Martin Rogan, a virtual unknown just a year ago, continued his storybook ascent by knocking out Matt Skelton to capture the Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Rogan, who most would say lacks the quickness and conditioning of an elite boxer, simply "out-toughed" Skelton in a hard-fought match. After a back-and-forth ten rounds, Rogan put Skelton down in the 11th—the first time he's been on the canvas—and soon after he was up the referee stopped the fight as Rogan unloaded again.
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Rogan, now 37 years old, didn't take up boxing until in his 30s and his first professional fight was just over four years ago. His first notable win was over Paul King in October of 2006 and it was enough to put him at #94 in the SportsRatings Heavyweight top 100. But by early 2008 Rogan, although 7-0, had slipped out of the top 100 and saw his fortunes fading as he was unable to secure decent fights.
Perhaps because of this, Rogan entered the Prizefighter tournament, an eight-fighter, one-day bracket in April of last year. Although there were no big names involved, Rogan was not favored to win; undefeated David Dolan was pegged by most as the champion. But after taking out two other fighters including previously undefeated Dave Ferguson, Rogan outpointed Dolan in the final and took the 25K pound prize. At 10-0 Rogan jumped to #59 in the rankings.
This gave Rogan the opportunity he'd wanted for years. Next up was Audley Harrison, and again Rogan was an underdog. Harrison, a gold medalist whose career hadn't measured up to its promise, was still too good of an opponent for Rogan. But on December 6, 2008, Rogan proved the critics wrong again, toughing out the early rounds and taking the advantage later in the fight for the decision. Rogan jumped to #35 in the year-end rankings for 2008.
Once again, Rogan moved up another level, and faced an opponent that was beyond his ability—or so boxing observers though. Surely, this Belfast cab-driver can't continue this improbably winning streak? Matched with Commonwealth and European Boxing Union champ Matt Skelton, who ranked #16 last month and had faced Ruslan Chagaev for the WBC title a year ago, this was certainly the end of the line for "the Entertainer." But Rogan again rose to the occasion, and showing great stamina he wore down the larger fighter.
Rogan jumps to #12 in the latest SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100. (Click here for the full list)
| Jan. rank | Rank | Fighter | Rating |
Rated Record | Recent Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | WLAD KLITSCHKO | 59.84 |
36-3-0 |
|
| 2 | 2 | RUSLAN CHAGAEV | 44.22 |
11-0-0 |
W6 #93 CARL D DRUMMOND |
| 3 | 3 | NICOLAY VALUEV | 37.26 |
22-1-0 |
|
| 4 | 4 | VITALI KLITSCHKO | 32.32 |
21-2-0 |
|
| 5 | 5 | ALEX POVETKIN | 31.93 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 6 | 6 | CHRIS ARREOLA | 26.22 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 7 | 7 | JUAN C GOMEZ | 26.21 |
9-1-0 |
|
| 8 | 8 | SAMUEL PETER | 26.02 |
16-2-0 |
|
| 9 | 9 | DAVID TUA | 22.95 |
28-3-1 |
inactive 18 months. |
| 10 | 10 | ALEX DIMITRENKO | 20.56 |
14-0-0 |
|
| 11 | 11 | JOE MESI | 20.10 |
15-0-0 |
inactive 16 months. |
| 35 | 12 | MARTIN ROGAN | 19.57 |
4-0-0 |
W11 #16 MATT SKELTON |
| 12 | 13 | OLEG PLATOV | 19.47 |
6-0-0 |
|
| 13 | 14 | OLEG MASKAEV | 19.14 |
21-6-0 |
|
| 14 | 15 | SULTAN IBRAGIMOV | 18.81 |
9-1-1 |
What's next for Martin Rogan? How far can he go? At this point, he's going to be facing some top-level competition. Rogan will be an underdog yet again in his next fight, probably even if it's a rematch with Skelton with the European title on the line. He may be up for the inter-continental title, which would mean a bout with Alex Dimitrenko, who is even bigger than Skelton and much younger.
But Rogan's been underestimated before. It's not hard to see why. Though he isn't out of shape, he certainly isn't cut to perfection like some boxers, and at 225 he's a bit small for a top-ranked heavy. He doesn't have great hand speed, and for a "brawler" he's somewhat tentative. But he's actually a decent boxer, putting up a good defense and making sure he doesn't make big mistakes. From the evidence thus far he has a great chin, and though not a dynamo in the ring he has shown he can outlast opponents if necessary.
So when Martin Rogan fights next and is a prohibitive underdog, don't sell him short. Though there are many reason Rogan shouldn't have gotten this far, somehow he has. Given that, who's to say what he might do?
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