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Light Heavyweight: 2014, Feb 3-9

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on May 15, 2014 by danboxing
Undefeated Australian prospect Blake Caparello made his American debut on Friday’s ESPN2-televised card from West Orange, New Jersey.  Caparello more or less cruised to victory.  His opponent- Kosovo native and journeyman Elvir Muriqi- barely did anything at all for four rounds.  He did start to find his range a little bit and have his moments from there, to the point that I did give him 3 rounds, but he didn’t win any of them clearly.  

 

Undefeated Danish prospect Erik Skoglund predictably had his way with low-level Spanish journeyman Adasat Rodriguez, dominating for 11 rounds before stopping Rodriguez early in the 12th.  

 

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 (74-74-74)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward says his manager is working on his next fight despite his lawsuit against promoter Dan Goossen.  He had indicated interest in Golovkin, but the Kazakh’s own trainer recently said his fighter is not ready for that fight.
1) Adonis Stevenson (35-35-35)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #6 Andrzej Fonfara
According to Ringtv.com, Stevenson-Fonfara will most likely land on May 24.  After that, it looks like the Kovalev fight will happen in late 2014.
2) Bernard Hopkins (74-400-400)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Beibut Shumenov (UNR)
Golden Boy has reportedly closed the deal on Hopkins-Shumenov, with March or April expected.
3) Jean Pascal (3-3-3)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD12 #16 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal appears to be fully back from his 2 years in the desert, figuratively speaking, having dominated an apparently shopworn Bute.
4) Sergey Kovalev (3-55-55)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO2 Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)
Next Fight: 3/29/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Kovalev is likely to fight Stevenson in late 2014, and has a March 29 fight coming up in Atlantic City- perhaps with Cedric Agnew.
5) Chad Dawson (3-401-401)
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.  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 (3-25-82)
Last Fight: 12/6/2013- KO2 Samuel Miller (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
May 24 looks likely for Fonfara-Stevenson.
7) Tony Bellew (3-121-121)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: 3/15/2013- vs. Valery Brudov (UNR) (at CW)
Bellew plans a move to cruiserweight, and his first fight there is scheduled for March 15 in Liverpool, against Valery Brudov.
8) Gabriel Campillo (3-189-189)
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.  For anyone who is wondering he says he plans to make another push for a title, rather than retiring.
9) Tavoris Cloud (3-232-232)
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 (3-209-209)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly’s cruiserweight debut is once again delayed by what’s being called a minor injury.  His promoter says he intends to schedule him another fight very soon.
11) Isaac Chilemba (3-105)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
12) Jürgen Brähmer (3-94)
Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD12 Marcus Oliveira (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/5/2014- vs. Enzo Maccarinelli (UNR)
Braehmer returns April 5 in Rostock, Germany against moderately resurgent Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli.
13) Karo Murat (2-15)
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. (2-2)
Last Fight: 1/24/2014- TKO1 #13 Cornelius White
Next Fight: Unknown
Williams has been well-matched against vulnerable guys with good resumes.
15) Cedric Agnew (3-43)
Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Agnew was ordered to defend his regional title against fringe contender Anatoliy Dudchenko, and also appears to have the option of fighting Sukhotsky for a position as IBF mandatory.  Even so, he’s now being mentioned as a possible March opponent for Sergey Kovalev.
16) Edwin Rodriguez (3-30)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez’s trainer Ronnie Shields opines that a fight against a top-15 level light heavyweight would be a good jumping-off point for his anticipated permanent move up.  Before that happens, he’ll need to recover from minor elbow surgery he had in December.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (15-32)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Cornelius White (2-112)
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 (2-54)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD10 Andy Gardiner (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Alvarez may have been suffering from a letdown after Oosthuizen withdrew from what could have been the Colombian’s biggest fight ever, and almost let it effect him to the point of losing to an unheralded undefeated prospect in Gardiner.
20) Lucian Bute (2-66)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- L (UD12) vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute looks rather shopworn after the brutal beating at the hands of Froch, the close pitched battle with Grachev, and the humiliation at the hands of Pascal.

 

The Week Ahead: Light Heavyweight is no exception to the general rule of no fights, as the Olympics kick off this week.

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Light Heavyweight: 2014, Jan 20-26

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 16, 2014 by danboxing
Jean Pascal got his mojo back on Saturday in Montreal.  The long-time contender- inactive at 175 and in significant fights in general- looked dynamic and entertaining in mostly dominating #16 Lucian Bute over 12 rounds.  For the first 11, Pascal virtually dominated.  I gave him every round, though there were as many as 4 toss-ups in the mix.  Round 12 was a different story, as Bute’s desperate attempt at a knockout seemed to be paying dividends, as Pascal appeared significantly hurt for a large portion of the frame.  In the post-fight interview, Pascal said he was basically taking punches intentionally in order to sell a possible rematch.  I think I believe him, at least to the extent that may have been laying on the ropes initially for that purpose.  I do think that Bute managed to capitalize on that and actually hurt him at some point, though I think HBO- perhaps also with selling the re-match in mind- oversold the drama to some extent.  He was hurt, but he wasn’t out on his feet or really in danger of getting stopped at any point, nor was it even arguably a 10-8 round.

 

On the undercard, #18 Eleider Alvarez got a fairly spirited challenge from late replacement opponent Andy Gardiner, who in fairness came in undefeated.  So spirited a challenge, in fact, that on my card, Alvarez needed every one of the last three rounds I gave him in order to get the nod.  The Quebec judges were predictably slanted in favor of the house fighter- even though Gardiner was actually the native Canadian of the two- with Marie-Josee Guerin turning in a ludicrous 99-91, a score that would prompt me to investigate her qualifications if I were the commission.  Jean LaPointe turned in a mostly reasonable 96-93, though I think he clearly erred in giving Alvarez a 10-8 round, it would appear, in round 8.  Alvarez hurt Gardiner at the close of the round, but it was a competitive frame prior to that, and the period of dominance was only 10 seconds, give or take.  Sylvain LeBlance had it 97-93, which is hard to argue with too much, considering it was only one toss-up round away from my own.  I would call this something of a dodged bullet for the Colombian prospect.

 

Pascal, who was only unranked due to inactivity- having been ranked #3 when he was removed last year- resumes that position with the decent win and his return.  Do I really think he’s better than Kovalev right now, you might ask?  Not really.  But he’s got a win over a #1 ranked contender in Dawson, and even though Hopkins’ age made those two fights rather significant upsets, Hopkins was ranked #3 for the draw and #1 for Pascal’s loss to him.  Kovalev’s best win so far is the destruction of #4 Campillo.  So while I acknowledge that the relative age of Pascal’s relevant resume introduces plenty of room for disagreement, I would say that Pascal has established himself at a slightly higher level, and that despite his adversity, he has not yet done anything to lower that level to anything less than #3.  That being said, he’s got two top-10 wins over Adrian Diaconu that will be expiring this year, and so I could see his ranking slipping over the course of the year unless he keeps busy among good competition.

 

Bute probably should have been viewed as better than his #16 ranking going in, since his super middleweight ranking sat at #4 when he was removed last year for moving up, and since he’s done nothing to significantly hurt his standing since.  Nevertheless, his record at 175 specifically has suffered.  There’s not much shame in losing to Pascal for a mid-teens contender, but the amount of time it took to make the fight happen and the resulting inactivity has helped diminish him.  His lone win at the weight, a fairly close decision over Denis Grachev in late 2012, is now over a year old, while Hadillah Mohoumadi has a more recent and more impressive victory over a guy not ranked far below.  In addition, Eleider Alvarez, irrespective of his low-level win this weekend, has the kind of quantity (3 significant wins) that allows him to pass Bute as well.  Mohoumadi therefore stays put at #17, and Alvarez at #18, while Bute slides two places in addition to the one which Pascal’s return would demand- to #19.  Last week’s #s 4-15 backtrack a spot, with Isaac Chilemba bouncd from the top 10 after 42 consecutive weeks.  Sukhotsky falls from #19 to #20, while Enzo Maccarinelli is forced from the rankings after 22 consecutive weeks in.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (72-72-72)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward says his manager is working on his next fight despite his lawsuit against promoter Dan Goossen.  He had indicated interest in Golovkin, but the Kazakh’s own trainer recently said his fighter is not ready for that fight.
1) Adonis Stevenson (33-33-33)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #6 Andrzej Fonfara
Fightnews.com reports that Stevenson’s next fight will be on an undetermined date against #6 Andrzej Fonfara.
2) Bernard Hopkins (72-398-398)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. Beibut Shumenov (UNR)
Golden Boy has reportedly closed the deal on Hopkins-Shumenov, with March or April expected.
3) Jean Pascal (1-1-1)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD12 #16 Lucian Bute
Next Fight: Unknown
Pascal appears to be fully back from his 2 years in the desert, figuratively speaking, having dominated an apparently shopworn Bute.
4) Sergey Kovalev (1-53-53)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO2 Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev is actively pursuing a fight with a seemingly reluctant Stevenson, and says he’s open to fighting Ward at 175, too.  More recently, there is talk of a March 15 bout, with Pascal being one possibility.
5) Chad Dawson (1-399-399)
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.  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 (1-23-80)
Last Fight: 12/6/2013- KO2 Samuel Miller (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown Date- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Fonfara will reportedly be fighting Stevenson next, but no date yet.
7) Tony Bellew (1-119-119)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: 3/15/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent (at CW)
Bellew plans a move to cruiserweight, and his first fight there is scheduled for March 15 in Liverpool.
8) Gabriel Campillo (1-187-187)
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.  For anyone who is wondering he says he plans to make another push for a title, rather than retiring.
9) Tavoris Cloud (1-230-230)
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 (1-207-207)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly’s cruiserweight debut is once again delayed by what’s being called a minor injury.  His promoter says he intends to schedule him another fight very soon.
11) Isaac Chilemba (1-103)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
12) Jürgen Brähmer (1-92)
Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD12 Marcus Oliveira (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/5/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Braehmer returns April 5 in Rostock, Germany.
13) Cornelius White (1-110)
Last Fight: 6/14/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Thomas Williams, Jr. (UNR)
White will once again play underdog, but to much less-proven fighter in Thomas Williams.
14) Karo Murat (1-13)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
15) Cedric Agnew (1-41)
Last Fight: 4/12/2013- UD12 #14 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Agnew was ordered to defend his regional title against fringe contender Anatoliy Dudchenko, but now it looks like he might instead fight Sukhotsky for a position as IBF mandatory.
16) Edwin Rodriguez (1-28)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez’s trainer Ronnie Shields opines that a fight against a top-15 level light heavyweight would be a good jumping-off point for his anticipated permanent move up.  Before that happens, he’ll need to recover from minor elbow surgery he had in December.
17) Hadillah Mohoumadi (13-30)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Mohoumadi snuck in a low-level win on November 30, apparently at 168.
18) Eleider Alvarez (13-52)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- UD10 Andy Gardiner (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Alvarez may have been suffering from a letdown after Oosthuizen withdrew from what could have been the Colombian’s biggest fight ever, and almost let it effect him to the point of losing to an unheralded undefeated prospect in Gardiner.
19) Lucian Bute (1-64)
Last Fight: 1/18/2014- L (UD12) vs. Jean Pascal (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Bute looks rather shopworn after the brutal beating at the hands of Froch, the close pitched battle with Grachev, and the humiliation at the hands of Pascal.
20) Dmitry Sukhotsky (1-9)
Last Fight: 11/23/2013- TKO5 Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotsky was penciled in to fight Fonfara for a mandatory shot at an alphabet belt, but it now looks like Cedric Agnew will be in the other corner, instead.

 

The Week Ahead: 
Friday
Roberto Feliciano Bolonti vs. Jose Clavero; Pinamar, Argentina; TyC Sports (ARG)Roberto Feliciano Bolonti is a 35 year-old gatekeeper from the Buenos Aires area.  He lost a 4-rounder early in his career, but his only loss since that one in 2006 was a decision to Tony Bellew in 2012.  He has generally prospered against mid-level journeyman and below, aside from that.  His best win to date- at least arguably- was an 8th round KO of none other than Clavero from 2012.  As for Clavero, he’s a mid-level journeyman.  Usually gives a good account of himself, but if Feliciano Bolonti is the top 30 fighter Boxrec imagines him to be, a repeat of the first meeting is likely.
 
 
#13 Cornelius White vs. Thomas Williams, Jr.; Shelton, Washington; ESPN2 (US)
Despite being more accomplished, White is clearly being cast as the underdog in this one, as Williams has superior promotional backing and is considered a high-level prospect.  White could use this upset- in the tradition of his shocking wins over Yordanis Despaigne and Dmitry Sukhotsky- to confirm himself as the relevant fighter few ever noticed he was in the first place.
 
Saturday
Sean Monaghan vs. Matt Vanda; New York, New York; Off TV
Even in the eyes of HBO, which has an interest in career and has put one of his fights on a major PPV card recently, Monaghan is seen as a fun-to-watch crude bar brawler-type, but one that has managed to build a top-50 resume by applying that style to its full potential.  Vanda is a veteran clubfighter that has generally been seen as a high-level journeyman for most of his career, but has been slipping lately.

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Light Heavyweight: 2014, Jan 13-19

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 12, 2014 by danboxing
I’ve got nothing to report from last week.  That’s four weeks in a row.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (71-71-71)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD12 #15 Edwin Rodriguez (as SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward says his manager is working on his next fight despite his lawsuit against promoter Dan Goossen.  He had indicated interest in Golovkin, but the Kazakh’s own trainer recently said his fighter is not ready for that fight.
1) Adonis Stevenson (32-32-32)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO6 #6 Tony Bellew
Next Fight: Unknown
Stevenson-Kovalev is the obvious can’t-miss battle in the division, but it sounds like Stevenson is looking for a much safer outing against Andrzej Fonfara for April 12.  He does say he will fight Kovalev in 2014, and intends to announce his next fight for certain next week.
2) Bernard Hopkins (71-397-397)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- UD12 Karo Murat (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Golden Boy is working on an in-house clash between Hopkins and Shumenov, though B-Hop still says he strongly prefers a middleweight clash with Mayweather- a great superfight, but a fight that is probably not going to get made, realistically.
3) Sergey Kovalev (31-52-52)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO2 Ismayl Sillakh (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev is actively pursuing a fight with a seemingly reluctant Stevenson, and says he’s open to fighting Ward at 175, too.  More recently, there is talk of a March 15 bout, with stated possibilities being Fonfara or the Pascal-Bute winner.
4) Chad Dawson (31-398-398)
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.  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.
5) Andrzej Fonfara (22-22-79)
Last Fight: 12/6/2013- KO2 Samuel Miller (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Fonfara appears to be a top option to fight both Kovalev and Stevenson.  Pick your poison.
6) Tony Bellew (22-118-118)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- L (TKO6) vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: 3/15/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent (at CW)
Bellew plans a move to cruiserweight, and his first fight there is scheduled for March 15 in Liverpool.
7) Gabriel Campillo (22-186-186)
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.  For anyone who is wondering he says he plans to make another push for a title, rather than retiring.
8) Tavoris Cloud (22-229-229)
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 (22-206-206)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly’s cruiserweight debut is once again delayed by what’s being called a minor injury.  His promoter says he intends to schedule him another fight very soon.
10) Isaac Chilemba (22-42-102)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- UD8 Michael Gbenga (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
11) Jürgen Brähmer (5-91)
Last Fight: 12/14/2013- UD12 Marcus Oliveira (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/5/2014- vs. Unknown Opponent
Braehmer returns April 5 in Rostock, Germany.
12) Cornelius White (5-109)
Last Fight: 6/14/2013- L (TKO3) vs. #5 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: 1/24/2014- vs. Thomas Williams, Jr. (UNR)
White will once again play underdog, but to much less-proven fight in Thomas Williams.
13) Karo Murat (12-12)
Last Fight: 10/26/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Cedric Agnew (12-40)
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 (12-27)
Last Fight: 11/16/2013- L (UD12) vs. Champ Andre Ward
Next Fight: Unknown
Rodriguez’s trainer Ronnie Shields opines that a fight against a top-15 level light heavyweight would be a good jumping-off point for his anticipated permanent move up.  Before that happens, he’ll need to recover from minor elbow surgery he had in December.
16) Lucian Bute (12-63)
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 (12-29)
Last Fight: 11/30/2013- TKO5 Bartlomiej Grafka (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Mohoumadi snuck in a low-level win on November 30, apparently at 168.
18) Eleider Alvarez (12-51)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- UD10 Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/18/2014- vs. Andrew Gardiner (UNR)
Alvarez’s high-profile outing on January 18 turned into mostly a stay-busy fight with the withdrawal of Thomas Oosthuizen and the substitution- on just over a week’s notice- of unproven prospect Gardiner.
19) Dmitry Sukhotsky (8-8)
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 (8-22)
Last Fight: 12/7/2013- TKO7 Courtney Fry (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Maccarinelli is being rumored as Braehmer’s as-yet-unannounced opponent for April 5.

 

The Week Ahead: Finally some fights to talk about at 175!
Saturday
#16 Lucian Bute vs. Jean Pascal; Montreal, Quebec; HBO (US)
Bute has got to be the underdog.  It’s not that he’s moving up for this fight, but he looked very ordinary in narrowly outpointing Denis Grachev, which came after a taxing beating at the hands of Froch.  Pascal has been very inactive, but would be a clear top 5 contender if not for that fact.  He also has enough power to trouble Bute’s questionable chin and enough awkwardness to disrupt his rhythm.

 

#18 Eleider Alvarez vs. Andrew Gardiner; Montreal, Quebec; Off TV (US)
Alvarez was scheduled for a big shot against Thomas Oosthuizen, but the South African pulled out under dubious circumstances.  Attempts to find an HBO-friendly replacement on short-notice failed, and Alvarez was left with Gardiner- an undefeated but unproven Canadian prospect.  The fight will probably be televised in Canada, but I’m not certain of that.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Sep 30- Oct 6

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on October 12, 2013 by danboxing
In what turned out to be the week’s only important action technically at 175, #1 Adonis Stevenson thoroughly dominated #8 Tavoris Cloud, who at this point must be considered a faded former top contender.  Stevenson not only brutally thumped Cloud as you might have expected, but also brilliantly outboxed him, which might not have been quite as foreseeable for the vaunted slugger.  Cloud has now lost his last three fights by the estimation of anyone who cares about the truth, while Stevenson has proven that his lightning-quick destruction of Chad Dawson was no fluke.

 

Former Champ Jean Pascal looked sensational against aging former gatekeeper George Blades, mercilessly pummeling the Hoosier former title contender for 5 brutal rounds that finally ended (much too late) when the 3 knockdown rule was triggered in that stanza.  On a personal note, I met both men in 2011 when I was randomly seated directly behind Pascal and directly in front of Blades at the Alexander-Matthysse fight.  Both were very gracious, and I’ve even kept in touch with George.  It pained me to see him absorb that beating, and I hope he either retires or settles down to fighting some ham and eggers for easy money, because it’s clear that he doesn’t belong at the contender level- certainly not at this point in his career.  The fight was contested at a contract weight of 180, with Pascal scaling 177.25, which means the Haitian contender still has yet to make 175 since losing the Championship to Hopkins well over 2 years ago, and is thus still ineligible for a ranking at this time.

 

The 180 pound bug bit #20 Eleider Alvarez, too, as his fight with fringe contender and fellow Colombian Edison Miranda was also contested at that weight.  Alvarez, who appeared to be the naturally bigger and stronger man, got the nod from all three judges in what was an essentially dead-even see-saw battle.  Two of the judges, as usual, were crooks.  Richard DeCarufel had it the same as I did (95-94 Alvarez), but the other two were totally out of bounds.  Sylvain LeBlanc scored it 97-92, meaning he scored all the close rounds for Alvarez, and at least one pretty clear Miranda round.  But the cake was taken by Jean Gauthier, who somehow had only one round for Miranda.  

 

Stevenson’s victory over Cloud merely enforced the status quo, and produces no changes.  While Alvarez’s win was debatable and not really that close to the divisional limit, it was a fair fight (judging aside) and a win over a credible known quantity in the division, and therefore it can’t reasonably help but bump him up.  Alvarez moves up to #17, bumping Maccarinelli, Grachev, and Sukhotsky down a notch.

 

In a bit of a surprise, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. ballooned well above the anticipate low super middleweight contract weight for his fight with Bryan Vera, and the fight was renegotiated at nearly the last minute into a 173 pound contest.  Chavez almost certainly lost the fight, but was awarded a totally undeserved unanimous decision- though I can’t say a narrow Chavez win was totally inconceivable.  It simply wouldn’t make sense to drag a guy like Vera- a small super middleweight at best, to 175 unexpectedly, win dubiously, and get ranked for it.  And given my policy of deferring to the official winner slightly in close cases like this, it would not be possible to rank Vera- who would deserve it more- without also ranking the wrongdoer, Chavez.  Therefore this fight will have no bearing on this division’s rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (56-56-56)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. #14 Edwin Rodriguez (at SMW)
After tons of posturing, Ward-Rodriguez is now done for 11/16 in Ontario, California.
1) Adonis Stevenson (17-17-17)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- TKO7 #8 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #6 Tony Bellew
Stevenson is tentatively set to fight Tony Bellew on November 30.  That’s a quick turnaround from his fight two months earlier, so we’ll see if it happens then or not.
2) Bernard Hopkins (56-382-382)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 10/26/2013- vs. Karo Murat (UNR)
Hopkins-Murat has been reset for October 26, with Showtime televising.
3) Sergey Kovalev (16-37-37)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO4 #8 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev’s mandatory is Braehmer, and Fonfara has been rumored, as well.
4) Chad Dawson (16-383-383)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson may be returning sometime in November.
5) Andrzej Fonfara (7-7-64)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- KO9 #6 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
See Kovalev’s notes, above.
6) Tony Bellew (7-103-103)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
Bellew is tentatively scheduled to fight the Stevenson on his November 30 birthday.
7) Gabriel Campillo (7-171-171)
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 (7-214-214)
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 (7-191-191)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly says he’ll take a vacation after his drubbing at the hands of Kovalev, and is unsure as to whether he’ll keep fighting or not.
10) Isaac Chilemba (7-27-87)
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.
11) Cornelius White (7-94)
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 (6-76)
Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 Stefano Abatangelo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer is Kovalev’s mandatory, for whatever that’s worth.
13) Cedric Agnew (6-25)
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.
14) Edwin Rodriguez (7-12)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- TKO1 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
See Ward’s notes, above.
15) Lucian Bute (12-48)
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.
16) Hadillah Mohoumadi (12-14)
Last Fight: 6/29/2013- TKO7 CW #20 Pawel Glazewski
Next Fight: Unknown
Mohoumadi’s fight with De Carolis was briefly rescheduled, but then appears to have been cancelled entirely.
17) Eleider Alvarez (1-36)
Last Fight: 9/28/2013- UD10 Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
18) Enzo Maccarinelli (1-7)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO11 Ovill McKenzie (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Maccarinelli has revitalized his career to an extent with the gutsy McKenzie win.
19) Denis Grachev (1-75)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- L (TKO1) vs. #13 SMW Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Dmitry Sukhotsky (1-153)
Last Fight: 6/4/2013- KO3 Mikhail Krinitsin (UNR) (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotsky may be sticking around at 168 from now on, but only time will tell.  He has until December to schedule a fight at 175 if he wants to keep his ranking.

 

The Week Ahead: The French title is on the line in Vignes aux Bois, as low-level one-loss fringe prospect Patrick…well…Bois…fights in what I assume must be his ancestral hometown or something against gatekeeper Nadjib Mohammedi.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Sep 23-29

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on September 30, 2013 by danboxing
Ukrainian gatekeeper Vyacheslav Uzelkov got back in the win column on Saturday, knocking out lower-mid-range Hungarian journeyman Attila Palko in just one round in Kharkov, Ukraine.

 

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 (55-55-55)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. #14 Edwin Rodriguez
After tons of posturing, Ward-Rodriguez is now done for 11/16 in Ontario, California.
1) Adonis Stevenson (16-16-16)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- TKO1 #1 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: 9/28/2013- vs. #8 Tavoris Cloud
It’s Stevenson-Cloud in September, with the winner to fight Bellew in November. 
2) Bernard Hopkins (55-381-381)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 10/26/2013- vs. Karo Murat (UNR)
Hopkins-Murat has been reset for October 26, with Showtime televising.
3) Sergey Kovalev (15-36-36)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO4 #8 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev’s manager expects his next opponent to be chosen by mid-September.  His mandatory is Braehmer, and Fonfara has been rumored, as well.
4) Chad Dawson (15-382-382)
Last Fight: 6/8/2013- L(TKO1) vs. SMW #6 Adonis Stevenson
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson may be returning sometime in November.
5) Andrzej Fonfara (6-6-63)
Last Fight: 8/16/2013- KO9 #6 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
See Kovalev’s notes, above.
6) Tony Bellew (6-102-102)
Last Fight: 5/25/2013- UD12 #7 Isaac Chilemba
Next Fight: 11/30/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Bellew is scheduled to fight the Stevenson-Cloud winner on his November 30 birthday.
7) Gabriel Campillo (6-170-170)
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 (6-213-213)
Last Fight: 3/9/2013- L (UD12) vs. #2 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 9/28/2013- vs. #1 Adonis Stevenson
See Stevenson’s notes, above.
9) Nathan Cleverly (6-190-190)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- L (TKO4) vs. #3 Sergey Kovalev
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly says he’ll take a vacation after his drubbing at the hands of Kovalev, and is unsure as to whether he’ll keep fighting or not.
10) Isaac Chilemba (6-26-86)
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.
11) Cornelius White (6-93)
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 (5-75)
Last Fight: 8/24/2013- UD12 Stefano Abatangelo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Braehmer is Kovalev’s mandatory, for whatever that’s worth.
13) Cedric Agnew (5-24)
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.
14) Edwin Rodriguez (6-11)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- TKO1 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 11/16/2013- vs. Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
See Ward’s notes, above.
15) Lucian Bute (11-47)
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.
16) Hadillah Mohoumadi (11-13)
Last Fight: 6/29/2013- TKO7 CW #20 Pawel Glazewski
Next Fight: Unknown
Mohoumadi’s fight with De Carolis was briefly rescheduled, but then appears to have been cancelled entirely.
17) Enzo Maccarinelli (6-6)
Last Fight: 8/17/2013- TKO11 Ovill McKenzie (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Maccarinelli has revitalized his career to an extent with the gutsy McKenzie win.
18) Denis Grachev (6-74)
Last Fight: 7/13/2013- L (TKO1) vs. #13 SMW Edwin Rodriguez
Next Fight: Unknown
19) Dmitry Sukhotsky (6-152)
Last Fight: 6/4/2013- KO3 Mikhail Krinitsin (UNR) (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotsky may be sticking around at 168 from now on, but only time will tell.  He has until December to schedule a fight at 175 if he wants to keep his ranking.
20) Eleider Alvarez (6-35)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Next Fight: 9/28/2013- vs. Edison Miranda (UNR)
Alvarez’s 9/28 opponent will be fringe contender Edison Miranda.  If nothing else, this will crown an undisputed Champion of Colombia and probably South America.

 

The Week Ahead: Montreal is the site of this week’s activity at 175, all on Saturday.

 

The main event is, of course, the high-profile battle between #1 Adonis Stevenson and #8 Tavoris Cloud.

 

In an all-Colombian bout on the undercard, #20 Eleider Alvarez collides with fringe contender Edison Miranda.  It certainly amounts to a contest for the  undisputed championship of Colombia, and arguably for that of South America, as well, and the winner should end up very comfortably ranked. 

 

Also on the card, former Champ Jean Pascal will look to tune up for his upcoming fight with Lucian Bute by taking on high-level but fairly inactive journeyman George Blades- himself a former title challenger.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, May 6-12

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on May 6, 2013 by danboxing
#10 Super Middleweight Anthony Dirrell came in at light heavyweight for his fight with super middleweight Don Mouton, and laid an egg.  I’ll treat it in greater detail at 168, since it has more implications at that weight.

 

No changes.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (35-35-35)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward is looking to return in August, and is reportedly thinking about fighting one of the winners of Kessler-Froch and Pascal-Bute, at least at some point.
1) Chad Dawson (35-362-362)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. SMW #7 Adonis Stevenson
Dawson will fight Adonis Stevenson (who moves up from 168) on June 8 in Montreal.
2) Bernard Hopkins (35-361-361)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 7/27/2013- 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) Jean Pascal (35-203-203)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- UD10 Alexei Kuziemski (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #15 Lucian Bute
Pascal bailed on Dawson for a less internationally compelling fight with Lucian Bute on the same date.
4) Sergey Kovalev (16-16-16)
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 (16-150-150)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Polish sources report that Campillo is working on a deal to fight Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago’s Comiskey Park on August 16.
6) Tavoris Cloud (16-193-193)
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 (3-170-170)
Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD12 Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly is hoping to fight Shumenov and then Hopkins, though he also has a mandatory obligation with Juergen Braehmer to take care of at some point, theoretically.
8) Isaac Chilemba (3-6-66)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- Draw* (SD12) vs. #9 Tony Bellew (should be win)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #10 Tony Bellew
That didn’t take long!  Chilemba will rematch Bellew on the Froch-Kessler undercard in London, less than two months removed from getting borderline robbed the first time around.
9) Cornelius White (3-43-73)
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) Tony Bellew (6-82-82)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- Draw* (SD12) vs. #13 Isaac Chilemba (should be loss)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #7 Isaac Chilemba
See Chilemba’s notes, above.
11) Cedric Agnew (4-4)
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.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (4-55)
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.
13) Beibut Shumenov (4-150)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Nathan Cleverly has named Shumenov his preferred next opponent.  No word on whether Shumenov has encouraged this stance behind the scenes or not, though.  Shumenov’s mandatory, I believe, is Marcus Oliveira.
14) Andrzej Fonfara (4-43)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 8/16/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
Reports out of Poland indicate a deal is being negotiated for Fonfara to fight Gabriel Campillo at Comiskey Park in Chicago on August 16.
15) Lucian Bute (5-27)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Jean Pascal
Bute will look to prove what I have long believed- that the 168 pound division is much better man-for-man than 175, by fighting his larger peer in Montreal on May 25.
16) Denis Grachev (5-54)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013– W* (SD10) vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR) (should be draw)
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. SMW #15 Edwin Rodriguez
Grachev will be fighting Edwin Rodriguez at a catchweight of 171.5 in Monte Carlo for a million dollar prize.
17) Dmitri Sukhotski (5-132)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/4/2013- vs. Mikhail Krinitsin
Sukhotski will fight in Barnaul, Russia on June 4 against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin.
18) Eleider Alvarez (5-15)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Allan Green (UNR)
Alvarez takes on dangerous gatekeeper Allan Green on the Bute-Pascal undercard.
19) Yunieski Gonzalez (5-8)
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. 
20) Doudou Ngumbu (5-5)
Last Fight: 3/16/2013- UD12 #14 Vyacheslav Uzelkoff
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: Gatekeeper Lionell Thompson takes on unbeaten Floridian Yathomas Riley on Saturday in Huntington, NY.  Riley was on his way to the top 50 when he was jailed for nearly 2 years for an attempted murder that he did not commit.  The 30 year-old Riley is obviously not in the mood to waste time, as he is stepping right into the mix against a (borderline) top 50 opponent in his first fight in over 3 years.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Apr 29- May 5

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on May 1, 2013 by danboxing
#12 Juergen Braehmer scored a 2nd round knockout of journeyman Tony Averlant with a beautiful left hook to the body.  Averlant beat the count, but clearly wanted no more.  This would have been a good win for Braehmer a few months ago, but Averlant lost to a low-level journeyman in Mounir Toumi between his should-be win over Eduard Gutknecht that had him ranked in the top 20 and now.  No changes to the rankings.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (34-34-34)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ward is looking to return in August, and is reportedly thinking about fighting one of the winners of Kessler-Froch and Pascal-Bute, at least at some point.
1) Chad Dawson (34-361-361)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 6/8/2013- vs. SMW #7 Adonis Stevenson
Dawson will fight Adonis Stevenson (who moves up from 168) on June 8 in Montreal.
2) Bernard Hopkins (34-360-360)
Last Fight: 3/9/2012- UD12 #6 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: 7/27/2013- 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) Jean Pascal (34-202-202)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- UD10 Alexei Kuziemski (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #15 Lucian Bute
Pascal bailed on Dawson for a less internationally compelling fight with Lucian Bute on the same date.
4) Sergey Kovalev (15-15-15)
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 (15-149-149)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- L(TKO3) vs. Sergey Kovalev (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Polish sources report that Campillo is working on a deal to fight Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago’s Comiskey Park on August 16.
6) Tavoris Cloud (15-192-192)
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 (2-169-169)
Last Fight: 4/20/2013- UD12 Robin Krasniqi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Cleverly is hoping to fight Shumenov and then Hopkins, though he also has a mandatory obligation with Juergen Braehmer to take care of at some point, theoretically.
8) Isaac Chilemba (2-5-65)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- Draw* (SD12) vs. #9 Tony Bellew (should be win)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #10 Tony Bellew
That didn’t take long!  Chilemba will rematch Bellew on the Froch-Kessler undercard in London, less than two months removed from getting borderline robbed the first time around.
9) Cornelius White (2-42-72)
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 spareked out in just seconds by Don George.  If he’s the latter, Kovalev should prove it pretty quickly.
10) Tony Bellew (5-81-81)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013- Draw* (SD12) vs. #13 Isaac Chilemba (should be loss)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #7 Isaac Chilemba
See Chilemba’s notes, above.
11) Cedric Agnew (3-3)
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.
12) Jürgen Brähmer (3-54)
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.
13) Beibut Shumenov (3-149)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Nathan Cleverly has named Shumenov his preferred next opponent.  No word on whether Shumenov has encouraged this stance behind the scenes or not, though.  Shumenov’s mandatory, I believe, is Marcus Oliveira.
14) Andrzej Fonfara (3-42)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Reports out of Poland indicate a deal is being negotiated for Fonfara to fight Gabriel Campillo at Comiskey Park in Chicago on August 16.
15) Lucian Bute (4-26)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Jean Pascal
Bute will look to prove what I have long believed- that the 168 pound division is much better man-for-man than 175, by fighting his larger peer in Montreal on May 25.
16) Denis Grachev (4-53)
Last Fight: 3/30/2013– W* (SD10) vs. Zsolt Erdei (UNR) (should be draw)
Next Fight: 7/13/2013- vs. SMW #16 Edwin Rodriguez
Grachev will be fighting Edwin Rodriguez at a catchweight of 171.5 in Monte Carlo for a million dollar prize.
17) Dmitri Sukhotski (4-131)
Last Fight: 12/8/2012- TKO1 Vladimir Borovsky (UNR)
Next Fight: 6/4/2013- vs. Mikhail Krinitsin
Sukhotski will fight in Barnaul, Russia on June 4 against low-level Kazakh journeyman Mikhail Krinitsin.
18) Eleider Alvarez (4-14)
Last Fight: 3/22/2013- TKO3 Nicholson Poulard (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Allan Green (UNR)
Alvarez takes on dangerous gatekeeper Allan Green on the Bute-Pascal undercard.
19) Yunieski Gonzalez (4-7)
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. 
20) Doudou Ngumbu (4-4)
Last Fight: 3/16/2013- UD12 #14 Vyacheslav Uzelkoff
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: No significant action in the division, unless Anthony Dirrell’s return fight against an unknown opponent strays above the 168 limit.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Feb 25-Mar 3

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on March 1, 2013 by danboxing
#20 cruiserweight Pawel Glazewski cruised to an easy shutout victory over low-level journeyman Bartlomiej Grafka in Gdansk, Poland right here at good ‘ole 175 on Saturday. 

 

The following night in Kampala, Uganda, local gatekeeper Joey Vegas knocked out winless 20-fight veteran Mustapha Noor.

 

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 (25-25-25)
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 (25-352-352)
Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #3 Jean Pascal
Strange news- apparently Pascal has reached a deal to fight Lucian Bute.  As of now the best information indicates that this would happen after the Dawson fight, but nobody seems certain that Pascal won’t ditch Dawson instead.
2) Bernard Hopkins (25-351-351)
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 (25-193-193)
Last Fight: 12/14/2012- UD10 Alexei Kuziemski (UNR)
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. #1 Chad Dawson
As mentioned in Dawson’s notes, there is some intrigue involving a Pascal fight with Bute, either after or instead of the scheduled fight with Dawson.  If Pascal does ditch Dawson and scheduleds the Bute fight for any date after May 25, I believe I will be forced to take the long-overdue step of removing Pascal for inactivity, since he’s been stringing together scheduled fights that either don’t happen or for which he comes in heavy.
4) Sergey Kovalev (6-6-6)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev is hoping to return in Moscow in April.
5) Gabriel Campillo (6-140-140)
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 (6-183-183)
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 (6-33-63)
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 (6-160-160)
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 (6-72-72)
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.  Bellew has also offered to fight Chad Dawson if Pascal indeed withdraws on him.
10) Jürgen Brähmer (4-4-45)
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 (4-95)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Murat last made 175 on October 1, 2011.  He’s fought once slightly over the limit since then, giving him until April 1 to schedule a fight here.  This is partly Cloud’s fault for essentially standing him up, but that’s way too little activity to draw sympathy from me.
12) Beibut Shumenov (4-140)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
13) Isaac Chilemba (4-56)
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 (4-56)
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 (4-33)
Last Fight: 11/16/2012- TKO7 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Fonfara aggravated a previous injury to his right hand and had to withdraw from his ESPN2 fight with Nicholson Poulard.  He will hope that it heals on its own in a month, but if not he will need surgery that would keep him out for an additional 3-6 months.
16) Yusaf Mack (4-140)
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 (6-17)
Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis Grachev
Next Fight: 5/25/2013- vs. Unknown Opponent
It originally appeared that Bute would be fighting Bika for a shot at Ward, but now he seems to have reached a deal to fight the seemingly otherwise-engaged Jean Pascal, instead.  Not sure of the timeline of the latter fight, or how it affects the Bika fight.
18) Denis Grachev (6-44)
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 (6-122)
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 (5-5)
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: Thursday in Brisbane, Australia, local gatekeeper Mark Flanagan battles mid-range Kiwi journeyman Daniel MacKinnon.

 

The next night, due south near Melbourne, undefeated local prospect Blake Caparello takes on low-level journeyman Ayittey Powers.

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Light Heavyweight: 2013, Feb 11-17

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on February 12, 2013 by danboxing
No action to report from last week.

 

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)
Champ: Andre Ward (23-23-23)
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 (23-350-350)
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 (23-349-349)
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 (23-191-191)
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 (4-4-4)
Last Fight: 1/19/2013- TKO3 #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
Kovalev is hoping to return in Moscow in April.
5) Gabriel Campillo (4-138-138)
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 (4-181-181)
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 (4-31-61)
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 (4-158-158)
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 (4-70-70)
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 (2-2-43)
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 (2-93)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Murat last made 175 on October 1, 2011.  He’s fought once slightly over the limit since then, giving him until April 1 to schedule a fight here.  This is partly Cloud’s fault for essentially standing him up, but that’s way too little activity to draw sympathy from me.
12) Beibut Shumenov (2-138)
Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
13) Isaac Chilemba (2-54)
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 (2-54)
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 (2-31)
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 (2-138)
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 (4-15)
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 (4-42)
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 (4-120)
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 (3-3)
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: Friday: Middleweight fringe contender Garth Wood- who at one point was a super middleweight fringe contender before that- bloats all the way up to light heavyweight to challenge journeyman Togasilimai Letoa, the Samoan who scored one of the biggest upsets in the division last year by stopping gatekeeper Manny Vlamis in March, for a minor regional title.  After beating Vlamis, Letoa went back to his previous pattern in his next fight, losing a 6-round decision to a less experienced journeyman.

 

Saturday: Undefeated South African prospect Ryno Liebenberg takes on low-level Ghanaian journeyman Flash Issaka in Kempton Park, South Africa. 

 

Half a world away in Montevideo, Uruguay, 2-loss Argentine Pablo Farias will fight his countryman, journeyman Mauricio Caceda.

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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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