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Light Heavyweight: 2014, May 5-11

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on October 7, 2014 by danboxing
Undefeated Cuban Yunieski Gonzalez took 107 seconds (which sounds longer than 1:47) to stop his low-level journeyman opponent, Jaison Palomeque, on Thursday in the Miami suburb of Hialeah.  The fight was on the non-televised portion of the ESPN card.

 

Saturday, on the Abraham-Sjekloca undercard in Berlin, Eddy Gutknecht took his very non-threatening (on paper, at least) opponent too lightly, and got beat up a little bit in a draw that probably ends his career as a serious player in this or any division.  Argentina’s Pablo Sosa had no legitimate business in the ring with Gutknecht or any top 50 fighter.  It’s not just that he was inexperienced, at just 8 career fights coming in, but he had only won 3 of those 8, as well.  That sounds slightly worse than it is, since he adds 2 draws, but it’s still a .500 record.  In retrospect, he’s been abused by his management somewhat, in that all three of his losses came against guys that are still in the undefeated prospect category today.  But still.  He has two draws to Adasat Rodriguez, who is nothing special, and has never beaten anybody particularly good.

 

As for the fight itself, it seemed to me that it swung entirely on the relative effort of the two fighters.  Gutknecht did not look like a guy that had trained particularly hard, as he was only able to fight in spurts.  That’s not the type of fighter he is, typically.  When Gutknecht tried to box off the back foot (his typical style), he was unable to keep Sosa off him, nor to match the Argentine’s aggressive effectiveness.  When Gutknecht made a stand or chose to come forward, Sosa tended to go into a shell and could do little if anything.  I had it a draw just like judge Joerg Milke, and I thought Ingo Barrabas’s 77-75 card for Sosa was okay.  Gerhard Sigl, of whom I’m seldom a fan, showed typical local bias in scoring it 77-75 Gutknecht.  There’s just no way Gutknecht actually won more than his share of rounds.

 

Gutknecht, for all intents and purposes, fades to obscurity, while Sosa remains even lower in the rankings due to his unimpressive past.  No changes.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks   in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (87-87-87)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward lost an arbitration with his promoter, but it sounds like the rift between the two is far from solved.
1) Adonis Stevenson (48-48-48)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. #6 Andrzej Fonfara
In something of a coup, Stevenson-Fonfara will be carried by Showtime.   This not only further diminishes HBO’s stable of top fighters, but also puts in serious doubt the plausibility of what appeared to be an upcoming megafight with Kovalev.
2) Bernard Hopkins (87-413-413)
Last Fight: 4/19/2014- W (SD12*) vs. Beibut Shumenov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Hopkins has been ordered to fight his mandatory, which is the winner of Anatoliy Dudchenko and Nadjib Mohammedi- not exactly big money names- but he has been given leave for a unification fight (presumably with Stevenson) before that.
3) Jean Pascal (16-16-16)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD12 #16 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal is pencilled in for a September fight, and perhaps one more before the end of the year.  Prospective opponents, in order, are Sean Monaghan and Lucian Bute.  He wants Stevenson after that, assuming he comes through cleanly.
4) Sergey Kovalev (16-68-68)
Last Fight: 3/29/2014- KO7 #15 Cedric Agnew
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev had some choice words for Stevenson after the Haitian defected to Showtime and, apparently, scuttled their much-hyped matchup for later this year.  No news yet on what Kovalev’s next move will be after the development.
5) Chad Dawson (16-414-414)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson has signed a deal with manager Al Haymon, which certainly brightens his career prospects.  He says he is interested in a Stevenson rematch.  Prospects for another occasionally-discussed rematch- with Jean Pascal- increased recently with word that Pascal’s trainer offered Dawson a contract.
6) Andrzej Fonfara (16-38-95)
Last Fight: 12/6/2013- KO2 Samuel Miller (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
See Stevenson’s notes, above.
7) Tony Bellew (16-134-134)
Last Fight: 3/15/2014- KO12 Valery Brudov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bellew is campaigning at cruiserweight now, but he’ll keep his ranking here until he schedules a fight there for after November 30, or until after November 30 itself.  BJ Flores wants to fight him, but it sounds like he’ll fight Cleverly before the year is out.
8) Gabriel Campillo (16-202-202)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- L (KO9) vs. #14 Andrzej Fonfara
Next Fight: 5/9/2014- vs. Ricky Pow (UNR)
Campillo has replaced one low-level tune-up opponent with another, as Ibrahim Lopez is out and Ricky Pow is in for Campillo’s May 9 Madrid date.
9) Tavoris Cloud (16-245-245)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Cloud should probably get himself back in the win column at some point.
10) Nathan Cleverly (16-222-222)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: 5/17/2014- vs. Sean Corbin (UNR)
Cleverly’s cruiserweight debut is once again on the schedule.  This time for May 17 in Cardiff, and his opponent- on a little over 2 weeks’ notice- is journeyman Sean Corbin.
11) Isaac Chilemba (16-118)
Last Fight: 3/15/2014- UD10 Denis Grachev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Chilemba looked very very sharp in dominating a game Denis Grachev, and might soon be in line for a shot at Adonis Stevenson.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (16-107)
Last Fight: 4/5/2014- RTD5 Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer might give Maccarinelli a rematch in June.  I like it.
13) Karo Murat (15-28)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Murat wants Braehmer, his former stablemate, but is now without a promoter, which probably means Sauerland isn’t falling all over themselves to make that fight.
14) Thomas Williams, Jr. (15-15)
Last Fight: 4/24/2014- TKO3 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Williams just added another faded name to his resume…this one perhaps a bit too faded.
15) Cedric Agnew (16-56)
Last Fight: 3/29/2014- L (KO7) vs. #4 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
After taking a risk against Kovalev and coming up short, I can only assume that his prospects for a regional title bout against Dudchenko and a IBF eliminator against Sukhotsky might both be out the window at least for the moment.
16) Edwin Rodriguez (16-43)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez was scheduled to fight Marcus Johnson on May 24, but Johnson quickly withdrew.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (28-45)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Cornelius White (15-125)
Last Fight: 1/24/2014- L (TKO1) vs. Thomas Williams, Jr. (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Never blessed with big-time promotional or managerial ties, White has risked becoming a permanent opponent with his last two losses.
19) Eleider Alvarez (15-67)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD10 Andy Gardiner (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. Alexander Johnson (UNR)
Alvarez has switched from an undefeated prospect to a defeated- but more experienced- one in Alexander Johnson, and in doing so has gotten his fight televised in the US.
20) Lucian Bute (15-79)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- L (UD12) vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute wants his contractually-guaranteed rematch with Pascal, a fight that appears tentatively planned for late in the year.  He recently parted ways with his long-time trainer, and says he’s in no hurry to get back in the ring.

 

The Week Ahead: 
Friday
#8 Gabriel Campillo vs. Ricky Pow; Las Palmas, Spain; TV Unknown
This fight is just to stay busy and build confidence for Campillo, who frankly disappointed in his last fight.  Pow is a Brit living in Spain, and is nothing special, having been stopped twice- once by an unproven prospect, and once by a fairly poor journeyman. 

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Light Heavyweight: 2014, Apr 28- May 4

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on October 2, 2014 by danboxing
Thursday in Rancho Mirage, California, #14 Thomas Williams, Jr. continued his unbeaten career by disposing of shopworn journeyman Enrique Ornelas in a matter of 3 rounds.  Williams’ shots were crisp and hard, and although he was a little stiff defensively, he had way too much talent for it to matter against Librado Andrade’s less accomplished brother, who himself was once a fringe contender.  Ornelas summoned a few decent moments, but was way outgunned overall by the impressive Williams, who scored a knockdown in the 2nd and another in the 3rd, after the latter of which Ornelas fell back to the canvas while trying to get up, prompting Raul Caiz, Jr. to stop the fight in favor of the other “Jr.” in the ring.

 

Earlier that evening in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, gatekeeper Rowland Bryant apparently more or less dominated low-level veteran journeyman Rayco Saunders to an 8-round decision in an off-TV fight.  Scores were 80-72 (x2), 78-74.

 

Leading off Saturday in Vienna, undefeated prospect Timy Shala, a Kosovar living in Vienna, escaped with an 8-round draw in the opinion of ref and sole judge Gerhard Sigl against mid-level journeyman Emmanuel Feuzeu of Cameroon.  There doesn’t seem to be video of the fight floating around, but if the result is an accurate reflection of the fight, it probably illuminates the ceiling of Shala’s potential.  He was already only very arguably a top 50 fighter, having benefited from the high point of career journeyman Mounir Toumi’s career, who had defeated a puffed up Tony Averlant, who was himself at a high point based on a narrow robbery loss to fringe contender Eddy Gutknecht at the time.  Shala stopped Toumi in the Moroccan’s first fight after the Averlant upset.  Considering Feuzeu lost to a 1-2 fighter back in 2008 and hadn’t beaten anyone of note since, this draw probably tells you about all you need to know about Shala’s apparently limited potential to knock off a legitimate top 50 performer.

 

That same night in Legionowo, Poland, we got yet another surprising effort from an underdog.  The favorite, Pawel Glazewski, had been stopped in his last major fight by super middleweight fringe contender Hadillah Mohoumadi, but he was in with an unproven one-loss prospect in Maciej Miszkin.  Miszkin was coming off a major setback, himself, having been stopped in three by a much smaller and also unproven 18 year old by the name of Vincent Feigenbutz in his previous fight.  On paper, it looked like a fairly comfortable match-up for Glazewski, who very clearly beat Roy Jones, Jr. when the two met in the summer of 2012.  But that just wasn’t the case.  Miszkin attacked Glazewski from the opening bell, and the fight quickly developed into a phone booth-style war of attrition, with Miszkin appearing the more prepared for battle between the two.  Early on, it appeared that Glazewski was the more precise puncher, but Miszkin was the consistent aggressor and unloaded more punches overall.  As the fight wore on, it was Glazewski’s shots that began to find air more often than not, as Miszkin showed off some subtle but effective defensive techniques.  Glazewski made his stand in the 7th round, scoring with a ton of clean power shots as Miszkin’s work began to look a bit ragged, but it was the determined Miszkin who came back to win a close but clear 8th.  I had it 78-74 for the underdog, and I could only see it potentially a round wider or a round closer potentially.  That means it was a clear win in a competitive dogfight for Maciej Miszkin, and it would put the career of the once-promising Glazewski very much in doubt.  Apparently the judges weren’t on board with bringing that storyline to pass, as they blatantly robbed the determined young prospect, handing a win to Glazewski that was every bit as fraudulent as was his loss to Jones.  The scoundrels were, in ascending order of shameworthiness, Przemyslaw Moszumanski (who had enough shame to score it even), Grzegorz Molenda (78-75 Glazewski), and the incomparable Wlodzimierz Gulc (78-74 Glazewski).  I, on the other hand, will treat it as the Miszkin win that it is, by all rights.  Still, with his difficult-t0-reconcile loss to Feigenbutz not at all far in the past, he’s probably not a clear top 50 guy in any case.  Therefore, there are….

 

No changes.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks   in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (86-86-86)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward says he’s been trying to talk his promoter into getting him a fight despite an ongoing lawsuit between the two.  Not sure if that’s going to work out for him.
1) Adonis Stevenson (47-47-47)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. #6 Andrzej Fonfara
In something of a coup, Stevenson-Fonfara will be carried by Showtime.   This not only further diminishes HBO’s stable of top fighters, but also puts in serious doubt the plausibility of what appeared to be an upcoming megafight with Kovalev.
2) Bernard Hopkins (86-412-412)
Last Fight: 4/19/2014- W (SD12*) vs. Beibut Shumenov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Hopkins continued looking good against competent, if unspectacular, opposition.  Pay no attention to the insane split decision verdict.  It was a domination.  In the aftermath, B-Hop has called out Stevenson.
3) Jean Pascal (15-15-15)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD12 #16 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal is pencilled in for a September fight, and perhaps one more before the end of the year.  Prospective opponents, in order, are Sean Monaghan and Lucian Bute.  He wants Stevenson after that, assuming he comes through cleanly.
4) Sergey Kovalev (15-67-67)
Last Fight: 3/29/2014- KO7 #15 Cedric Agnew
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev had some choice words for Stevenson after the Haitian defected to Showtime and, apparently, scuttled their much-hyped matchup for later this year.  No news yet on what Kovalev’s next move will be after the development.
5) Chad Dawson (15-413-413)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson has signed a deal with manager Al Haymon, which certainly brightens his career prospects.  He says he is interested in a Stevenson rematch.  Prospects for another occasionally-discussed rematch- with Jean Pascal- increased recently with word that Pascal’s trainer offered Dawson a contract.
6) Andrzej Fonfara (15-37-94)
Last Fight: 12/6/2013- KO2 Samuel Miller (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
See Stevenson’s notes, above.
7) Tony Bellew (15-133-133)
Last Fight: 3/15/2014- KO12 Valery Brudov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bellew is campaigning at cruiserweight now, but he’ll keep his ranking here until he schedules a fight there for after November 30, or until after November 30 itself.  BJ Flores wants to fight him, but it sounds like he’ll fight Cleverly before the year is out.
8) Gabriel Campillo (15-201-201)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- L (KO9) vs. #14 Andrzej Fonfara
Next Fight: 5/9/2014- vs. Ricky Pow (UNR)
Campillo has replaced one low-level tune-up opponent with another, as Ibrahim Lopez is out and Ricky Pow is in for Campillo’s May 9 Madrid date.
9) Tavoris Cloud (15-244-244)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Cloud should probably get himself back in the win column at some point.
10) Nathan Cleverly (15-221-221)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: 5/17/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Cleverly’s cruiserweight debut is once again on the schedule.  This time for May 17 in Cardiff.
11) Isaac Chilemba (15-117)
Last Fight: 3/15/2014- UD10 Denis Grachev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Chilemba looked very very sharp in dominating a game Denis Grachev, and might soon be in line for a shot at Adonis Stevenson.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (15-106)
Last Fight: 4/5/2014- RTD5 Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer might give Maccarinelli a rematch in June.  I like it.
13) Karo Murat (14-27)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Murat is a free agent after his contract with Sauerland recently expired.
14) Thomas Williams, Jr. (14-14)
Last Fight: 4/24/2014- TKO3 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Williams just added another faded name to his resume…this one perhaps a bit too faded.
15) Cedric Agnew (15-55)
Last Fight: 3/29/2014- L (KO7) vs. #4 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
After taking a risk against Kovalev and coming up short, I can only assume that his prospects for a regional title bout against Dudchenko and a IBF eliminator against Sukhotsky might both be out the window at least for the moment.
16) Edwin Rodriguez (15-42)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez was scheduled to fight Marcus Johnson on May 24, but Johnson quickly withdrew.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (27-44)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Cornelius White (14-124)
Last Fight: 1/24/2014- L (TKO1) vs. Thomas Williams, Jr. (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Never blessed with big-time promotional or managerial ties, White has risked becoming a permanent opponent with his last two losses.
19) Eleider Alvarez (14-66)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD10 Andy Gardiner (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/24/2014- vs. Alexander Johnson (UNR)
Alvarez has switched from an undefeated prospect to a defeated- but more experienced- one in Alexander Johnson, and in doing so has gotten his fight televised in the US.
20) Lucian Bute (14-78)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- L (UD12) vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute wants his contractually-guaranteed rematch with Pascal, a fight that appears tentatively planned for late in the year.  He recently parted ways with his long-time trainer.

 

The Week Ahead: 
Thursday
Yunieski Gonzalez vs. Jaison Palomeque; Hialeah, Florida; Off TV
Gonzalez will appear on the Miami-adjacent ESPN special this weekend, but his stay-busy outing with the totally insignificant Palomeque is not expected to make the broadcast.  It’s a walk in the park, so you’ll get no tears from me on the subject.

 

Saturday
Eduard Gutknecht vs. Pablo Sosa; Berlin, Germany; ARD (Germany)
If Gutknecht were any sort of puncher, I’d say this fight is such a mismatch that it would be dangerous of the commission to sanction it.  Gutknecht, while no longer the contender he once was at 168 by any means, does occasionally summon a world class performance.  He looked as if he might be able to do something along those lines in his last fight against Sukhotsky, but a heap of swelling on his eye turned a fight he was initially leading after 2 to an even affair after 4 and a TKO loss during the 5th.  Sosa, an very novice Argentine journeyman at 3-3-2, is sort of Sauerland’s whipping boy.  He’s been used as an opponent by Erik Skoglund and Enrico Koelling, as well as lesser known undefeated prospect Stephane Roethlisberger.  At least he won a round or two from Koelling and Roethlisberger, which I guess isn’t half bad for a guy with so little experience.  Gutknecht is the most accomplished guy, at least at the time, that he’s faced, and by a mile.  This is on the Abraham-Sjekloca undercard.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Nov 25- Dec 1

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2014 by danboxing
Saturday in Bamberg, Germany, a result that was quite conclusive on paper did surprisingly little to clarify the relative quality of the fighters involved.  Gatekeeper Eddy Gutknecht looked pretty good in the first couple rounds, appearing slightly but decisively sharper than fringe contender Dmitry Sukhotsky.  But with perhaps the first connected punch of round three, Sukhotsky caused a nearly Lebedev-level hematoma on the right eye of Gutknecht that, in very short order, had to make it impossible for him to see on that side.  Sukhotsky proceeded to dominate rounds 3 and 4, and the fight was stopped due to the damage before round 5.  So it’s a TKO win for Sukhotsky.  But did it prove his superiority conclusively?  I would submit that it did not.  When the two men were on equal footing, it was Gutknecht that had the better of the action.  Only from the point that Sukhotsky gained a physical advantage did he overtake his opponent.  The only questions are whether or not simply causing the cut should yield a TKO level benefit in terms of rankings evaluation, and whether or not Sukhotsky should get less, more, or the same credit for winning the second half of the short fight as he would have if he’d not caused the cut.  

 

I submit that causing cuts, while largely based on luck, does have a significant element of skill to it.  Still, it doesn’t reveal the quality of a boxer to the extent that a knockout win, or even a clear decision would.  I’m therefore going to treat these kinds of results on the following basis.  First, I’ll look at the scorecards, and for the purposes of evaluation, swing one round to the winner, and treat it as equivalent to a technical decision one round more in favor of that winner than the scorecards would merit otherwise.  In the case of a shutout that goes at least 6 full rounds, I will give it the same treatment as any other TKO.  In the case that the fight was a draw or worse for the winner (after factoring in the flipped round) at the time of the stoppage, I will treat it like a no contest.  But this is inconsistent with my recent treatment of Quillin-Rosado, since I had that fight a draw at the time of the stoppage, but treated it like a no contest anyway.  So to stay consistent with what I thought was the appropriate call in that instance, I will add the following “Quillin Proviso” to this precedent: if, in the context of the fight, it appears highly likely that the loser would go on to win but for the stoppage, I may at my discretion treat the fight as a no contest even if the scorecards don’t otherwise justify it.  Since the fight was even and Rosado was coming on like gangbusters even after being cut, I would count Quillin-Rosado as a qualifying fight.  In addition, if the fight doesn’t go at least 4 rounds, I reserve the right to treat it as anything between a no contest and a knockout, depending on the context of the action.

 

Peter Manfredo was in action on Friday night in Lincoln, Rhode Island, stopping low-to-mid level journeyman Richard Gingras in 8, at an apparent contract weight of 169.

 

So applying the new cuts policy, Sukhotsky’s win is akin to a close technical decision.  Nevertheless, it counts, and gives him the modest boost he needs to regain a ranking at #19 after a brief absence that began on October 28.  This forces Enzo Maccarinelli down to #20, and boots Denis Grachev from the ranks after 82 consecutive weeks in.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (64-64-64)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
When asked about a fight with Hopkins, Ward acknowledged that it’s one of only two fights that would get him on PPV (the other being Chavez), but said he would only fight Hopkins if the legend called him out.
1) Adonis Stevenson (25-25-25)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- TKO7 #8 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #6 Tony Bellew
Stevenson is set to fight Tony Bellew on November 30 in a quick turnaround from his fight two months earlier.
2) Bernard Hopkins (64-390-390)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Ward’s notes, above.
3) Sergey Kovalev (24-45-45)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO4 #8 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)
Kovalev will fight Ismayl Sillakh on a twin bill with Stevenson-Bellew on HBO November 30.
4) Chad Dawson (24-391-391)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson is now a promotional free agent, and is looking to sign with a top promoter to start rebuilding after a rough year.
5) Andrzej Fonfara (15-15-72)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- KO9 #6 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Samuel Miller (UNR)
Fonfara will return on December 6, on the Chicago undercard of Wlodarczyk-Fragomeni III.
6) Tony Bellew (15-111-111)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Bellew will fight Stevenson on his November 30 birthday.
7) Gabriel Campillo (15-179-179)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- L (KO9) vs. #14 Andrzej Fonfara
Next Fight: Unknown
Campillo might be on his way to deserved obscurity after being robbed of deserved prominence for so much of his career.  He still has plenty of boxing skill, but his will might be fading just a bit.
8) Tavoris Cloud (15-222-222)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Cloud should probably get himself back in the win column at some point.
9) Nathan Cleverly (15-199-199)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly withdrew from his cruiserweight debut against Daniel Ammann with a back injury, on just 4 days notice.
10) Isaac Chilemba (15-35-95)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
11) Cornelius White (15-102)
Last Fight: 6/14/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
White was blasted out by Kovalev, but at least he has good company in that regard.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (14-84)
Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 Stefano Abatangelo (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Marcus Oliveira (UNR)
Since getting dominated in your title fight, fighting journeymen, and then taking two years off is the required resume for becoming a WBA Super Champion, Beibut Shumenov has now assumed that dubious title.  Braehmer will now fight prospect Marcus Oliveira for the “regular” title on December 14 in Neubrandenburg, Germany.
13) Karo Murat (5-5)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Cedric Agnew (5-33)
Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Agnew has been ordered to defend his regional title against fringe contender Anatoliy Dudchenko.
15) Edwin Rodriguez (5-20)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez came in two pounds overweight for the Ward fight, and couldn’t put it to much use.
16) Lucian Bute (5-56)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Bute-Pascal has been pushed back to January 18.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (5-22)
Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Eleider Alvarez (5-44)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- UD10 Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/18/2013- vs. #6 SMW Thomas Oosthuizen
Alvarez is tentatively scheduled to fight Oosthuizen in January, and I have no new information to suggest whether or not Oosthuizen’s shaky performance and bad cut against Maderna will affect that.
19) Dmitry Sukhotsky (1-1)
Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO5 Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
As conclusive as the Sukhotsky-Gutknecht result looks on paper, I’d actually like to see a rematch, since Gutknecht was having the better of it before his eye began to balloon.
20) Enzo Maccarinelli (1-15)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO11 Ovill McKenzie (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Courtney Fry (UNR)
Maccarinelli is back on December 7 against mid-level journeyman Courtney Fry of Liverpool.

 

The Week Ahead: It’s a busy week, front to back.

 

Tuesday: Undefeated South African Ryno Liebenberg meets very low-level Ghanaian journeyman Daniel Adotey Allotey in Kempton Park, South Africa.

 

On the FS1-televised Tarver undercard later that night, gatekeeper Yusaf Mack looks for his first worthwhile win in nearly 3 years when he takes on undefeated DC-area prospect Thomas Williams in Sunrise, Florida.

 

Saturday: The best fighters in the division are on full display in Quebec City.  #1 Adonis Stevenson gets a very credible test from #6 Tony Bellew of England in the HBO main event, while #3 Sergey Kovalev has a different and, honestly, lesser challenge on his hands in the very fast and slick, but also very chinny Ismayl Sillakh of the Ukraine.  Sillakh’s resume puts him roughly on the borderline of the top 25, but to the best of my knowledge he hasn’t made 175 since his upset stoppage loss to Denis Grachev in April, 2012, opting to fight low-level opposition at cruiserweight, instead.  

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Nov 18-24

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on January 16, 2014 by danboxing
Saturday in Ontario, California, Andre Ward successfully defended his lineal championships, and unintentionally beat an actual ranked light heavyweight in the deal, since #15 Edwin Rodriguez showed up at 170 for the 168-pound fight.  I’ll discuss it in more detail at 168 since that was the fight’s intended division.  

 

Saturday afternoon at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, #10 Isaac Chilemba easily handled low-level journeyman Michael Gbenga in a non-televised 8-rounder.  Depending on which judge you ask, Gbenga managed to win either no rounds, or one.

 

Earlier on Saturday, rugged Kiwi gatekeeper Robert Berridge prevailed in a fairly brutal battle of attrition against his coutnryman, borderline top-50 journeyman Daniel MacKinnon, on the Ustinov-Tua undercard in Hamilton, New Zealand.  

 

Argentine fringe contender Roberto Feliciano Bolonti knocked out low-level journeyman Manuel Banquez on Friday in Mar del Plata, Argentina, needing five rounds of a scheduled ten to accomplish that.

 

And backtracking all the way to Tuesday, undefeated Miami-based Cuban Yunieski Gonzalez knocked out relatively untested 7-1 fringe prospect Jinner Guerrero of Ecuador in the 8th round of a scheduled 10, but seems to have had some problems along the way, having been dropped in round 1.  

 

Despite all of this action, nothing new was really proven last week, and thus there are no changes this week.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (63-63-63)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
When asked about a fight with Hopkins, Ward acknowledged that it’s one of only two fights that would get him on PPV (the other being Chavez), but said he would only fight Hopkins if the legend called him out.
1) Adonis Stevenson (24-24-24)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- TKO7 #8 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #6 Tony Bellew
Stevenson is set to fight Tony Bellew on November 30 in a quick turnaround from his fight two months earlier.
2) Bernard Hopkins (63-389-389)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Ward’s notes, above.
3) Sergey Kovalev (23-44-44)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO4 #8 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)
Kovalev will fight Ismayl Sillakh on a twin bill with Stevenson-Bellew on HBO November 30.
4) Chad Dawson (23-390-390)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
5) Andrzej Fonfara (14-14-71)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- KO9 #6 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: 12/6/2013- vs. Samuel Miller (UNR)
Fonfara will return on December 6, on the Chicago undercard of Wlodarczyk-Fragomeni III.
6) Tony Bellew (14-110-110)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Bellew will fight Stevenson on his November 30 birthday.
7) Gabriel Campillo (14-178-178)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- L (KO9) vs. #14 Andrzej Fonfara
Next Fight: Unknown
Campillo might be on his way to deserved obscurity after being robbed of deserved prominence for so much of his career.  He still has plenty of boxing skill, but his will might be fading just a bit.
8) Tavoris Cloud (14-221-221)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- L (TKO7) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Cloud should probably get himself back in the win column at some point.
9) Nathan Cleverly (14-198-198)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. Daniel Ammann (at CW)
Cleverly will move up to cruiserweight and immediately challenge for the Commonwealth title at that weight against gatekeeper Daniel Ammann.
10) Isaac Chilemba (14-34-94)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
11) Cornelius White (14-101)
Last Fight: 6/14/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
White was blasted out by Kovalev, but at least he has good company in that regard.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (13-83)
Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 Stefano Abatangelo (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/14/2013- vs. Marcus Oliveira (UNR)
Since getting dominated in your title fight, fighting journeymen, and then taking two years off is the required resume for becoming a WBA Super Champion, Beibut Shumenov has now assumed that dubious title.  Braehmer will now fight prospect Marcus Oliveira for the “regular” title on December 14 in Neubrandenburg, Germany.
13) Karo Murat (4-4)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Cedric Agnew (4-32)
Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Agnew has been ordered to defend his regional title against fringe contender Anatoliy Dudchenko.
15) Edwin Rodriguez (4-19)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez came in two pounds overweight for the Ward fight, and couldn’t put it to much use.
16) Lucian Bute (4-55)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Bute-Pascal has been pushed back to January 18.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (4-21)
Last Fight: 10/17/2013- TKO1 Raimonds Sniedze (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Eleider Alvarez (4-43)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- UD10 Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/18/2013- vs. #6 SMW Thomas Oosthuizen
Alvarez is tentatively scheduled to fight Oosthuizen in January, and I have no new information to suggest whether or not Oosthuizen’s shaky performance and bad cut against Maderna will affect that.
19) Enzo Maccarinelli (4-14)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO11 Ovill McKenzie (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Courtney Fry (UNR)
Maccarinelli is back on December 7 against mid-level journeyman Courtney Fry of Liverpool.
20) Denis Grachev (4-82)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- L (TKO1) vs. #13 SMW Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: Fringe contender Dmitry Sukhotsky gets a chance to fight his way back into the rankings after he was forced out in late October, as he fights gatekeeper Eduard Gutknecht on the Hernandez-Alekseev undercard in Bamberg, Germany on Saturday.

 

The previous night in Lincoln, Rhode Island, Peter Manfredo continues on the comeback trail, as he fights mid-level journeyman Richard Gingras in his home state.  This fight could be at either 168 0r 175.  I’ll discuss it next week only in the relevant division.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Jun 3-9

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on June 6, 2013 by danboxing
Still no word (at least in English) on the result (if any) of the Joey Vegas-Hany Atiyo rematch in Kampala, Uganda.  An undefeated Atiyo was stopped by Vegas in round 11 of their 2012 fight, laying the foundation of Vegas’ current top-40 ranking on Boxrec.  If news of the fight ends up reaching US shores (assuming it even happened), I’ll report it if it is significant.  Another Vegas win probably won’t be worth bringing up that long after the fact, frankly.

 

The biggest deal in the division this week, though, is the fact that #12 Beibut Shumenov hasn’t fought in over a year and has nothing scheduled, and is thus removed.  He hasn’t fought a clearly top 50 opponent in nearly 3 years.  Everyone ranked #13 and below last week moves up, and the #20 vacancy is filled by British-based Jamaican Ovill McKenzie.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (39-39-39)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
With Pascal-Bute postponed, one of Ward’s best options went with it.  There is now serious discussion of a Ward-Froch rematch, potentially in England.  On one hand, we’ve seen it before, but on another, Froch is clearly still the most worthy challenger for Ward, to the point where he would be the undisputed champion at 168 if Ward didn’t exist.
1) Chad Dawson (39-366-366)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Dawson will fight Adonis Stevenson (who moves up from 168) on June 8 in Montreal.
2) Bernard Hopkins (39-365-365)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. Karo Murat (UNR)
All the buzz had been revolving around a Hopkins-Cleverly showdown, but with little or no warning, he signed to fight his mandatory, the slightly more proven but inactive Karo Murat, instead.
3) Tony Bellew (2-86-86)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba
Next Fight: Unknown
Bellew’s ultimate triumph over Chilemba has now set him up with a mandatory shot at the Dawson-Stevenson winner, which would continue the trend of the best fighting the best at 175.
4) Sergey Kovalev (2-20-20)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #9 Cornelius White
Kovalev is back in action against another pretty tough opponent on June 14.
5) Gabriel Campillo (2-154-154)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Campillo will fight Fonfara in an interesting crossroads fight at Comiskey Park in Chicago, but appears to have scheduled a tune-up on June 14 in Madrid, as well.
6) Tavoris Cloud (2-197-197)
Last Fight: 3/9/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Cloud’s manager expects him back in action by the end of the year.  Normally that wouldn’t be saying much, but that would be against type for Cloud.
7) Nathan Cleverly (2-174-174)
Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD12 Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly wants to fight Froch at 175, but Froch appears a bit more interested in Ward at the moment.  He even says he’d drop down to 168 for the fight, but it still doesn’t sound like one of Froch’s top 2 or 3 options.
8) Isaac Chilemba (2-10-70)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- L (UD12) vs. #9 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: Unknown
Chilemba may have lost the second fight to Bellew in his opponent’s back yard, but between the two fights, he’s managed to elevate himself somewhat.
9) Cornelius White (2-47-77)
Last Fight: 3/9/2013- UD8 Otis Griffin (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/14/2013- vs. #4 Sergey Kovalev
Moment of truth time for White.  On June 14 we’ll find out if he’s more the guy that beat up Dmitri Sukhotski, or the guy that got sparked out in just seconds by Don George.  If he’s the latter, Kovalev should prove it pretty quickly.
10) Cedric Agnew (4-4-8)
Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Agnew may have caught a fading Yusaf Mack at the right time, but he’s clearly a climber, having now beaten both Mack and Otis Griffin.
11) Jürgen Brähmer (4-59)
Last Fight: 4/27/2013- TKO2 Tony Averlant (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer made an easy first defense of his European belt against Averlant.  He is currently the mandatory for Cleverly’s alphabet strap, as well, though it sounds like the Welshman would prefer bigger fish- or at least fish with bigger belts.
12) Andrzej Fonfara (1-47)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/16/2013- vs. #5 Gabriel Campillo
Fonfara will get a huge opportunity to launch himself into the top 5 when he takes on Gabriel Campillo in Chicago.
13) Lucian Bute (1-31)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 12/7/2013- vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Bute-Pascal has been rescheduled tentatively for December 7 after Bute suffered a hand injury.  They’ve also reserved January 25 as a back-up plan.  Either way, it will be in Montreal.
14) Denis Grachev (1-58)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013– W* (SD10) vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR) (should be draw)
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. SMW #13 Edwin Rodriguez
Grachev will be fighting Edwin Rodriguez at a catchweight of 171.5 in Monte Carlo for a million dollar prize.
15) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-136)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/4/2013- vs. Mikhail Krinitsin (UNR)
Sukhotski will fight in Barnaul, Russia on June 4 against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin.
16) Eleider Alvarez (1-19)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. Allan Green (UNR)
Alvarez will now be fighting Green on the Dawson-Stevenson undercard.
17) Yunieski Gonzalez (1-12)
Last Fight: 3/15/2013- KO8 Rowland Bryant (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Gonzalez took a huge step up in competition and made good, knocking out strong fringe contender Bryant. 
18) Doudou Ngumbu (1-9)
Last Fight: 3/16/2013- UD12 #14 Vyacheslav Uzelkoff
Next Fight: Unknown
19) Glen Johnson (1-4)
Last Fight: 4/19/2013- TKO2 Junior Ramos (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Strangely, even though Johnson looks completely spent, he is once again ranked (barely) at both 175 and 168.
20) Ovill McKenzie (1-1)
Last Fight: 11/9/2012- TKO2 Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: Plenty of action at 175 this week:

 

In his hometown of Barnaul, Russia, #15 Dmitri Sukhotski leads us off on Tuesday with a stay-busy outing against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin.

 

On the Afolabi-Huck undercard in Berlin, undefeated German prospect Robert Woge collides with fellow undefeated Dariusz Sek of Poland.  This is the toughest test of either man’s career.  Woge pulled one out of the fire in his last fight, knocking out journeyman Hakim Zoulikha in the 11th after being dominated up to that point, while Sek has been getting by with decisions against a similar level of opponent.

 

Also on the card, gatekeeper Eduard Gutknecht looks to get back on a winning track against low-level super middleweight journeyman Richard Vidal of Uruguay.

 

Across the pond in Montreal, Quebec, #1 Chad Dawson defends his alphabet title against big-time super middleweight puncher Adonis Stevenson, who fights an aggressive power-punching style that Dawson really hasn’t seen much of in recent years.

 

On that undercard, undefeated Colombian prospect and #16 Eleider Alvarez takes on perhaps his toughest opponent in gatekeeper Allan Green.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Feb 4-10

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on February 6, 2013 by danboxing
In the main event of this weekend’s big Sauerland card from Berlin, #16 Juergen Braehmer stepped up to the gatekeeper level of opposition for the first time in nearly 3 years when he took on fallen former contender Eduard Gutknecht.  The fight was close, competitive, and at least on the Gutknecht side, pretty dirty.  Gutknecht was constantly pulling Braehmer’s head down and trying to throw him to the canvas, as well as various other minor chippy things like holding, rabbit punching, hitting on the break, and holding while hitting.  He probably should have lost 2-3 points, but was only docked one.  Nevertheless, it was a rare situation where a guy got a fair shake against an Uli Wegener fighter on a Sauerland show.  I had it 114-113 Braehmer.  Judge Manuel Palomo agreed with my score, while the other two judges had it a bit wider.  The fight could have gone either way, but I do feel the right man won. 

 

On the undercard, undefeated but still fairly untested German prospect Dustin Dirks found himself in an apparently competitive fight with American journeyman Christian Cruz- a loser of his last 9 fights- who nevertheless probably did enough to win round one.  Dirks started to take over in the 2nd, and really started to get to Cruz in the 3rd.  That’s when Cruz’s corner demonstrated a  likely part of the reason for his losing streak by stopping the fight apparently on the basis of two solid connects by Dirks.  They didn’t really give their fighter a chance.

 

Normally I don’t do this, but there was another fight on the card that outraged me so much that I had to mention it.  Undefeated and significantly hyped German prospect Robert Woge fought Frenchman Hakim Zoulikha in the co-feature, and was getting dominated by Zoulikha’s superior accuracy, speed, defense, and technique.  Zoulikha had probably won every round, or at least 8 of the 10.  In the 11th, Woge caught the Frenchman blind with a big left hook in an exchange, and Zoulikha was unable to continue just seconds after rising from the resulting knockout.  Fair play so far.  A huge come-from-behind win.  An 11-run home run.  Here’s where it gets ugly.  Barring an error by boxrec, here were the scores at the time of the stoppage (remember that reasonable scores would range between 100-90 and 98-92 Zoulikha): Berit Andreasen (Denmark)- 96-94 Woge, Harry Davis (Canada)- 98-92 Woge, and Matteo Montella (Italy)- 99-91 Woge.  If this fight HAD gone to the cards, it would have been one of the most disgustingly atrocious decisions of all time.  It would have made Campillo-Shumenov II look reasonable.  Let me put it in perspective.  Setting aside the two rounds that were legitimately debateable, the BEST of the three judges blatantly botched 4 of the 8 clear rounds.  Effectively, she gave Woge the benefit of the doubt on the close ones, and then flipped a coin to decide those that Zoulikha won.  Meanwhile, Davis got 6 of the 8 clear rounds wrong, while Montella got 7 of 8 wrong.  I really do hope this is an error on boxrec’s part.  If the opposite scores were true, then only Andriesen would have done anything wrong.  But if the scores are accurate as stated, we have a much bigger problem here than simple incompetence.  Woge was unproven enough to be considered just outside the top 50 at the start of the fight, which is why I wouldn’t have otherwise mentioned it.

 

Braehmer’s win- hard fought as it was- is enough to propel him back into the top 10 for the first time since he was removed for inactivity in May 2011.  He settles in at #10.  This forces everyone rated #10-15 last week down a spot, including Karo Murat, who exits the top 10 after 70 weeks in.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (22-22-22)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward’s surgery is complete.  He’s expected to be out until at least Summer.
1) Chad Dawson (22-349-349)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Jean Pascal
Likely in large part due to Pascal’s torn shoulder, Dawson will be fighting Pascal in May rather than March.  In the mean time, Dawson has switched trainers from John Scully back to Eddie Mustafa Muhammed.
2) Bernard Hopkins (22-348-348)
Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 3/9/2012- vs. #6 Tavoris Cloud
Hopkins appeared likely to fight Nathan Cleverly, but instead opted for Tavoris Cloud.  The fight will take place in Brooklyn.
3) Jean Pascal (22-190-190)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- UD10 Alexei Kuziemski (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Chad Dawson
This latest delay is really testing my patience on continuing to rate Pascal, who will not have fought for approximately 2 years at 175 when the Dawson fight goes down.  But he keeps staying rateable by constantly having a fight scheduled- even if the fights seldom come off when intended.
4) Sergey Kovalev (3-3-3)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
We knew Kovalev could punch, but I don’t know how many observers imagined him thoroughly destroying arguably the best fighter in the division like that…
5) Gabriel Campillo (3-137-137)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It remains to be seen whether we’ve seen Campillo rapidly decline, have a bad night, or just run into a world-beater.  But he’s still going to be highly ranked because he recently beat the guy ranked right below him.
6) Tavoris Cloud (3-180-180)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 3/9/2013- vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Perhaps Cloud’s reasoning for pulling out of the Murat fight had something to do with his apparently better-than-expected chances of landing a much more lucrative Hopkins battle- a fight that now appears set for March.
7) Cornelius White (3-30-60)
Last Fight: 7/14/2012- UD12 #10 Dmitri Sukhotski
Next Fight: Unknown
White is on a tear.  Is he really top-5 good?  I wouldn’t think so, but he proves me wrong every time I feel I might be overrating him.
8) Nathan Cleverly (3-157-157)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO8 Shawn Hawk (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Cleverly will be fighting a long-rumored fight with fringe prospect Robin Krasniqi on March 16 in the UK.
9) Tony Bellew (3-69-69)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- UD12 Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #13 Isaac Chilemba
A big time opportunity for two up-and-comers on tap for March 30, as Bellew collides with Isaac Chilemba in Liverpool.
10) Jürgen Brähmer (1-1-42)
Last Fight: 2/2/2013- UD12 Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer is now has the EBU European title, meaning he’ll probably have a steady stream of fringe contenders available to him.  Gutknecht aside, that’s an upgrade form his last 3 years of activity or lack thereof.
11) Karo Murat (1-92)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
No idea what’s next for Murat after Cloud left him at the proverbial altar.
12) Beibut Shumenov (1-137)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
13) Isaac Chilemba (1-53)
Last Fight: 9/29/2012- UD8 Rayco Saunders (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #9 Tony Bellew
Up-and-coming African star Chilemba takes a high-risk, high-reward fight on March 30 in Tony Bellew’s hometown of Liverpool.
14) Vyacheslav Uzelkoff (1-53)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- TKO1 Giorgi Marosi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Uzelkoff easily dispatched Marosi, in a fight so last-minute that I didn’t even know about it a week in advance.
15) Andrzej Fonfara (1-30)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Fonfara is scheduled to be in action on March 22 in Chicago.  His opponent is Jean Pascal’s brother, journeyman Nicholson Poulard.
16) Yusaf Mack (1-137)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- L(KO3) vs. #1 SMW Carl Froch (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
It’s no shame to lose to Carl Froch, but Mack’s showing was bad enough that you’ve got to wonder if he’s finished.
17) Lucian Bute (3-14)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bute is tentatively scheduled to fight the Bika/Sjekloca winner on May 25, part of a split-site pay per view broadcast with Froch-Kessler, at 168.
18) Denis Grachev (3-41)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- L(UD12) vs. SMW #4 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR)
Grachev will fight inactive former champ Zsolt Erdei in Monaco on March 30, with the winner to fight there against the winner of Edwin Rodriguez vs. Ezequiel Maderna in July.
19) Dmitri Sukhotski (3-119)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotski was originally rumored for the Monaco tourney, but he is not one of the 4 scheduled.
20) Eleider Alvarez (2-2)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- KO8 Danny McIntosh (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Alvarez will fight in Montreal on March 22.

 

The Week Ahead: Nothing to report in the coming week.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Jan 28- Feb 3

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on February 1, 2013 by danboxing
Undefeated Brazilian prospect Jackson Junior stopped journeyman Dante Craig in Verona, NY in less than a round on Saturday, but the fight ended up being WAY over the light heavyweight limit.  Junior came in at 185, while Craig was over 188. 

 

Last week’s #20 Mikkel Kessler scheduled a fight at 168 for more than a year after his last fight at 175, and is thus removed.  Taking his place is undefeated Colombian Eleider Alvarez, after just one week out.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (21-21-21)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward’s surgery is complete.  He’s expected to be out until at least Summer.
1) Chad Dawson (21-348-348)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Jean Pascal
Likely in large part due to Pascal’s torn shoulder, Dawson will be fighting Pascal in May rather than March.  In the mean time, Dawson has switched trainers from John Scully back to Eddie Mustafa Muhammed.
2) Bernard Hopkins (21-347-347)
Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 3/9/2012- vs. #6 Tavoris Cloud
Hopkins appeared likely to fight Nathan Cleverly, but instead opted for Tavoris Cloud.  The fight will take place in Brooklyn.
3) Jean Pascal (21-189-189)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- UD10 Alexei Kuziemski (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Chad Dawson
This latest delay is really testing my patience on continuing to rate Pascal, who will not have fought for approximately 2 years at 175 when the Dawson fight goes down.  But he keeps staying rateable by constantly having a fight scheduled- even if the fights seldom come off when intended.
4) Sergey Kovalev (2-2-2)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
We knew Kovalev could punch, but I don’t know how many observers imagined him thoroughly destroying arguably the best fighter in the division like that…
5) Gabriel Campillo (2-136-136)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
It remains to be seen whether we’ve seen Campillo rapidly decline, have a bad night, or just run into a world-beater.  But he’s still going to be highly ranked because he recently beat the guy ranked right below him.
6) Tavoris Cloud (2-179-179)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 3/9/2013- vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Perhaps Cloud’s reasoning for pulling out of the Murat fight had something to do with his apparently better-than-expected chances of landing a much more lucrative Hopkins battle- a fight that now appears set for March.
7) Cornelius White (2-29-59)
Last Fight: 7/14/2012- UD12 #10 Dmitri Sukhotski
Next Fight: Unknown
White is on a tear.  Is he really top-5 good?  I wouldn’t think so, but he proves me wrong every time I feel I might be overrating him.
8) Nathan Cleverly (2-156-156)
Last Fight: 11/10/2012- TKO8 Shawn Hawk (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/16/2013- vs. Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Cleverly will be fighting a long-rumored fight with fringe prospect Robin Krasniqi on March 16 in the UK.
9) Tony Bellew (2-68-68)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- UD12 Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #12 Isaac Chilemba
A big time opportunity for two up-and-comers on tap for March 30, as Bellew collides with Isaac Chilemba in Liverpool.
10) Karo Murat (2-70-91)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
No idea what’s next for Murat after Cloud left him at the proverbial altar.
11) Beibut Shumenov (2-136)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
12) Isaac Chilemba (2-52)
Last Fight: 9/29/2012- UD8 Rayco Saunders (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/30/2013- vs. #9 Tony Bellew
Up-and-coming African star Chilemba takes a high-risk, high-reward fight on March 30 in Tony Bellew’s hometown of Liverpool.
13) Vyacheslav Uzelkoff (2-52)
Last Fight: 12/15/2012- TKO1 Giorgi Marosi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Uzelkoff easily dispatched Marosi, in a fight so last-minute that I didn’t even know about it a week in advance.
14) Andrzej Fonfara (2-29)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/22/2013- vs. Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Fonfara is scheduled to be in action on March 22 in Chicago.  His opponent is Jean Pascal’s brother, journeyman Nicholson Poulard.
15) Yusaf Mack (2-136)
Last Fight: 11/17/2012- L(KO3) vs. #1 SMW Carl Froch (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
It’s no shame to lose to Carl Froch, but Mack’s showing was bad enough that you’ve got to wonder if he’s finished.
16) Jürgen Brähmer (2-41)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD10 Vikapita Meroro (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/2/2013- vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Braehmer has reportedly rescheduled his fight with Gutknecht for early February.  We’ll see if he follows through this time- always a big “if” with him.
17) Lucian Bute (2-13)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bute is tentatively scheduled to fight the Bika/Sjekloca winner on May 25, part of a split-site pay per view broadcast with Froch-Kessler, at 168.
18) Denis Grachev (2-40)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- L(UD12) vs. SMW #4 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
Grachev put forth a valiant effort against a heavy favorite in Bute, even after presumably draining almost all the way to 168.  As a result, his ranking remains mostly intact.
19) Dmitri Sukhotski (2-118)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Eleider Alvarez (1-1)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- KO8 Danny McIntosh (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Alvarez is a real prospect to watch.  He’d be ranked even higher if his fight with McIntosh had been under the 175 limit, I do believe.
 

 

The Week Ahead: Two fights worth mentioning, both on Saturday, and both in Berlin.  #16 Juergen Braehmer takes on once-prominent fringe contender Eduard Gutknecht.  Gutknecht is clearly not what he once appeared to be after needing a gift to get by journeyman Tony Averlant in March, but Braehmer hasn’t stepped in with anyone worthwhile in over 2 1/2 years.  This could be an interesting match-up, but perhaps not for the best reasons.  On the undercard, undefeated German prospect Dustin Dirks- considered a top 50 fighter despite his best career opponent being a mid-level journeyman he fought 3 years ago- continues his pattern of mediocrity by fighting journeyman Christian Cruz, a loser in his last 9 outings.

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, May 28- Jun 3

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on May 28, 2012 by danboxing
No in-ring action to report at 175, this week, but Adrian Diaconu has not fought in over a year now, and has no fight scheduled.  Diaconu hasn’t won since October 2010, and has not beaten anybody worth fighting since his close-fought April 2008 decision over Chris Henry.  Diaconu’s exit makes room for the return of the otherwise plummeting Eduard Gutknecht, who was bumped out only last week after a bit over a year in the rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Chad Dawson (5-313-313)
Last Fight: 4/28/2012- W (MD12) Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Wow- it really is happening!  Dawson will reportedly drop down to 168 to challenge Andre Ward for the World Championship at Super Middle.  For my money, it will also be an opportunity for Ward to capture Dawson’s light heavyweight title.  He’s fighting the 175 champion under the 175 limit.  I’m not sure this scenario has ever played out in the history of boxing…and it’s pretty exciting- even if the fight itself may not  be.
1) Bernard Hopkins (5-312-312)
Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
I’m not sure what he thinks he can or still wants to prove, but 47-year-old Hopkins has shrugged off retirement talk and there is talk of a potential fight with Nathan Cleverly.
2) Jean Pascal (5-154-154)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #4 Tavoris Cloud
Showtime has kindly provided the date of August 11 for the Pascal-Cloud tilt.  That’s more than 14-months since Pascal’s last fight…just sayin’.
3) Gabriel Campillo (15-101-101)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
With Cloud apparently sidestepping not only Campillo, but also a mandatory with Karo Murat in favor of an even better match with Pascal, I wonder if Campillo might get the rematch with Murat, instead.
4) Tavoris Cloud (15-144-144)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #2 Jean Pascal
It appeared certain that Cloud would fight Murat next, but now he’s fighting Pascal instead.
5) Nathan Cleverly (33-121-121)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Originally scheduled to fight the underwhelming Robin Krasniqi, a virus scuttled that fight for him.  Not that anyone’s complaining.  Barring a rescheduling, which would be problematic from the WBO’s perspective, Cleverly may be looking toward his mandatory with Sukhotski next, though there’s some talk of a Hopkins fight, as well.
6) Karo Murat (35-35-56)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Miguel Velozo (UNR)
After his hopes for a Cloud fight were dashed, Murat will settle for a short-notice stay-busy fight with Cuban prospect Miguel Velozo.
7) Tony Bellew (33-33-33)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO5 #20 Danny McIntosh
Next Fight: Unknown
After demolishing McIntosh for the British title, Bellew has renewed his calls for a rematch with Cleverly.  He also named Cloud and Shumenov as guys he’s ready for.  He also recently became the latest fighter to announce a split with promoter Frank Warren which Warren denies.
8) Beibut Shumenov (17-97-101)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/2/2012- vs. Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
How this guy gets to keep even an alphabet title while fighting exactly William Joppy, Danny Santiago, and Enrique Ornelas over what will become more than a 2-year span is well beyond me.  And that’s setting aside the fact that he got totally worked in the fight that “won” him the title in the first place.  I know for a fact that Adrian Diaconu wanted to fight him, so it’s not like he’s being ducked by every name fighter out there.
9) Yusaf Mack (17-65-101)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- UD12 Omar Sheika (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack called out Cloud and Dawson after beating Sheika.  Sure, he’s a top 10 fighter, but that still feels like a stretch for him.
10) Dmitri Sukhotski (17-17-83)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBO originally demanded that Cleverly fight Sukhotski rather than the mediocre Krasniqi, but then backed down and gave Cleverly an extra 4 months to take the fight.  Now that Cleverly got sick and cancelled on Krasniqi, surely this fight will have to happen now…
11) Isaac Chilemba (17-17)
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) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (9-17)
Last Fight: 5/12/2012- UD8 Ravshanbek Jabbarov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved much better than a unanimous decision loss against Gutknecht, and is rewarded for it in my rankings.
13) Jürgen Brähmer (6-6)
Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD10 Vikapita Meroro (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer has showed up for his last two fights, which at least feels like a record for him. 
14) Denis Grachev (5-5)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO8 #15 Ismayl Sillakh
Next Fight: Unknown
Yes, it was a flukey win, and it’s clear from his performance on its face that, at least at this point, he’s not this good.  But honestly the result in black and white could have supported a rating as high as around #10.  Common sense can only demote a guy so far (in conjunction with relative inexperience) when his actual resume calls out for a decent ranking.
15) Mikkel Kessler (1-2)
Last Fight: 5/19/2012- TKO4 Allan Green (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Kessler recently expressed interest in rematching both Andre Ward and Carl Froch following Froch’s demolition of Lucian Bute.  He may not be at 175 for long.
16) Cornelius White (1-24)
Last Fight: 5/12/2012- KO2 Anthony Bowman (UNR)
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 (1-80)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei will be subject to removal when I perform the June 11-17 update if he doesn’t schedule a fight before that.  He has run into some hard luck with injury and Showtime’s budget, but he’s had time to find something when neither were a factor.  And his level of competition over the years doesn’t call for much sympathy.
18) Tony Averlant (1-9)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Eduard Gutknecht (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Averlant is probably closer to the journeyman he was on 3/30 than the solid fringe contender he became on 3/31, but a win is a win…even when it’s a loss (in Germany).
19) Ismayl Sillakh (1-72)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- L(TKO8) vs. Denis Grachev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
I didn’t see that coming at all.  I trust Sillakh will bounce back from the upset loss to Grachev.  But wow.
20) Eduard Gutknecht (1-1)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- W*(SD12) vs. Tony Averlant (UNR) (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead:
Friday: Russian prospect Sergei Kovalev faces still-dangerous journeyman Darnell Boone in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

 

Saturday: #6 Karo Murat takes on one-loss but otherwise untested Cuban prospect Miguel Velozo in Herning, Denmark.  #8 Beibut Shumenov makes an embarrassing title defense in Vegas against journeyman Enrique Ornelas.  Sakio Bika and Francisco Sierra are also in action- super middleweights that have been known to come in over the limit.

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, Apr 2-8

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012 by danboxing
Out of the three significant fights in the division this week, two of them amounted to upsets.  Well…at least they should have.

 

In Australia, gatekeeper Manny Vlamis was battered to a pulp by otherwise completely unimpressive Samoan journeyman Togasilimai Letoa, who came in with a 11-9 record.  The beating was so bad that Vlamis’ corner stopped the fight in the 3rd round.

 

In Germany (yes, get ready for it), French journeyman Tony Averlant clearly beat #12 Eduard Gutknecht anywhere between 115-113 and 116-112, but British judge Ian-John Lewis and Spanish judge Alfredo Garcia Perez botched it, giving it to Gutknecht by close margins.  A close fight, yes, but a clear-cut win for Averlant, and that’s exactly how I shall treat it.  To give credit where credit is due, Belgium’s Philippe Verbeke had it scored exactly right.

 

Avoiding the trend of underwhelming performances was former Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik whose alcoholism has kept him out of the ring for the last 10 months.  It was only his choice of opponent that was underwhelming, as he stopped the completely overmatched Aaron Jaco in the 2nd round.

 

I can’t give more than 2 seconds’ thought to a ranking for Letoa since he was winless in his last 8 fights coming in.  About half of those were against prospects, and about half were against bad fighters.  Vlamis was simply heavily overrated, or else his loss was a complete fluke.  Averlant has a bit of a stronger argument.  For one thing, beating a #12 contender is a lot different than beating a top-50 guy.  Also, his results have been somewhat more acceptable.  He drew with German prospect Artur Hein about a year ago, in Germany.  I’ve got to assume he probably deserved to win that fight.  Also, he avenged it in the next match.  He lost a shutout decision to Pawel Glazewski over 6 rounds, but Glazewski remains an undefeated prospect at present, the fight was in Poland, and Glasewski came in at 177.5 to Averlant’s 171.5.  The hardest one to swallow is his 2-year-old loss to fellow frenchman Abdelkader Benzinia, a roughly .500 fighter at the time who has lost his next three fights against lesser opposition since then. 

 

So how do we make sense of all of this?  Clearly Gutknecht is not as good as the stoppage of McIntosh would suggest.  Averlant is likely better today than he was 2 years ago, and likely has been the victim of hometown judges and weight disadvantages before.  Clearly you could never have imagined him cracking the top 20 before the Gutknecht fight, but it’s hard to keep him out now.  If he had been a blank slate leading up to that fight, he would be a clear member of the top 10 now.  As it is, it’s pretty clear that to avoid embarrassingly confused results in the future when Gutknecht loses to another mediocre fighter, I must put the emphasis on Gutknecht’s loss moreso than Averlant’s win.  But Gutknecht still beat a #11 contender not long ago, and McIntosh has done nothing to re-distinguish himself since then.  Accordingly, Gutknecht takes a healthy tumble down to #18.  Averlant debuts at #17 just ahead of him.  The only reason Gutknecht didn’t fall further is because Danny McIntosh (now #19) caught him on his way down.  Edison Miranda (who himself lost to a guy that is now not considered a top 20 fighter in Despaigne) rounds out the top 20, as last week’s #20 Luis Garcia is once again forced out by Averlant’s arrival.

 

It seems to me that there are two divergent ways to look at this division.  Either it’s a hot division with lots of dangerous young fighters waiting in the wings, or it’s a division with a handful of dominant fighters (arguably ending at Dawson, Campillo, or Cloud) followed by an endless sea of indistinguishably mediocre fighters.  Gutknecht is not singular in his ability to look ordinary against seemingly lesser opposition.  Campillo struggled to a draw with Murat.  Cleverly was lucky to beat Bellew.  One thing’s for sure: I’m going to thing twice before I write off a light heavyweight journeyman fighting one of my contenders again.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (46-304-304)
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 (46-146-146)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal plans a tuneup in April or May, followed by a fight with Dawson.
2) Chad Dawson (68-305-305)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Gabriel Campillo (7-93-93)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
The IBF unsurprisingly rejected Campillo’s appeal and request for an immediate rematch.  Hopefully Campillo won’t need it since everyone saw him win.
4) Tavoris Cloud (7-136-136)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #6 Karo Murat
With the IBF’s complicity, he’s ducking a rematch with the man who clearly beat him, and will instead fight Karo Murat next.  Kessler is agitating for a fight with him, as well.
5) Nathan Cleverly (25-113-113)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
After originally quite admirably rejecting Cleverly’s proposed title fight with Krasniqi, the WBO folded and gave Cleverly 120 days after the fight to face Dmitri Sukhotski.
6) Karo Murat (27-27-48)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #4 Tavoris Cloud
After a draw with Campillo, he’ll now get a chance to get screwed just as badly against Cloud.
7) Tony Bellew (25-25-25)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. #19 Danny McIntosh
Bellew’s fight with McIntosh has been moved from Saturday the 14th to Friday the 13th.
8) Beibut Shumenov (9-89-93)
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 (9-57-93)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 4/27/2012- vs. Omar Sheika (UNR)
Mack will apparently be fighting journeyman Omar Sheika on April 27 in Atlantic City.
10) Dmitri Sukhotski (9-9-75)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBO originally demanded that Cleverly fight Sukhotski rather than the mediocre Krasniqi, but then backed down and gave Cleverly an extra 4 months to take the fight.
11) Isaac Chilemba (9-9)
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) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (1-9)
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.
13) Adrian Diaconu (1-256)
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.
14) Ismayl Sillakh (1-64)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: 4/27/2012- vs. Denis Grachev (UNR)
With Pascal ducking him, Sillakh will settle for a fight with undefeated Russian prospect Denis Grachev on Friday Night Fights.
15) Cornelius White (1-16)
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.
16) Zsolt Erdei (1-72)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Had a fight with Pascal lined up, but Showtime couldn’t come up with the money to make it happen.
17) Tony Averlant (1-1)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Eduard Gutknecht (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Averlant is probably closer to the journeyman he was on 3/30 than the solid fringe contender he became on 3/31, but a win is a win…even when it’s a loss (in Germany).
18) Eduard Gutknecht (1-48)
Last Fight: 3/31/2012- W*(SD12) vs. Tony Averlant (UNR) (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Lost a close but clear fight against Averlant, but got the decision.  That’s two at least questionable verdicts in a row for Gutknecht, both against extremely unranked fighters.
19) Danny McIntosh (1-93)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew
McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title.
20) Edison Miranda (1-16)
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.

 

The Week Ahead: The crap shoot that is the light heavyweight top 50 takes a week off for the Easter holiday.

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, Mar 26- Apr 1

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012 by danboxing
Another example of bad judging slapped us in the face this week.  In a very closely-contested fight between ordinarily super middleweight journeyman Jerson Ravelo and fringe prospect Joey Spina, judges John McKaie and especially Tony Perez covered themselves in whatever the opposite of glory is.  Perhaps excrement.  I had the fight a draw, and although he didn’t look great by any stretch of the imagination, you could make the case that Spina won the fight.  There was only one really hard round to score- the 8th and final.  And yet Perez found a way to give Ravelo all but one round in the fight.  There were at least 2 or 3 rounds in which he was being battered and was closer to losing it 10-8 than to winning it.  McKaie was pretty far off, too, but Perez stole the show.  Shafeeq Rashada, the third judge, had it just about exactly right at 77-75 Spina.  For rankings purposes (although the fight will not come close to earning either guy a ranking), I will treat it as a straight-up  draw.  No changes to the rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (45-303-303)
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 (45-145-145)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal plans a tuneup in April or May, followed by a fight with Dawson.
2) Chad Dawson (67-304-304)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Gabriel Campillo (6-92-92)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
The IBF unsurprisingly rejected Campillo’s appeal and request for an immediate rematch.  Hopefully Campillo won’t need it since everyone saw him win.
4) Tavoris Cloud (6-135-135)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #6 Karo Murat
With the IBF’s complicity, he’s ducking a rematch with the man who clearly beat him, and will instead fight Karo Murat next.  Kessler is agitating for a fight with him, as well.
5) Nathan Cleverly (24-112-112)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/28/2012- vs. Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Cleverly will fight April 28 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, against Robin Krasniqi, a fringe prospect from Serbia on the fringes of the top 50.  Not exactly a thrilling choice of opponent.  Even the WBO is crying foul, demanding that Cleverly fight Sukhotski next.
6) Karo Murat (26-26-47)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #4 Tavoris Cloud
After a draw with Campillo, he’ll now get a chance to get screwed just as badly against Cloud.
7) Tony Bellew (24-24-24)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. #18 Danny McIntosh
Bellew’s fight with McIntosh has been moved from Saturday the 14th to Friday the 13th.
8) Beibut Shumenov (8-88-92)
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 (8-56-92)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 4/27/2012- vs. Omar Sheika (UNR)
Mack will apparently be fighting journeyman Omar Sheika on April 27 in Atlantic City.
10) Dmitri Sukhotski (8-8-74)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly is clearly ducking him at the moment, and the WBO has finally had enough and is demanding a fight between the two.
11) Isaac Chilemba (8-8)
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 (8-47)
Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12* vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/31/2012- vs. Tony Averlant (UNR)
Gutknecht will follow up his shaky performance against Uzelkov with what looks like a much easier fight against french journeyman Tony Averlant on the Abraham-Wilczewski undercard.
13) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (8-8)
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 (8-255)
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 (8-63)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal, but that appears to be dead as Pascal apparently never wanted the fight.
16) Cornelius White (8-15)
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 (8-71)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Had a fight with Pascal lined up, but Showtime couldn’t come up with the money to make it happen.
18) Danny McIntosh (8-92)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/13/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew
McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title.
19) Edison Miranda (8-15)
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) Luis Garcia (6-6)
Last Fight- 12/30/2011- UD8 Alexander Johnson (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Hopefully 2012 looks a more like 2010 than 2011 for Garcia.  The prospect fought 6 times in the former and only once in the latter.

 

The Week Ahead: Three fights worth a mention this week:
Friday in Australia, local gatekeeper Manny Vlamis takes on low-level journeyman Togasilimai Letoa of Samoa. 

 

Saturday, #12 Eduard Gutknecht fights solid journeyman Tony Averlant of France, in Germany.  Later that night, troubled former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik returns to the ring for the first time in 10 months when he faces low-level fringe prospect Aaron Jaco in San Antonio.

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