Eddie Chambers jumped into the top 10 for the first time in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, while Vitali Klitschko moved into a virtual tie at #3.
Chambers defeated Sam Peter to jump to #7, just behind Alexander Povetkin and Chris Arreola, both of whom will be active in early April. Povetkin handed Chambers his sole loss last year. Klitschko's stoppage of Juan Carlos Gomez didn't give him enough points to pass Nicolay Valuev, but the two are essentially tied for third place behind Ruslan Chagaev—the only man to beat Valuev—at #2, and Vitali's brother Wladimir at #1. Vitali was inactive for four years before coming back to defeat two top ten fighters. He stopped Peter last year in his comeback fight for the WBA title.
The current SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 10:
| March Rank | April Rank |
Fighter | Rating |
Rated Record | Recent Results (March) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | WLAD KLITSCHKO | 59.84 |
36-3-0 |
|
| 2 | 2 | RUSLAN CHAGAEV | 44.22 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 3 | 3 | NICOLAY VALUEV | 37.26 |
22-1-0 |
|
| 4 | 4 | VITALI KLITSCHKO | 37.26 |
22-2-0 |
W TKO rnd 9 #7 JUAN C GOMEZ |
| 5 | 5 | ALEX POVETKIN | 31.93 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 6 | 6 | CHRIS ARREOLA | 26.22 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 18 | 7 | EDDIE CHAMBERS | 25.59 |
13-1-0 |
W mixed dec. #8 SAMUEL PETER |
| 9 | 8 | DAVID TUA | 22.68 |
28-3-1 |
inactive 19 months. |
| 10 | 9 | ALEX DIMITRENKO | 20.56 |
14-0-0 |
|
| 11 | 10 | JOE MESI | 19.87 |
15-0-0 |
inactive 17 months. |
Gomez and Peter both dropped from the top ten to #16 and #17 respectively. Just behind Chambers are two stalwarts and a young upcoming fighter. David Tua and Joe Mesi both have not lost in six years, but neither has fought a top 100 foe and both have gone inactive. Mesi has been more active in politics than boxing, while Tua is scheduled to fight Shane Cameron (currently #113) in August. Alex Dimitrenko is undefeated at 29-0-0 and is ranked in the top 5 by all the organizations, so he should see some high-profile opponent this year.
The three biggest fights of April feature two top ten fighters, and four in the top 25:
- #5 Alex Povetkin vs. #44 Jason Estrada on April 4th: Povetkin (16-0-0) and Estrada (15-1-0) have the same amount of professional experience, but Povetkin's opponents have been tougher and he's beaten them all. He has three wins over current Top 100 fighters including the aforementioned defeat of Eddie Chambers. Estrada lost to his toughest opponent, #128 Travis Walker, but has come back with an active 2008 wherein he defeated four fighters ranked from 101-300.
- #20 Francesco Pianeta vs. #25 Albert Sosnowski, also on April 4th: Pianeta is a young (24) undefeated (18-0-0, 11 KOs) prospect facing his toughest hurdle in Sosnowski (44-2-0) of Poland. Sosnowski had an up and down 2008, losing to Zuri Lawrence but beating Danny Williams three months later to land in the top 25. Pianeta of Germany has only beaten four "name" fighters, all ranked in the 2nd 100. This will be a good test for Pianeta, and a good opportunity for Sosnowski. The winner will find himself near the top ten in May.
- #6 Chris Arreola vs. #125 Jameel McCline on April 11th. Arreola is the top undefeated American prospect these days. At 26-0-0, 23 KOs, and 2 DQs, he's only had one fight go the distance. At 6' 6" and 270 pounds, McCline (39-9-3) has power as well; he downed Sam Peter three times before losing a decision in 2007. Earlier in his career he beat the likes of Michael Grant, Shannon Briggs, and Cedric Boswell, but now 38 he has lost three of his last four bouts. Still a good test for Arreola to face a fighter much bigger than him; assuming he wins, his weight-in score will be watched as closely as the fight itself for signs that he's a serious title contender.
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