Archive for Luis Garcia

Light Heavyweight: 2012, Feb 20-26

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012 by danboxing
I’m not going to bother with a blow-by-blow of last week’s disgraceful outcome.  Suffice it to say that Campillo beat Cloud by either 2 or 4 points, and got robbed.  Again.  There isn’t one chance in hell it was anything but a clear victory for Campillo, and you can add David Robertson and Joel Elizondo to the long list of corrupt or buffoonish judges that should never be allowed the privilege to judge a fight again.  Denny Nelson got it right.  Robertson’s card was particularly egregious.  At 116-110, he scored every round that Cloud MIGHT have won for Cloud, plus a full 4 rounds that he clearly lost.  Embarrassing.  Needless to say I’m treating this as a win for Campillo in my rankings, as should any decent entity.

 

That being said, the repercussions are relatively minor.  Cloud and Campillo switch places.  Chad Dawson is as entrenched as one can get at the #2 spot, having beaten a string of contenders rated between 2 and 4 a couple years ago, while #5 Nathan Cleverly hasn’t been anywhere near that level yet.

 

Jesus Gonzales relinquishes his #20 ranking this week, as well.  He beat a fattened up super middleweight to earn the ranking in the first place, while fighting as a super middleweight himself.  So his claim to a ranking here was tenuous to begin with.  Last week, he got iced in just one round by Adonis Stevenson a division to the south, so he loses all benefit of the doubt at this point.  This allows Cuban prospect Luis Garcia to reenter after two weeks out.

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (40-298-298)
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 (40-140-140)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Pascal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight.  Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (62-299-299)
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 (1-87-87)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
Campillo all but dominated Cloud after being knocked down twice in round 1.  He won by at least two points- probably 4, but the judges robbed him, as they often do.  I don’t give any credence to judging that bad here.  Campillo is the winner.
4) Tavoris Cloud (1-130-130)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: Unknown
I would say I hope the IBF orders an immediate rematch, but Cloud has no right to expect that, and probably doesn’t want it.  Campillo won the fight, and everybody knows that.  Campillo doesn’t need a rematch as far as I’m concerned.
5) Nathan Cleverly (19-107-107)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Cleverly’s next opponent is American journeyman Tommy Karpency.  A bit of a disappointment.
6) Karo Murat (21-21-42)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (19-19-19)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #18 Danny McIntosh
Bellew will face McIntosh in Liverpool on April 14.
8) Beibut Shumenov (3-83-87)
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 (3-51-87)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
10) Dmitri Sukhotski (3-3-69)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February.
11) Isaac Chilemba (3-3)
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 (3-42)
Last Fight: 2/4/2012- UD12* vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Gutknecht received a bit of a gift decision at the expense of Uzelkov, and he takes a hit in the ratings as a result.
13) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (3-3)
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 (3-250)
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 (3-58)
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 (3-10)
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 (3-66)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei may fight Pascal 4/14 on Showtime.
18) Danny McIntosh (3-87)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: 4/14/2012- vs. #7 Tony Bellew
McIntosh will travel to Liverpool to fight Bellew for the British title.
19) Edison Miranda (3-10)
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 (1-1)
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 mismatched fights involving top 50 fighters on Saturday: undefeated Ghanaian prospect Braimah Kamoko fights journeyman Hamza Wandera of Uganda in Ghana.  #5 Nathan Cleverly fights Pennsylvania journeyman Tommy Karpency in Cardiff, Wales.  On the same card, former cruiserweight contender Enzo Maccarinelli takes on sub-.500 journeyman Ciaran Healy.

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, Feb 6-12

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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Light Heavyweight: 2012, Jan 2-8

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on April 1, 2012 by danboxing
Undefeated prospects Luis Garcia and Alexander Johnson met on Friday’s ShoBox telecast from California.  Garcia is a promising Cuban defector now fighting out of Ireland, but after 6 fights in 2010, he waited until the last week of 2011 to step into the ring.  Johnson is less proven, though he does own a close win over Farah Ennis at 168.  It had the makings of a decent fight, but didn’t live up to expectations.  Garcia totally dominated from the opening bell.  Despite going the 8 round distance, Johnson really barely landed a punch in the fight.  He complained of stomach issues in his corner, and honestly his performance was consistent with a sick fighter. 

 

Garcia is now active again, and thus reclaims a tenuous place at #20 in the rankings.  Dyah Davis is forced out after 40 weeks.

 

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (33-291-291)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered a Dawson rematch.  There is much speculation floating around that the matchup is extremely unmarketable due to the poor PPV numbers of the first fight.  Also, Dawson has unequivocally stated his desire for a Pascal rematch next.  But on the other hand, Hopkins is under contract for another fight with HBO, and it’s hard to come up with anyone realistic that would make a more natural opponent for Hopkins.
1) Jean Pascal (33-133-133)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Pascal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight.  Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (55-292-292)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Tavoris Cloud (55-123-123)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card.  Somewhat inexplicably, Showtime rejected Gabriel Campillo- who is likely better than Erdei- as a replacement opponent.
4) Gabriel Campillo (12-80-80)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: Unknown
See Cloud’s notes, above.
5) Nathan Cleverly (12-100-100)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Cleverly will fight an unknown opponent on February 25 in Cardiff, Wales.  Some names being mentioned: Edison Miranda, Bernard Hopkins, and Enzo Maccarinelli.  He also wants Carl Froch after Froch fights Bute.
6) Karo Murat (14-14-35)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (12-12-12)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved better than a majority decision loss against Cleverly.  I thought he won the fight or deserved, at worst, a draw.
8) Eduard Gutknecht (12-35-35)
Last Fight: 7/16/2011- UD12 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/4/2011- vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR)
Gutknecht will fight fringe contender/prospect Uzelkov on February 4.
9) Beibut Shumenov (12-76-80)
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.
10) Yusaf Mack (12-44-80)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
11) Dmitri Sukhotski (12-62)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February.
12) Adrian Diaconu (12-243)
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.
13) Ismayl Sillakh (12-51)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal.
14) Cornelius White (3-3)
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.
15) Zsolt Erdei (3-59)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card, including his fight with Cloud. 
16) Edison Miranda (3-3)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- TKO5 Kariz Kariuki (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Yordanis Despaigne’s upset loss appears to have nixed the essentially made fight with Miranda.  Miranda is now talking about wanting a fight with Nathan Cleverly.
17) Danny McIntosh (3-80)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Significantly diminished by his loss to Gutknecht, but still has a better win in Thierry Karl than the two guys rated immediately below him: Karo Murat and…well…Thierry Karl.
18) Jesus Gonzales (3-26)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
19) Thierry Karl (3-80)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- KO1 Mile Nikolic (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Karl is a threat to be removed in late January if he doesn’t schedule a light heavyweight fight soon.
20) Luis Garcia (1-1)
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: Recently-bumped Dyah Davis is back in action, but at Super Middle.  No action of note at 175 this week.

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Light Heavyweight: 2011-2012, Dec 26 – Jan 1

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on December 27, 2011 by danboxing
If you asked Santa for a significant light heavyweight fight for Christmas, you must have been bad this year.

 

For comparison, here are the current Ring Magazine Ratings:
Champ: Bernard Hopkins
1) Jean Pascal
2) Tavoris Cloud
3) Chad Dawson
4) Nathan Cleverly
5) Adrian Diaconu
6) Zsolt Erdei
7) Beibut Shumenov
8) Karo Murat
9) Gabriel Campillo
10) Ismayl Sillakh

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (32-290-290)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered a Dawson rematch.  There is much speculation floating around that the matchup is extremely unmarketable due to the poor PPV numbers of the first fight.  Also, Dawson has unequivocally stated his desire for a Paschal rematch next.  But on the other hand, Hopkins is under contract for another fight with HBO, and it’s hard to come up with anyone realistic that would make a more natural opponent for Hopkins.
1) Jean Pascal (32-132-132)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has ordered an eliminator vs. Sillakh after originally offering Paschal an outright shot at the winner of the ill-fated Hopkins-Dawson fight.  Pascal has basically confirmed that he is 100% all for that fight and his sole goal is winning his title back.
2) Chad Dawson (54-291-291)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Tavoris Cloud (54-122-122)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card.  Somewhat inexplicably, Showtime rejected Gabriel Campillo- who is likely better than Erdei- as a replacement opponent.
4) Gabriel Campillo (11-79-79)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: Unknown
See Cloud’s notes, above.
5) Nathan Cleverly (11-99-99)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/25/2012- vs. Unknown Opponent
Cleverly will fight an unknown opponent on February 25 in Cardiff, Wales.  Some names being mentioned: Edison Miranda, Bernard Hopkins, and Enzo Maccarinelli.
6) Karo Murat (13-13-34)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (11-11-11)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved better than a majority decision loss against Cleverly.  I thought he won the fight or deserved, at worst, a draw.
8) Eduard Gutknecht (11-34-34)
Last Fight: 7/16/2011- UD12 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (UNR)
Next Fight: 2/4/2011- vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov (UNR)
Gutknecht will fight fringe contender/prospect Uzelkov on February 4.
9) Beibut Shumenov (11-75-79)
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.
10) Yusaf Mack (11-43-79)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
11) Dmitri Sukhotski (11-61)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Sukhotski has a fight with Cleverly on the horizon, but it appears unlikely to be in Cleverly’s next appearance in February.
12) Adrian Diaconu (11-242)
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.
13) Ismayl Sillakh (11-50)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBC has slated Sillakh for an eliminator against Pascal.
14) Cornelius White (2-2)
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.
15) Zsolt Erdei (2-58)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Erdei’s injured hand has nixed the entire New Year’s Eve card, including his fight with Cloud. 
16) Edison Miranda (2-2)
Last Fight: 12/17/2011- TKO5 Kariz Kariuki (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Yordanis Despaigne’s upset loss appears to have nixed the essentially made fight with Miranda.  Miranda is now talking about wanting a fight with Nathan Cleverly.
17) Danny McIntosh (2-79)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Significantly diminished by his loss to Gutknecht, but still has a better win in Thierry Karl than the two guys rated immediately below him: Karo Murat and…well…Thierry Karl.
18) Jesus Gonzales (2-25)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
19) Thierry Karl (2-79)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- KO1 Mile Nikolic (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Karl is a threat to be removed in late January if he doesn’t schedule a light heavyweight fight soon.
20) Dyah Davis (2-40)
Last Fight: 10/21/2011- UD6 Darnell Boone (UNR)
Next Fight: 1/6/2012- vs. Alfonso Lopez (UNR)
Davis will lead off the new season of Friday Night Fights on January 6, when he takes on Alfonso Lopez, the prospect who probably deserved a win over Kelly Pavlik in 2011.

 

The Week Ahead: Undefeated Cuban prospect Luis Garcia returns to the sport he abandoned for the past year when he fights fellow unbeaten Alexander Johnson of Maryland in the opening (and likely most competitive) bout of ShoBox’s Friday telecast.  The winner of this fight will almost certainly earn (or re-earn) a rating.  In other words, it was nice knowing you, Dyah Davis!

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Light Heavyweight: 2011, Nov 21-27

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on December 25, 2011 by danboxing
#20 Marcus Johnson fought a stay-busy 6-rounder against journeyman Billy Bailey in Houston Saturday, scoring a shutout and apparently a knockdown, too, as all 3 judges had it 60-53.  Friday, Enzo Maccarinelli was back in action for the first time in over a year, in a fight that was supposed to represent the first in his move to light heavyweight.  In reality, neither he nor undefeated/untested Hungarian prospect Gyorgi Marosi made 175, with both being 2-3 pounds over.  In any case, the former cruiserweight contender wasted no time- winning by a first round TKO in London.  Also on Saturday, undefeated Australian prospect Blake Caparello kept up his career-long winning streak by stopping 5-1 fellow Australian Michael Van Nimwegen in 7.  And in Saturday’s other action, French gatekeeper Nadjib Mohammedi knocked out low-level Ghanaian journeyman Ayitey Powers in the final round of an 8-rounder in Algeria.

 

No changes in the rankings.

 

For comparison, here are the current Ring Magazine Ratings:
Champ: Bernard Hopkins
1) Jean Pascal
2) Tavoris Cloud
3) Chad Dawson
4) Nathan Cleverly
5) Adrian Diaconu
6) Zsolt Erdei
7) Beibut Shumenov
8) Karo Murat
9) Gabriel Campillo
10) Ismayl Sillakh

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (27-285-285)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
The first official blow against Pat Russell’s bad TKO decision has been struck, as the WBC announced that its title would stay with Hopkins despite the call.
1) Jean Pascal (27-127-127)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson wants Pascal, but a Dawson-Hopkins rematch may supersede that before it’s all said and done.
2) Chad Dawson (49-286-286)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Tavoris Cloud (49-117-117)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 12/31/2011- vs. #14 Zsolt Erdei
Cloud looks to close out the year in fine fashion by beating arguable lineal title claimant Zsolt Erdei as the ball drops on 2011.
4) Gabriel Campillo (6-74-74)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: Unknown
Campillo had my sympathy after being robbed against Shumenov, but hasn’t helped his case with a long stretch of inactivity against good fighters followed by a back-and-forth draw with Murat.
5) Nathan Cleverly (6-94-94)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBO has ordered him to fight Dmitri Sukhotski in 2012.
6) Karo Murat (8-8-29)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (6-6-6)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved better than a majority decision loss against Cleverly.  I thought he won the fight or deserved, at worst, a draw.
8) Eduard Gutknecht (6-29-29)
Last Fight: 7/16/2011- UD12 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ho-hum victory over Di Giacomo.  Hopefully he steps back up soon.
9) Beibut Shumenov (6-70-74)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
10) Yusaf Mack (6-38-74)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
11) Dmitri Sukhotski (6-56)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Cleverly’s notes, above.
12) Adrian Diaconu (6-237)
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.
13) Ismayl Sillakh (6-45)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Zsolt Erdei (6-53)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/31/2011- vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (UNR)
See Cloud’s notes, above.
15) Danny McIntosh (6-74)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Significantly diminished by his loss to Gutknecht, but still has a better win in Thierry Karl than the two guys rated immediately below him: Karo Murat and…well…Thierry Karl.
16) Yordanis Despaigne (6-17)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- W(DQ5) vs. Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
There was talk immediately after the Miranda fight of a rematch taking place, but no new news on that.
17) Jesus Gonzales (6-20)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
18) Thierry Karl (6-74)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- KO1 Mile Nikolic (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Karl is a threat to be removed in late January if he doesn’t schedule a light heavyweight fight soon.
19) Dyah Davis (3-35)
Last Fight: 10/21/2011- UD6 Darnell Boone (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Marcus Johnson (3-3)
Last Fight: 11/19/2011- UD6 Billy Bailey (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown

 

The Week Ahead: Undefeated Cuban Luis Garcia- who was removed from his #19 spot in the rankings 3 weeks ago for inactivity- is scheduled for fight against an unannounced opponent.  This fight was made too late to save him from losing his ranking, but will likely get him a spot back if he avoids losing.

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Light Heavyweight: 2011, Nov 7-13

Posted in Light Heavyweight, Rankings with tags , , , , , , , on December 24, 2011 by danboxing
I made a bit of a mistake last week in advertising Sillakh-Ismailov.  Evidently the fight was never going to be fought at 175, which I should have known based on Ismailov’s history of never having fought below cruiserweight.  I’ve already published my cruiserweight update and the fight is inconsequential to the rankings, so I’ll just mention here.  Suffice it to say Sillakh continued Ismailov’s streak of stoppage losses with a 4th round TKO.

 

Allan Green won a comfortable decision over local favorite Sebastian Demers in Quebec City on Saturday.  Demers came in just a shade over 168, and while he was probably still a top-50 fighter at that weight, I’m not sure he does a ton for Green’s resume at 175.

 

 Undefeated prospect Marcus Oliveira, who has been fighting infrequently against poor opposition, stopped Chris Eppley- a 10-1 fighter who has fought exclusively bums- in four rounds.

 

In a fight that was announced very late, #18 Thierry Karl fought the awful Mile Nikolic at cruiserweight, knocking him out in 1.

 

All of this action, however, pales in comparison to non-action on behalf of prospect and #19 contender Luis Garcia, who has been inactive for a year, doesn’t have a fight scheduled, and accordingly is bounced from the rankings due to inactivity.  Marcus Johnson returns to the rankings at #20 after three weeks away.

 

For comparison, here are the current Ring Magazine Ratings:
Champ: Bernard Hopkins
1) Jean Pascal
2) Tavoris Cloud
3) Chad Dawson
4) Nathan Cleverly
5) Adrian Diaconu
6) Zsolt Erdei
7) Beibut Shumenov
8) Karo Murat
9) Gabriel Campillo
10) Ismayl Sillakh

 

Dan’s Top 20
Champ: Bernard Hopkins (25-283-283)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: Unknown
The first official blow against Pat Russell’s bad TKO decision has been struck, as the WBC announced that its title would stay with Hopkins despite the call.
1) Jean Pascal (25-125-125)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
Dawson wants Pascal, but a Dawson-Hopkins rematch may supersede that before it’s all said and done.
2) Chad Dawson (47-284-284)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: Unknown
See Hopkins’ notes, above.
3) Tavoris Cloud (47-115-115)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: 12/31/2011- vs. #14 Zsolt Erdei
Cloud looks to close out the year in fine fashion by beating arguable lineal title claimant Zsolt Erdei as the ball drops on 2011.
4) Gabriel Campillo (4-72-72)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: Unknown
Campillo had my sympathy after being robbed against Shumenov, but hasn’t helped his case with a long stretch of inactivity against good fighters followed by a back-and-forth draw with Murat.
5) Nathan Cleverly (4-92-92)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
The WBO has ordered him to fight Dmitri Sukhotski in 2012.
6) Karo Murat (6-6-27)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo
Next Fight: Unknown
I never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.
7) Tony Bellew (4-4-4)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan Cleverly
Next Fight: Unknown
Deserved better than a majority decision loss against Cleverly.  I thought he won the fight or deserved, at worst, a draw.
8) Eduard Gutknecht (4-27-27)
Last Fight: 7/16/2011- UD12 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Ho-hum victory over Di Giacomo.  Hopefully he steps back up soon.
9) Beibut Shumenov (4-68-72)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
10) Yusaf Mack (4-36-72)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: Unknown
Mack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.
11) Dmitri Sukhotski (4-54)
Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
See Cleverly’s notes, above.
12) Adrian Diaconu (4-235)
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.
13) Ismayl Sillakh (4-43)
Last Fight: 11/4/2011- TKO4 Ali Ismailov (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
14) Zsolt Erdei (4-51)
Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)
Next Fight: 12/31/2011- vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (UNR)
See Cloud’s notes, above.
15) Danny McIntosh (4-72)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
Significantly diminished by his loss to Gutknecht, but still has a better win in Thierry Karl than the two guys rated immediately below him: Karo Murat and…well…Thierry Karl.
16) Yordanis Despaigne (4-15)
Last Fight: 7/29/2011- W(DQ5) vs. Edison Miranda (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
There was talk immediately after the Miranda fight of a rematch taking place, but no new news on that.
17) Jesus Gonzales (4-18)
Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
His present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.
18) Thierry Karl (4-72)
Last Fight: 11/5/2011- KO1 Mile Nikolic (UNR) (at CW)
Next Fight: Unknown
Karl is a threat to be removed in late January if he doesn’t schedule a light heavyweight fight soon.
19) Dyah Davis (1-33)
Last Fight: 10/21/2011- UD6 Darnell Boone (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown
20) Marcus Johnson (1-1)
Last Fight: 4/8/2011- L*(UD10) vs. #19 Dyah Davis
Next Fight: 11/19/2011- vs. Billy Bailey (UNR)

 

The Week Ahead:  Nothing doing.

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