Tyson Fury outlasted Dereck Chisora last night in London, winning a clear decision that was unanimous on the judges scorecards. Fury, who ranked #44 in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100 will move into the top ten in the August rankings. Chisora, who held the #7 position, will fall out of the top 25.
Preview: SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100 August Rankings
| July Rank |
August Rank |
Fighter |
Rating
|
Rated Record | July results |
| 1 | 1 | WLAD KLITSCHKO | 67.17 | 34-3-0 | UD 12 #4 DAVID HAYE |
| 2 | 2 | VITALI KLITSCHKO | 43.67 | 24-2-0 | |
| 3 | 3 | ALEX POVETKIN | 31.48 | 16-0-0 | |
| 5 | 4 | RUSLAN CHAGAEV | 26.66 | 13-1-0 | |
| 6 | 5 | TOMASZ ADAMEK | 22.16 | 5-0-0 | |
| 8 | 6 | EDDIE CHAMBERS | 20.07 | 14-2-0 | |
| 9 | 7 | ONDREJ PALA | 19.73 | 8-0-0 | |
| 10 | 8 | ROBERT HELENIUS | 19.61 | 7-0-0 | |
| 4 | 9 | DAVID HAYE | 19.41 | 5-1-0 | L UD 12 #1 WLAD KLITSCHKO |
| 44 | 10 | TYSON FURY | 19.04 | 5-0-0 | UD 12 #7 DEREK CHISORA |
Fury's ranking, no doubt, is the result of a string of inflation that started when Sam Sexton beat Martin Rogan twice. That made Sexton an overrated fighter in the top ten, and when Chisora beat him, "Del Boy" was ranked higher than he deserved. Now Fury replaces Chisora in the top ten and is similarly several spots too high. Should he really be considered ahead of the likes of Tony Thompson, Chris Arreola, and David Tua? Would he have a chance to beat any of them at this point?
Interestingly, the move will put Fury just behind David Haye, who falls to #9 after losing to Wladimir Klitschko, and making him the #2 fighter in all of the U.K. Fury has already said he will not be taking the challenge to fight a Klitschko for the title, as he quite wisely has said he isn't ready for that yet at age 23. But what should his next move be? Is he perhaps ready to take on David Haye to prove he's the top fighter in the U.K.?
Though Fury won the British and Commonwealth titles, most would say he probably isn't ready for a challenge like Haye. For his part, Haye may or may not even fight again, particularly if he keeps his promise to retire on his 31st birthday in October. In any case, a battle with Haye is unlikely and probably not in Fury's best interests.
A more realistic matchup, and one that would generate nearly as much interest, would be Fury against David Price. Price is the 4th ranked UK fighter in the top 100, following Haye, Fury, and Chisora, and the fight would be a true battle of UK giants as both men stand over two meters tall. Many would favor Price in the contest, as he looked impressive against yet another giant, Tom Dallas, in a 2-round KO win. He also has much more experience than Fury.
But such a fight need not be made hastily. Fury will probably take several lower-profile fights to defend his titles before stepping back up again, and that would be a wise decision for the young boxer. There is no need to rush things. Though he has clearly improved since his early days years ago—when he famously punched himself in the face during a bout—he still has a lot to practice. Getting in the ring right away with Price, or Haye—or certainly, Klitschko—wouldn't be a prudent course of action.
Eventually, however, he'll be challenging names bigger than his own. How far will he go? Does he realistically have hope of one day being the heavyweight champion of the world?
Based on his current talent level, we're tempted to say no. Though he won convincingly (117-112 on two cards, and 118-111 on the other) he didn't really dominate Chisora, and was hurt several times, particularly in the 2nd round. Add to that the fact that Chisora weighed 261 pounds for the fight, and isn't a world-beater himself, and this fight was really only mildly impressive for a man that had an 8-inch height advantage.
But if we take a longer-term view, everything can change. Fury's improvement just over the last few years suggests that when he peaks—which could be 7-10 years from now—he'll be quite good indeed. And be that time the Klitschkos will probably both be retired, which opens up the picture quite a bit. There are few prospects of Fury's age and accomplishment around; only Germany's Edmund Gerber comes to mind, and he's nearly a half-foot shorter. Fury could become champion one day if he continues to improve and waits out Wladimir.
As for Chisora, it's hard to say what he might do. British heavyweights tend to hang on a long time if Audley Harrison, Matt Skelton, and Michael Sprott are any indication. Only 27, Chisora already looked washed up against Fury, and the fact that he came in out of shape for the biggest fight of his life—one that would have guaranteed him a title shot—doesn't bode well for his future. Chisora has the physique (6'1", 250+) and the mental instability (he bit Paul Butlin during one match) that suggests steroids use. He appears much older than his age and given that many fighters don't handle their first loss well, there's no guarantee Chisora will mount another run at the top ten. His title shot with Wladimir Klitschko, already cancelled twice, won't be offered up any time soon.
Saturday's fight was definitely a fork in the road for both fighters. Fury's career got a big boost, one that if managed correctly could lead to greatness one day; while Chisora's stock plummeted, and he has his work cut out for him if he wants to revitalize his career.
Ryan Bader vs. Vadim Nemkov: For the Light Heavyweight title?
With Jon Jones dramatically abdicating his UFC Light Heavyweight belt, where does that leave the division? And how do Ryan Bader and Vadim Nemkov, fighting tonight in Bellator 244, figure into it?
Our take reflects the rules of our Rating System: Bader vs. Nemkov is potentially a title fight, or at least an interim title fight, but not at this moment.
Here's our current top 5 in the Light Heavyweight division:
Rank
Rank
•August schedule
Jones is #1 of course, but Bader is #2, and far ahead of #3 Jan Blachowicz, the highest-ranked contender in the UFC. Nemkov is at #4 followed by Phil Davis, also currently in Bellator. That gives Bellator 3 of the top 5, thought that's pretty much it for the promotion at 205. There's quality there, but not much depth.
With Jones gone the winner of tonight's bout will be the highest-ranked Light Heavyweight. The thing is, Jones isn't leaving our Light Heavyweight rankings any time soon.
We don't remove fighters when they "retire" or give up a belt. We'd only remove Jones when he fights in a different weight class. So Bader or Nemkov won't be our Light Heavyweight title holder until Bones makes his long-expected move to Heavyweight—and only when he actually fights. We don't move a champion until the actual bout occurs, unlike Bader, who we moved in the month prior to his return to Light Heavyweight.
So tonight's fight won't be for the title right away, but the winner might be the title holder at some point this year. If not, then the winner will receive the Interim belt in February if Jones doesn't fight by then. That would mean Jon Jones has been inactive for a year and no longer holds the belt despite being ranked #1; the #2 fighter would be the interim champ.
In other words, the winner between Bader and Nemkov will be either the champion or interim champion on February 8, 2021, unless Jon Jones fights again at Light Heavyweight before that time.
In the UFC, #3 Jan Blachowicz is pitted again Dominick Reyes for the UFC belt, but neither would have the points that tonight's winner will. Reyes is ranked only #17 in our list, and victory would move him up to #3, behind Jones and the Bader-Nemkov winner. Blachowicz holds his #3 position with a win.
Of course, if Jones decides to remain at Light Heavyweight and fight again, he would remain champ. Unless he loses, and in that case the guy who beat him would be the champion. Jones has way too many points for any Bellator fighter to surpass him, so only Jones' inactivity or his move to another weight class leaves an opening.
Posted at 05:02 PM in Commentary, MMA | Permalink | Comments (0)