just say I disagree with the bulk of the reportage on the fight.  The consensus in the boxing media seems to be that Gutknecht “outworked” Uzelkov, and deserved a decision.  This only goes to show that the bulk of the boxing media has no damn clue how to score a fight.  Gutknecht’s punches (mostly jabs with fairly weak straight rights mixed in) were not landing often at all.  Uzelkov caught the vast majority on his gloves and displayed excellent head movement to thwart the majority of those remaining.  Meanwhile, Uzelkov was often landing his jab, hooks and right hands to the body, and was doing so cleanly and with much more apparent power.  Not only that, but he was backing Gutknecht up for the vast majority of the fight and also tended to do so with punches rather than just walking forward as do too many pressure fighters.  Gutknecht was the mover in the fight, but it wasn’t as if he was setting traps for Uzelkov or keeping the bigger man off balance such that you could give him a significant edge in ring generalship.  He was really just trying to get away from Uzelkov, who was clearly stronger.  Occasionally it crossed the line into blatant running and/or spoiling.  I had the fight 116-112 Uzelkov, and I don’t think a fair and competent judge could have had it as better than a draw for Gutknecht. 

 

So why the disconnect?  Well, I think Gutknecht’s effort probably looked good for two principal reasons: first, I guess I will grant that he “outworked” Uzelkov.  That’s enough to win over lots of casual viewers and lazy judges.  Second, Uzelkov had a lot of ungraceful and awkward moments.  He turned or semi-turned his back and dipped his head down too low on several occasions.  Occasionally he lost his balance and almost looked as if he had been hurt as a result.  The problem is, none (or at least few) of these moments resulted in any landed punches- much less effective ones.  Uzelkov- due to his lack of grace- had moments in a few rounds where he looked almost overwhelmed by an apparently opportunistic Gutknecht.  If you were watching only the general movement of the two men, you might think these moments were significant enough to swing some fairly clear Uzelkov rounds to Gutknecht because you might mistake Uzelkov for being hurt.  But when you look at what actually happened as it related to Gutknecht’s gloves…well…there was nothing there.  So for the judges, I blame laziness coupled with the requisite home bias in favor of the German boxer.  For the reporters, I blame laziness, ignorance of scoring criteria, and perhaps a failure to watch the fight with a critical enough eye.  I should point out that one judge had it as close as 115-114 for Gutknecht.  This is notable for two reasons: first, he apparently gave a 10-10 round somewhere along the line.  If he had pulled the trigger as judges are admonished to do in my experience, he might have had it a draw- which would have been reasonably fair.  The other reason it’s notable is this: please tell me (and seriously- comment below if you have one) when you’ve ever seen a fighter whose name is being chanted by the crowd in Germany, as Gutknecht’s was, ever get treated WORSE than he deserves by any one of the three judges.  I honestly am not sure it’s ever happened.  Judges in Germany ALWAYS give all the close rounds to the home fighter, and often much more than that.  If the Finnish judge that gave Gutknecht the win by only one point was being unduly harsh on the him, he would be practically all alone in the recent history of German boxing.  I believe he gave Gutknecht every benefit of the doubt, as is customary there, and just the tiny edge necessary to make sure the hometown guy walked away with what looked like a fairly clean win.

 

For ratings purposes, I treat the fight as a draw because, as I said, I think an argument can be made that Gutknecht earned that much, and therefore I defer to the official decision to that extent alone.  Gutknecht, whose hold on the 8th spot was already a tad bit tenuous due to his relative newness to the division, takes a big hit from his shaky performance, slipping all the way to #12.  Beibut Shumenov passes him- a relative no-brainer since Shumenov defeated Uzelkov very soundly a couple years ago.  Yusaf Mack and Dmitri Sukhotski surpass him in what were honestly very close calls.  This week’s big winner Isaac Chilemba, a native of Malawi, is a certified light heavyweight contender now, and he debuts quite strongly at #11, just ahead of Gutknecht.  Uzelkov’s hard-luck effort was strong enough to earn him a spot just behind Gutknecht at #13.  Due to the arrival to the top 15 of 2 new contenders, everybody rated #12-15 last week backtracks two places.  Last week’s #16 Edison Miranda drops 3 spots to #19 because of Chilemba and Uzelkov’s debut, and because his loss to Chilemba allows Danny McIntosh to overtake him.  McIntosh, therefore, is only demoted 1 place to #18.  Last week’s #18 Jesus Gonzales slips the requisite 2 spots to round out the top 20.  Dyah Davis is bounced after a quick 2-week return to the rankings, as is Luis Garcia, whose return to activity saw him hold a ranking for the past 5 weeks.  Gutknecht’s demotion clears the way for Dmitri Sukhotski to return to the top 10 for the first time since Tony Bellew pushed him out in October.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (38-296-296)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Hopkins and Dawson will square off- hopefully to a conclusion this time- on regular HBO in late April.
1) Jean Pascal (38-138-138)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Pascal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight.  Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (60-297-297)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Tavoris Cloud (60-128-128)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
After Showtime inexplicably nixed Gabriel Campillo as a headlining opponent for Cloud at the end of 2011, HBO has picked up the fight for the February 18 undercard of Williams-Ishida.  As a hardcore boxing fan, I recognize that Cloud-Campillo is a MUCH bigger fight than the main event.
4) Gabriel Campillo (17-85-85)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
See Cloud’s notes, above.
5) Nathan Cleverly (17-105-105)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Cleverly’s next opponent is American journeyman Tommy Karpency.  A bit of a disappointment.
6) Karo Murat (19-19-40)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (17-17-17)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #18 Danny McIntosh
Bellew will face McIntosh in Liverpool on April 14.
8) Beibut Shumenov (1-81-85)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Shumenov’s attempts to get a fight with Cleverly have apparently failed.  Shumenov wants to unify the alphabet titles, but he appears to be the odd man out in a lot of those fights.  This might be an ideal time for a rematch with Campillo if he can’t get a unification at this point.
9) Yusaf Mack (1-49-85)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
10) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-1-67)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February.
11) Isaac Chilemba (1-1)
Last Fight: 2/3/2012- UD10 #16 Edison Miranda
Next Fight: Unknown
Chilemba, a former super middleweight, now has the highest ranking of his career at either weight after beating fringe contender Miranda.
12) Eduard Gutknecht (1-40)
Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12* vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Gutknecht received a bit of a gift decision at the expense of Uzelkov, and he takes a hit in the ratings as a result.
13) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (1-1)
Last Fight: 3/4/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #8 Eduard Gutknecht
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved much better than a unanimous decision loss against Gutknecht, and is rewarded for it in my rankings.
14) Adrian Diaconu (1-248)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
A quality fighter, Diaconu is nevertheless slipping in the rankings simply because he never wins against anyone above the journeyman level.  He ought to try and find some kind of mid-range fringe contender just to get a decent win, because fighting journeymen or top contenders isn’t working out for him.
15) Ismayl Sillakh (1-56)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal, and the two are currently in negotiations.
16) Cornelius White (1-8)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- UD6 #16 Yordanis Despaigne
Next Fight: Unknown
White, who was blown out in one round by prospect Don George at super middleweight early in 2011, may be a fluke.  But at least for one night, he looked a lot better against former top amateur Yordanis Despaigne than did established fringe contender Edison Miranda.
17) Zsolt Erdei (1-64)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card, including his fight with Cloud. 
18) Danny McIntosh (1-85)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew
McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title.
19) Edison Miranda (1-8)
Last Fight: 2/3/2012- L(UD10) vs. Isaac Chilemba (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Miranda was winning the fight with Chilemba before suffering a cut that appeared to really throw him off.  Hopefully he can bounce back from this setback.
20) Jesus Gonzales (1-31)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/18/2012- vs. Adonis Stevenson (UNR) (at SMW)
His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.

 

The Week Ahead: We get a breather after the traumatic ratings shifts of this week.

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