On the Move: SecondsOut World Boxing Rankings By SecondsOut (Dec 6, 2011) Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
SecondsOut.com - By Derek Bonnett: The opening week of December provided boxing fans with
what was perhaps one of the most significant seven day stretches for
the sport in 2011. Nine world championships were put on the line
involving SecondsOut top-ranked elites. Three long-standing champions
held onto their titles: One in dramatic fashion, one in comprehensive
fashion, and one in controversial fashion. One champion lost his title
to the scales while another defended his in the name of redemption. None
of the myriad of match-ups materialized into FOTY candidates as some
were expected, but the end results made for an exciting week in the
sweet science, even if a couple of the final decisions were
questionable. It’s late in the year, time is running out on some, but
boxing’s best still remain on the move.
On Wednesday, November
30, at Challenge Stadium, Mt. Claremont, Western Australia, Australia,
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk rallied late to stop Danny Green in a WBC
cruiserweight title bout. The champion trailed by scores of 93-96 and
93-97 twice before dropping Green in the eleventh. The bout was stopped
at the 2:15 mark. Wlodarczyk raised his record to 46-2-1 (33) and
defended his title for the third time. Green, winless in 2011, dropped
to 31-5 (27).
Wlodarczyk retained his SecondsOut number five
ranking at cruiserweight. The Polish champion previously split two bouts
with Steve Cunningham, but is showing signs of struggle in his last two
outings. Earlier this year, he posted a questionable decision over
Francisco Palacios. A rematch is likely to happen in 2012 should
Palacios hang on to his number one ranking.
Also on the card,
Chris John won a unanimous decision over Stanyslov Merdov in a twelve
round WBA featherweight title bout. John, a winner for the second time
in 2011, prevailed by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 twice. Merdov hit
the canvas in the second round. John defended his title for the
fourteenth time and elevated his ring statistics to 46-0-2 (22). Merdov
fell to 32-8 (24).
John is rumored to be in line for a
unification bout with IBF champion Billy Dib, but the bout is hardly a
done deal. He held on to his number two SecondsOut ranking at
featherweight.
On Friday, December 2, at SAP-Arena, Mannheim,
Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, Felix Sturm once again held onto his belt
with a questionable verdict. Martin Murray held Sturm to a draw in their
twelve round WBA middleweight title bout. One judge favored Sturm
116-112 while another preferred Murray 115-113. The third scored the
bout even 114-114. Sturm’s record moved to 36-2-2 (15). The UK’s Murray
moved to 23-0-1 (10).
Sturm dropped from second to third among
SecondsOut’s top 160 pounders. Sturm, clearly a champion in danger, has
been lucky to hold onto his title after recent bouts with Mathew Macklin
and now Murray. He will be lucky to survive as champion in 2012. Daniel
Geale replaced him in the second spot. Murray climbed aboard at number
ten with the strong showing. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam exited for now.
On
Saturday, December 3, at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland, Alexander
Povetkin broke down Cedric Boswell for an eighth round stoppage in WBA
heavyweight title bout. Povetkin overcame a slow start to claim the
first defense of his title over the 42 year old challenger. The bout was
called at the 2:58 mark. Povetkin enhanced his ledger to 23-0 (16).
Boswell dropped to 35-2 (26).
Povetkin held his number three
ranking at heavyweight and is rumored to have accepted a challenge from
WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck after his win. The aged Hasim
Rahman is presently his number one contender, so few would argue with
Povetkin’s choice.
Also on the card, Roberto Helenius was
awarded a dubious split decision over Derreck Chisora in a twelve round
heavyweight bout. Chisora controlled the bout from start to finish with
speed and a very versatile attack. The cards favored Helenius 115-113
twice and 113-115. Helenius remained unbeaten at 17-0 (11). Chisora’s
stock elevated as he fell to 15-2 (9).
Helenius dropped two
rankings from eighth to tenth. Alexander Dimitrenko moved up to eighth.
Tyson Fury entered the SecondsOut top ten at ninth based on his
comfortable win over Chisora in July. Kubrat Pulev exited for now.
Also
on the same date, at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, Akifumi Shimoda got
back in the win column with a decision over Jonel Alibio in a ten round
featherweight bout. Shimoda prevailed by scores of 99-93 and 99-91
twice. Shimoda lost the WBA 122 pound title to Rico Ramos in July. His
dossier improved to 24-3-1 (10). Alibio dropped to 16-13-2 (8).
Shimoda remained SecondsOut’s number three 122 pounder, but his progress will be watched for further action at 126.
Also
on the same date, at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA,
Miguel Cotto gained redemption against Antonio Margarito by tenth round
TKO in WBA light middleweight title bout. The faster and more determined
Cotto closed Margarito’s right eye prompting the ringside doctors to
intervene between rounds. The official time was :03 of round ten. Cotto
earned the second defense of his title and raised his record to 37-2
(30). Margarito, a loser of three of his last four bouts, dropped to
38-8 (27).
Cotto confirmed his number one SecondsOut ranking at
154. However, he has a young bunch of hungry contenders to fend off in
2012.
Also on the card, Brandon Rios surrendered his title on
the scales, but managed to stop John Murray in a eleven rounds of WBA
lightweight bout. The title was only on the line for Murray and was
declared vacant. Rios remained unbeaten at 29-0-1 (22). Murray, a loser
of his last two, dropped to 31-2 (18) after a spirited effort.
Rios
will most likely be moving up to 140 pounds. However, he will remain
the third ranked lightweight at SecondsOut until his plans are more
clearly defined.
Also on the card, Mikes Jones outpointed
Sebastian Andres Lujan in a twelve round IBF welterweight title
elimination bout. Jones controlled from start to finish, but was
provided with twelve productive rounds of work to prepare him for
Randall Bailey, who will most likely be his opponent for the now vacant
title. The judges’ scores favored him widely by margins of 118-110 and
119-109 twice.
Jones moved from tenth to eighth among
SecondsOut’s top welterweights. Ionut Dan Ion fell to ninth and Kell
Brook was pushed to tenth.
Also on the card, Delvin Rodriguez
defeated Pawel Wolak in a ten round light middleweight bout. Rodriguez
avenged a draw with Wolak last July with a comprehensive performance to
follow their previous FOTY candidate. The judges favored him by scores
of 100-90, 98-92, and 98-91. Rodriguez improved to 26-5-3 (14). Wolak
fell to 29-2-1 (19).
Rodriguez entered the SecondsOut 154 pound rankings at tenth. Wolak exited to make room.
Also
on the same night, at Honda Center, Anaheim, California, USA, Abner
Mares defeated Joseph Agbeko in a twelve round IBF bantamweight title
bout. Mares prevailed by wide scores of 118-110 on all three judges’
cards to retain his title. Mares improved his record to 23-0-1 (13).
Agbeko dropped to 28-4 (22).
Nonito Donaire vacated his WBO
title and is moving up to 122. Mares claimed the number one spot at
bantamweight with the victory. Even though he has lost three of his last
four fights, Agbeko’s strength of opposition and wins over Perez and
Darchinyan move him to third.
Also on the card, Anselmo Moreno
decisioned Vic Darchinyan in a twelve round WBA bantamweight title bout.
The Panamanian champion won by a range of scores: 120-107, 117-110, and
115-112. Moreno added his ninth title defense as well as improved his
record to 32-1-1 (11) with this career best showing. Darchinyan dropped
to 37-4-1 (27).
Moreno affirmed his number two ranking at
SecondsOut. Moreno will be right there at Mares’ heels until they face
off in the ring. Darchinyan moves up from fifth to fourth due to
Donaire’s exit. The previously ranked sixth through tenth contenders all
climbed one place. A.J. Banal entered the top ten.
Also on the
same evening, at Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico,
Jhonny Gonzalez stopped Roinet Caballero in two rounds of WBC
featherweight title bout. Gonzalez defended his title for the third
straight time against an inferior challenger. His record moved to 51-7
(45). Caballero dropped to 31-11-1 (22).
Gonzalez remained the
number five featherweight at SecondsOut, but is in need of more serious
opposition. Gonzalez fought four times in 2011, but only Hozumi Hasegawa
was a credible world class opponent.
SecondsOut ranked fighters in action through Sunday, December 11:
On Wednesday, December 7:
At
Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Osaka, Japan: Koki Kameda versus Mario
Macias in a twelve round WBA bantamweight title bout; Tapparith
Kokietgym versus Daike Kameda in a twelve round WBA super flyweight
title bout
On Friday, December 9:
At Club Ciclista
Juninense, Junin, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Lucas Martin Matthysse versus
TBA in a ten round light welterweight bout
On Saturday, December 10:
At
ESPIRIT Arena, Dusseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany: Wladimir
Klitschko versus Jean Mark Mormeck in a twelve round WBA, IBF, WBO
heavyweight title bout
At Estadio Centenario, Los Mochis,
Sinaloa, Mexico: Juan Carlos Salgado versus Miguel Beltran Jr. in a
twelve round IBF super featherweight title bout
At Centro de Expositores, Puebla, Puebla, Mexico: Sammy Gutierrez versus Armando Torres in a twelve round light flyweight bout
At
Convention Center, Washington D.C. ,USA: Amir Khan versus Lamont
Peterson in a twelve round WBA/IBF light welterweight title bout
On Sunday, December 11:
At
Yanres Sports Arena, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines: Brian
Viloria versus Giovanni Segura in a twelve round WBO flyweight title
bout
To check out Derek’s SecondsOut rankings Click here
For further boxing discussion, contact Derek "DBO" Bonnett on Facebook or at mabfan@comcast.net.
