SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Anthony Joshua round-by-round scoring

Wladimir Klitschko takes on Anthony Joshua for the interim SportsRatings Heavyweight title, as well as the IBF and WBA belts, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

1996 Olympic gold medalist Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO), ranked #2 by SportsRatings currently, is a slight underdog to #5-ranked Joshua by the oddsmakers. Klitschko hasn't fought since losing his title to Tyson Fury in November of 2015, and hasn't won a fight since beating Bryant Jennings in April, 2015.

Joshua (18-0, 18 KO), the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist, has won 4 times since Klitschko lost his belt, beating Dillian Whyte, Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale, and Eric Molina. None are among the biggest names in the division, but note that 3 of the 4 were undefeated before facing Joshua.

Either 41-year-old Klitschko will make a huge comeback win and re-establish himself as the man to beat at heavyweight, or the torch will be passed to the 27-year-old Joshua, who most believe is the future of the division.

Klitschko weighed in at a relatively light 240 1/4 pounds, with Joshua tipping the scales at 250. Both fighters are giants, standing 6' 6" apiece.

The fight is set to begin sometime around 5pm eastern U.S. time. Both fighters have entered the ring. Arnold Schwarzeneggar is in the crowd. Vitali Klitschko's wife is the performer for the Ukranian national anthem. 

Round-by-round scoring follows:

• Round One: Klitschko jabbing hurredly at the start. Joshua gets a few decent right hands in. Wlad wary of Joshua's punches. Rare fight where Klitschko doesn't dwarf his opponent and have a huge reach advantage. Wlad jabbing less as the round goes on. Wlad finds his way in but clinches. Interesting first round with no clear winner but Joshua landed the only punches that mattered. Joshua 10-9.
• Round Two: BIG right from Klitshko to start round 2, Joshua takes it well and is using his jab more early. Joshua doing better controlling ring space in round 2. Fighters still testing each other. Not much else happening this round, less action as the round continues. If we gave Joshua r1 for bigger punches, we can give this to Wlad for that opening punch, as neither round was dominant. 10-9 Klitschko, 19-19.
• Round Three: A lot of action early in the round from both. Joshua pushing forward missing with big punches. Klitschko trying to hold a bit but isn't going to be able to do it. So far Klitschko hasn't folded from big pressure, and Joshua hasn't backed down from Wlad's jab at all. Ref is separating the clinch quickly. Both fighters having trouble with the other's style, lots of misses. We punt on this one. 10-10, 29-29. 
• Round Four: Another big right from Klitschko to start the round! Joshua takes it well again. Joshua connects with a not-as-big right hand. Clinch and Joshua warned for hitting on break, no big deal. Wlad whiffs as Joshua ducks. Good body shots by Joshua. Klitschko has been lighter on his feet as Joshua stays planted but Joshua moving more now. Jab by Joshua who probably did better in the 2nd half of the round but overall hard to score as Joshua missed on his biggest shots. Fuck it, 10-10, 39-39.
• Round Five:  Joshua explodes out of the gate with a flurry and puts Wlad down! Klitschko holding on with 2 minutes left in round and a bad cut. Now at midpoint of round Joshua is looking tired, as is Klitschko. Big shots from Klitschko but Joshua battling back too!! Joshua is dead tired and Klitschko is hitting him with everything he's got! Round ends, should be 10-8 for Joshua but did Klitschko battle back enough to make it just 10-9? Joshua never went down, so 10-8 Joshua, 49-47.
• Round Six: Cut on Wlad's eye is bad. Fighters start where they left off but not as exhausted. Pause while Joshua's mouthpiece is put in. Klitschko right puts Joshua down!! Now both are clinching and punching, Joshua is ducking low and is in trouble.  Klitschko keeps missing with crosses as Joshua ducks, but then landing uppercuts. Incredible fight. Klitschko 10-8; 57-57.
• Round Seven: Wow, here we go. Klitschko walking down Joshua, who looks uncertain but recovered mostly. Klitschko looks confident but still has that bad cut. Klitschko scoring but not threatening Joshua at this point, taking his time while Joshua is trying to rest and recover his confidence. Joshua is still TALKING to Klitschko, seems foolish at this point. Klitschko is being conservative, picking off jabs when possible. Wlad clinches and Joshua looks happy for the chance to rest, and he comes alive for this first time in the round with less than 30 seconds left. Round was all Klitschko, 10-9; 67-66.
• Round Eight: Joshua comes to the center early, looking more recovered now. Klitschko still confident. Joshua decent body shot with left hand. Huge right from Klitschko whiffs! Joshua throwing heat, for first time in 3 rounds. Klitschko jabbing well again, and moving well. Decent punches from both connect. Wlad clinches with 20 seconds left. Another close round, we'll keep it even: 10-10; Klitschko 77-76.
• Round Nine: Again both look to start fast, this is great. Joshua is fully recovered and Wlad's cut isn't an issue anymore. Wlad misses with a right while Joshua goes to the body. Two are tangled up. Joshua makes Wlad miss again, Wlad backs up to avoid body shot. Joshua connects with two shots with a minute left. Action pause as both tire a bit. Right hand from Joshua, and two quick body shots. Joshua 10-9; 86-86.
• Round Ten: Joshua jumps in quickly with 1-2, Klitschko bouncing, dancing away. Two collide jumping in, clinch, separate. Jab from Klitschko, Joshua answers. Again the action slows later in the round. Both fighters dodging the big shots well. Joshua clubbed with right hand late. Another close round. 10-10; 96-96. This is going to be a close decision assuming it makes it that far. Should be an amazing final 2 rounds.
• Round Eleven: Joshua hurts Wlad early with 3 big punches. Klitschko running away for his life in the 11th. Klitschko returns fire but eats another punch before clinching. A huge uppercut from Joshua how did Klitschko stay up! Now he's down!!! 1:30 left in round...now Joshua puts him down again and that might be it...no he's up with 1 minute left!!! Fight is stopped with 30 seconds left, ANTHONY JOSHUA WINS

That was the best heavyweight fight I've seen in a long time. The final stoppage was a bit quick I think, but after being down twice, there was no leeway to protest, and Klitschko has not protested.

Unlike Tyson Fury, who "beat" Klitschko by barely engaging, Anthony Joshua took it to him, almost suffered the consequences himself, but held on and came back with a huge 11th round.

Gold medalist Joshua really looks like the future of the heavyweight division, and tonight was the true passing of the torch, in epic fashion in one of the great heavyweight fights of all time. Wlad Klitschko has nothing to be ashamed of putting on this performance at age 41 after one of the great careers in boxing history. 

And, if there was ever a fight that was going to renew interest in heavyweight boxing, this was it. We shall see.

Povetkin takes interim title; will the result stand?

Alexander Povetkin claimed his first share of the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing title in his long career, but he did so under the dodgiest of circumstances and won a fight which could conceivably be overturned to a No Contest.

Povetkin, who has been #3 in the Heavyweight rankings for around 7 straight years, beat Johann Duhaupas by KO in the 6th round in Russia. This result, coupled with the inactivity of #1 ranked Tyson Fury and #2 Wladimir Klitschko, makes the Povetkin our Interim Champion—despite remaining #3 in the rankings. And despite some questions about Povetkin's worthiness.

SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 10 as of December 18, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Dec 1	Dec 18	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	December 1-17 results
5	1	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	62.77	15-0-0	last rated win -12 months.
1	2	2	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	51.30	42-4-0	last rated win -19 months.
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.78	25-1-0	KO 6 #18 JOHANN DUHAUPAS [new Interim HW champion]
16	6	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	27.28	13-0-0
--	15	6	5	5	ANTHONY JOSHUA	26.40	11-0-0	TKO 3 #77 ERIC MOLINA
46	17	12	9	6	JOSEPH PARKER	22.64	11-0-0	MD 12 #12 ANDY RUIZ JR
54	12	8	7	7	LUIS ORTIZ	21.63	12-0-0	TKO 7 #100 DAVID ALLEN
19	16	7	8	8	LUCAS BROWNE	21.03	10-0-0
2	4	4	6	9	VITALI KLITSCHKO	20.27	27-2-0	last rated win -51 months.
4	14	10	10	10	KUBRAT PULEV	18.32	16-1-0	RET 3 Samuel Peter

Povetkin tested positive for Ostarine just prior to the fight, which was to have been a match against Bermane Stiverne. Normally that would mean cancellation of the fight—just as it did for Povetkin's prior matchup with Deontay Wilder. In that case, Povetkin's Meldonium level was scant and likely due to ingestion in 2015, which was legal. But this time, it meant that despite the WBC withdrawing its sanctioning of the fight, the fight went off as planned—with last-minute replacement Duhaupas subbing for Stiverne, who was uninterested in a fight that wouldn't be a sanctioned eliminator.

Confused yet? Another interesting note is that the man Povetkin took the Interim title from is none other than Deontay Wilder—the man who would have faced the winner of Povetkin-Stiverne.

If Povetkin's "B" sample also tests positive, the fight may be ruled a No Contest...or perhaps not. Lately fighters have been testing positive and getting bans of various lengths while their results stand. Lucas Browne is one case; his win over Ruslan Chagaev was not overturned as investigators were sympathetic to his arguments that he consumed clenbuterol inadvertantly.

So if the results stand, Povetkin will remain the interim champ until April 29, 2017 when #2 Wladimir Klitschko faces #5 Anthony Joshua in London. Unless that fight doesn't happen for some reason.

And if the result of Povetkin's fight is overturned, then the interim championship will revert retroactively back to #4 Wilder, and he'll hold it until April.

Another question: Why don't we disqualify Povetkin for his alleged drug use? Because, quite plainly and simply, there is no way to know who is using what, due to the ineffectiveness of testing in the sport of boxing. We use official results, and hopefully when cheaters are caught, results are overturned and bans are issued. This way we can keep a record of fights and use that—and only that—in making our rankings, without all sorts of modifiers and notes about PED allegations and test results.

Unfortunately that doesn't always work out. Erkan Teper tested positive multiple times and his wins over Duhaupas (funny how the same names pop up?) and David Price remained. He was banned for two years by the German Boxing Federation but still allowed to fight by other organizations. Luckily, he was defeated by Christian Hammer which knocked Teper out of the top ten. Karma sometimes works in strange ways. Duhaupas had no such luck against Povetkin, but hopefully the Klitschko-Joshua fight gives us a more worthy Interim Champion.

Assuming of course, that those two are clean fighters. One never knows...

With top 3 idle, Deontay Wilder is interim Heavyweight Champion of the world

It hasn't happened in over 20 years, but as of November 29th the top three ranked boxers in SportsRatings' Heavyweight Top 100 are considered 'inactive', meaning that #4 Deontay Wilder is the interim Heavyweight Champion.

With the rematch between #1 Tyson Fury and #2 Wladimir Klitschko being postponed twice, it has now been over a year since either boxer fought (and over a year and a half since Klitschko won a fight). #3 Alexander Povetkin was scheduled to fight Wilder, but that fight was cancelled due to the meldonium fiasco and now Povetkin hasn't fought since last November 4th.

That leaves Wilder as the interim champion, as seen in our rankings through November 29, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Nov 1	Nov 29	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results; •December schedule
5	1	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	62.77	15-0-0	last rated win -12 months.
1	2	2	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	51.30	42-4-0	last rated win -19 months.
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	32.66	24-1-0	last rated win -12 months; •12-17 vs. #19 BERMANE STIVERNE
16	6	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	27.28	13-0-0	[interim HW title holder]
--	22	6	5	5	ANTHONY JOSHUA	25.71	10-0-0	•12-10 vs. #77 ERIC MOLINA
2	4	4	6	6	VITALI KLITSCHKO	21.36	27-2-0	last rated win -50 months.
52	16	8	9	7	LUIS ORTIZ	21.05	11-0-0	UD 12 #20 MALIK SCOTT •12-10 vs. #100 DAVID ALLEN
19	14	7	7	8	LUCAS BROWNE	21.03	10-0-0
47	15	12	8	9	JOSEPH PARKER	18.91	10-0-0	•12-10 vs. #12 ANDY RUIZ JR
4	13	10	10	10	KUBRAT PULEV	18.32	16-1-0	•12-3 vs. Samuel Peter

If December pans out, however, there will be a lot of action in the top ten and potentially a change in the interim titleholder. First, Anthony Joshua—#5, and therefore #2 in interim terms—fights Eric Molina on the 10th. Even if he wins, however, he won't pass Wilder. Neither would #9 Joseph Parker by beating #12 Andy Ruiz Jr. So the interim-title-change will have to happen on December 17th when #3 Alex Povetkin fights #19 Bermane Stiverne. A win by Povetkin, though it would leave him #3 overall, would give him the interim title, his first in a career that has seen him rank at #3 for the past seven years straight, save for a 1-month stint at #2 before Fury defeated Klitschko to knock Povetkin back to #3.

Speaking of Fury and Klitschko, it will be the winner of their rematch who reclaims the undisputed title—if a rematch happens. Failing that, Fury will have to recover from his illness and defend his title, or Klitschko will have to fight again and gain enough points to pass Fury. It's also possible that someone who defeated Klitschko could surpass Fury. Eventually, of course, Fury and Klitschko will lose enough points if they remain inactive that someone else will hold the outright title, but that would take some time—years perhaps. As for Wilder, he is injured and expected to resume his career some time in the first half of 2017.

It's interesting to look back at the last time this happened in our ratings' history. In November of 1994, the top three spots were also held by inactive fighters. To set the stage, in October of that year, Michael Moorer held the title; he had previously knocked Evander Holyfield to #2. Fighting an aging George Foreman, Moorer won every round until the last seconds of the 10th when a shot from Foreman dropped him. Moorer fell to #5, but Foreman—previously #57—only jumped to #4 behind three inactive fighters:

SportsRatings Heavyweight Rankings from November, 1994:

-3y -1y -6m -1m  Rnk Fighter            Record      Rating
  1   3   3   3   1. EVANDER HOLYFIELD (16- 2- 0)   39.47 last rated win -12 months.
  2   2   2   2   2. MIKE TYSON        (26- 1- 0)   39.00 last rated win -41 months.
  3   4   4   4   3. RIDDICK BOWE      (14- 1- 0)   33.88 last rated win -18 months.
 32  49  54  57   4. GEORGE FOREMAN    (41- 4- 0)   33.01 KO  10 #1 MICHAEL MOORER   
 12   1   1   1   5. MICHAEL MOORER    (10- 1- 0)   31.01 L KO  10 #57 GEORGE FOREMAN  

The very next month, Riddick Bowe took over the interim title from Foreman by beating Larry Donald, then in March he claimed the undisputed title by beating Herbie Hide, which put him ahead of Holyfield. Foreman never made it to our top spot in his 90s comeback, but he held onto the lineal title until losing to Shannon Briggs a few years later.

The only other time the top three heavyweights were inactive was almost 100 years earlier, from September 1895 to January of 1896:

-3y -1y -6m -1m  Rnk Fighter            Record      Rating
  2   1   1   1   1. BOB FITZSIMMONS   (15- 1- 2)   19.13 last rated win -16 months.
  1   2   2   2   2. PETER JACKSON     (14- 0- 3)   18.17 last rated win -38 months.
  3   3   3   3   3. JAMES J CORBETT   ( 9- 0- 4)   16.07 last rated win -24 months.
 10  12  12  12   4. TOMMY RYAN        ( 3- 0- 0)   14.76 W   3 #5 HENRY BAKER      
  6   6   6   6   5. JOE CHOYNSKI      (15- 4- 3)   14.62 KO  13 #30 JIM HALL         

Here in January of 1896, though 19th century records aren't 100% accurate, we see all-time greats Bob Fitzsimmons, Peter Jackson, and James Corbett all inactive for over a year, making Tommy Ryan the interim champ with his win over #5 Henry Baker. Previously, Baker and Dan Creedon had held the interim belt. But the very next month Fitzsimmons beat #9 Peter Maher to re-establish a proper champion.

It's an interesting time in the heavyweight division, with popular favorites like Anthony Joshua, Luis Ortiz, and Joseph Parker all vying for a title that seems up for grabs. It's ironic that Wilder is our interim champion, after Povetkin has been at #3 for so long, and the Povetkin-Wilder fight was cancelled earlier this year. If Klitschko and Fury can't get it together, it could be the rescheduling of that fight that decides the interim champ, and maybe eventually the undisputed champ. There are many others waiting in the wings, but someone will have to beat Klitschko or Fury if he wants to be our real champ within the next several years!

Browne, Ortiz win big fights, advance in top ten

Lucas Browne's win was an upset while Luis Ortiz' defeat of Tony Thompson was expected, and both move up in our rankings. Ortiz slides up two spots to #8, while Browne leaps all the way to #7.

SportsRatings Top Ten Heavyweight rankings through fights of March 5, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Mar 1st	Mar 5th	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	March 1-5 results
5	4	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	64.56	15-0-0
1	1	2	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	57.16	42-4-0
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.60	24-1-0
2	2	4	4	4	VITALI KLITSCHKO	29.40	27-2-0	last win -42 months.
17	6	5	5	5	DEONTAY WILDER	26.29	12-0-0
24	12	6	6	6	CHARLES MARTIN	24.83	5-0-0
21	13	17	18	7	LUCAS BROWNE	21.31	10-0-0	KO 10 #7 RUSLAN CHAGAEV
50	31	10	10	8	LUIS ORTIZ	19.78	10-0-0	KO 6 #43 TONY THOMPSON
36	16	9	8	9	ERKAN TEPER	18.33	7-0-0
9	11	8	9	10	ANDY RUIZ JR	17.98	9-0-0	last win -15 months.

Over the next several months there is the potential, at least, for many interesting fights. There is of course the rematch of new #1 Tyson Fury with former perennial champ Wladimir Klitschko for several belts including the WBA, WBO, and IBO. That fight is most likely to occur in June.

The WBC mandatory pits #3 Alexander Povetkin with #5 Deontay Wilder. When, or if, that fight takes place is anybody's guess right now, but May 21st has been suggested for some time.

Then there is the only officially scheduled rumble, with #6 Charles Martin taking on #15 Anthony Joshua for the IBF title on April 9th.

New #7 Browne faces a mandatory defense of his version of the WBA belt against Fres Oquendo, currently at #162 in our rankings. Ortiz presumably faces #33 Alexander Ustinov next.

With #4 Vitali Klitschko long inactive and officially retired, that leaves only #9 Erkan Teper, currently on steroids ban, and Andy Ruiz Jr., who hasn't faced a reasonable opponent in over a year.

The heavyweight division suddenly become more interesting with Klitschko's loss. If he beats Fury in the rematch—as we would expect—then what becomes of that interesting scenario? It doesn't disappear. Klitschko certainly looks vulnerable now, and even if he becomes champ again he won't hold the belt for several more years. While Martin and Browne probably aren't championship caliber. Ortiz has been very impressive and Wilder can't be dismissed. The worst-case scenario is a Klitschko win over Fury, Povetkin defeating Wilder, and Ortiz being upset by Ustinov.

But if any of Fury, Wilder, or Ortiz survive the next round the heavyweight division is moving in a more entertaining direction.

Top Ten Boxing: Wilder KOs Szpilka, Glazkov hurts knee, loses to Martin

The Heavyweight boxing "title" double-header was of mixed results, as the first fight ended in a fluke and the 2nd ended in spectacular fashion. Deontay Wilder destroyed Artur Szpilka with a massive right hand in the 9th round after Vyachaslav Glazkov went down in the 3rd to Charles Martin due to a knee injury.

The Wilder fight was close through the 8th as Szpilka's movement caused Wilder problems. The WBC belt holder lived up to his name, swinging wildly early in the fight trying to land one big shot. For his part, Szpilka made Wilder look bad but didn't generate a lot of offense of his own. After flustering Wilder for 8 rounds he paid the price going after a left hook and ran right into Wilder's right, which spun Szpilka's neck around and his body followed to the canvas. He never got up and was carried off on a stretcher.

In the battle for the vacant IBF belt, Glazkov managed to leave on his own power after possibly tearing an ACL during the fight. The first two rounds were very preliminary as Glazkov tried to deal with Martin's size. After the referee warned the fighters about their feet—Martin is a 6'5" southpaw so his right foot and Glazkov's left were inches apart—Martin stepped on Glazkov's foot during an exchange and Glazkov appeared to twist his right knee and slipped to the ground. After that he seemed very tentative and during the next exchange—where Martin's punch didn't land—Glazkov crumbled to the ground and informed the referee he couldn't continue. It was a similar result to the Klitschko-Solis fight except Glazkov walked out of the ring.

What happens in our rankings? Here's a preview of next month's top ten:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Jan Rank	Feb Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	January results
4	4	4	1	1	TYSON FURY	64.56	15-0-0
1	1	1	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	57.16	42-4-0
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.60	24-1-0
2	2	2	4	4	VITALI KLITSCHKO	30.99	27-2-0	last rated win -40 months.
20	6	6	6	5	DEONTAY WILDER	26.29	12-0-0	KO 9 #22 ARTUR SZPILKA
--	12	12	13	6	CHARLES MARTIN	24.83	5-0-0	TKO 3 #5 VYACH GLAZKOV
9	9	7	7	7	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	20.92	18-2-0
23	11	9	8	8	ANDY RUIZ JR	18.38	9-0-0	last rated win -13 months.
67	16	10	10	9	ERKAN TEPER	18.33	7-0-0
25	31	37	11	10	LUIS ORTIZ	18.18	9-0-0

A win is a win, and Charles Martin takes advantage of that fact to fly up to #6 as Glazkov falls from #5 to #12. Wilder moves up a notch to #5, his highest ranking ever on our Top 100. He's still below the retired Vitali Klitschko (inactive over 3 years) due to a generally weak schedule despite a 36-0 record. He also rates below mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (#3), as well as of course Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko.

Though most fans would like to see Wilder face one of those above him, we have a feeling that Martin will be his next opponent. Martin didn't look bad in the first few rounds but his win was a fluke and he would be a much less daunting challenge than Povetkin.

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury Live Round by Round Scoring

World champion Wladimir Klitschko takes on SportsRatings #4 ranked Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Wladimir Klitschko
64-3-0 (53 KO)
6'-6"
246 lbs.

Tyson Fury
24-0-0 (18 KO)
6'-9"
246 lbs.

Fury and Klitschko have entered the ring.

National anthems and introductions have commenced, along with obligatory "let's get ready to rumble."

Round-by-round scoring:

• Round One: The boxers both look very tall in the ring, both fighting at distance early, nothing landing, pawing at each other. Left hook from Fury comes close, a few jabs from Klitschko. Fury's guard is low, throwing jabs from low trajectory. Lots of nothing going on, first clinch of the fight. Fury is hyperactive, leads with left again, gets in a jab. Exchange at end of round. Who won the round? Hard to say. Punting on this one. 10-10
• Round Two: Fury and Klitshchko exchange jabs....Fury keeping guard very low, staying at distance. Fury rushes in for attack and lands with the left. Fury trying to knock Klitschkos arms away, takes short hit from Klitschko. Round ends with Fury maybe the more successful with very little again, no damage done. Fury 10-9; Fury 20-19.
• Round Three: Klitschko likely playing the long game, waiting for Fury to slow down his activity. For now he's being very careful. His jabs are very tentative as Fury stays far back. Fury doing almost nothing at midpoint of round. Big swing from Klitschko misses, Fury now in southpaw. Two clinches, Fury hits the back of the head in clinch. Fury didn't connect with anything else this round, give this one to Klitschko for actually trying something. Klitschko 10-9; 29-29.
• Round Four: Klitschko more agressive at the start with jabs. Fury counters with sloppy left hook. Near middle of round both have slowed down and are back to early output. More clinching. Two big swings from Fury hit Klitschko's gloves. Good exchange but both miss. Another exchange and both connect. Another too-close round. 10-10; 39-39.
• Round Five: Quick clinch as fighters are closer together. Fury ducking low into clinches. More back of head punches in clinch. Fury connects with jabs, moves out of range. Fury looking confident in middle of round, dancing. Another low duck clinch from Fury. Fury misses big and spins out. Klitschko actually has cut on his face, probably from heads connecting. Fury 10-9; Fury 49-48.
• Round Six: Fury continues movement at range. Solid left jab from Fury. Klitschko still looks tentative. Good left jab from Fury again. Klitschko stalking him down but not letting fists go. Fury mocks him with hands behind back. Jab again from Fury, attempts rare combo. Klitschko jab. Fury ducks jabs. Fury 10-9; Fury 59-57.
• Round Seven: Left hook from Fury misses, Fury backfist punch connects after another miss. Fury jumping in and attacking. Klitschko is looking very annoyed. Fury connects with close combo. Klitschko's counters not as effective as usual. Fury backs up Klitschko, another clinch. Fury puts hands behind back again, another clinch. Another round for Fury 10-9; Fury 69-66.
• Round Eight: Klitschko's corner seems to know he may be behind on cards, and at some point he will have to take chances. Fury backed into corner, clinch again. Fury hangs back, another clinch. Fury jumps in again with arms swinging. Klischko's jab connects. Fury bodyshots at break of clinch. Fury ducks into clinch again. Klitschko trying to get jab working. Klitschko jumps in this time, clinch again. That was just a clinchfest. 10-10; Fury 79-76.
• Round Nine: More action early, but both fighters quick to clinch. Klitschko lands two solid rights. Fury warned again for rabbit punches. Klitschko misses with right. Huge left by Fury after having his back turned. Jab from Fury. Did Fury win the round with that punch? Punting again, dammit. 10-10; Fury 89-86;
• Round Ten: Jabs from both fighters, Fury swinging away. Fury staying at distance, Klitschko hasn't got his rhythm yet. Big swing from Fury coming off clinch misses. Both wrestle in corner. Klitschko gets in close, and he goes for the clinch? Fury 10-9; Fury 99-95.
• Round Eleven: Corner pleading for Klitschko to throw the right hand. Klitscho does start more aggressive. Klitschko moves in, then backs out. More clinching. Doesn't seem to reflect the urgency that his corner had. He looks resigned to whatever the cards say. One minute to go in the round. Wladimir looks tentative again. Solid left hook by Fury. Fury hits him again. Fury hits the side of Wlad's head in the clinch, and Fury gets a point deducted for rabbit punch. 9-9 with deduction; Fury 108-104.
• Round Twelve: Fury hits the back of head in the clinch again, another warning for both boxers. Fury gets in a good punch as the two wrestle. Big right hand from Klitschko, best of the night. Left from Klitschko. Big clinch, then Fury is hurt again. Fury hit again, and hanging on with one minute left. Fury still keeping guard low at the one time he needs to keep them high. Huge right from Klitschko again. Big round from Wladimir but it might not be enough. Almost a 10-8 round but Fury stayed up. Klitschko 10-9; Fury 117-114.

The scores could go either way, especially in Germany. Did Fury really "take away" the title? Not really, but he probably outpointed him on the cards. The point deduction could conceivably be the difference in a fight where neither fighter did much of anything, which might mean Klitschko keeping his title.

115-112; 115-112; 116-111; winner: Tyson Fury. Amazing.

The cards basically reflected what we saw, winning by a narrow decision—two judges matching our 3-point win, and one with a 5-point win. Wladimir Klitschko has no one to blame but himself—he really only woke up in the last round; if he had opened up even a couple rounds earlier he could have knocked Fury out, or managed to win a decision. Instead he remained tentative for 11 rounds and lost the fight.

Now Tyson Fury is singing a song, so we will sign out.

Grading the Potential of Newly-Ranked Boxers

How can you tell how good a boxer is going to be, early in his pro career? We're going to try to figure that out with a new grading system. Each time a boxer makes his debut in our Heavyweight Top 100, we will assign a letter grade reflecting how much potential he has in his career going forward.

Our system is designed to be pretty basic so it can be figured out quickly (why do unnecessary work?) and can be applied to already-established boxers for a consistency check. In other words, we don't want to have to review a boxer's fights on YouTube and scout him for strengths and weaknesses. We'll look at three things, mainly:

• Age. Obviously a boxer who is 20 has more future potential than one who is 40 and nearing retirement.
• Amateur career: This doesn't tell us everything, but an Olympic gold medalist should have much more potential than someone who had no amateur bouts.
• Record at time of entry: A fighter who already has 5 losses before he gets his first significant win is probably going to see more losses, and soon. In fact, most fighters debut on the top 100 with no overall losses and no draws, so anything else is a drawback.

Of course an expert who has actually seen the boxer's work extensively would have a better take on his potential, but we think these three things can go a long way. We determine a letter grade in which A-level fighters are likely to one day fight for the title, B-level fighters are solid prospects, C-level fighters have more of a ceiling, and D-level fighters probably don't advance much from where they debut. This roughly projects the following:

• A+   We expect this boxer to one day be heavyweight champion of the world
• A     Solid championship contender
• A-    Top five prospect, world title a possibility
• B+   Expected to reach top ten
• B     Should be rated contender by several organizations
• B-   Should reach our top 25, probably top 20, but top ten less likely
• C+   Might reach top 25, but not contender-class
• C    Average prospect, top 30 probably ceiling
• C-   Below average prospect, top 40 probably ceiling
• D+  Top 50 ceiling likely
• D    Limited potential; not likely to reach top 50
• D-   Poor potential
• F     Likely has already peaked upon debut

Let's jump right in and review the four boxers who debuted in November and grade their future potential in the heavyweight division:

• #45 Marcin Brzeski: Polish fighter Brzeski is 7-0-0 after his win over #105 Wladimir Letr in October put him on our radar. Brzeski, 26, has a solid amateur pedigree but did not represent Poland in the Olympics or World Championships. Brzeski grades a solid B and therefore is expected to eventually be a ranked contender, but probably doesn't crack the top 10.
• #49 Justin Ledet: Justin Wayne Ledet, 27, is 5-0-0 after topping #130 Roy McCrary. Ledet has worked with Angelo Dundee and was a college basketball player and MMA fighter with a 5-0 record. In other words, he looks a lot like one of those 'athletic' types with no amateur experience who takes up boxing. His B- grade seems to be typical of the type: Lots of early success, enough to crack the top 25, but lack of experience catches up a la Seth Mitchell.
• #56 Manuel Pucheta: Argentinian fighter Manuel Alberto Pucheta, 44, examplifies the older pugilist who finally cracks our top 100 with a win over another questionable boxer. In this case, Pucheta beat former #150 Nelson Dario Dominguez, who also hails from Argentina. Pucheta has a lifetime 38-10-0 record and at his age has likely peaked; our system gives him an F.
• #65 David Allen: UK fighter Allen is only 23 years old, his biggest selling point in our grading system. He's undefeated with 8 wins, but does have a draw on his record via Plamen Nikolov (1-1-2), which is a red flag. Also a red flag is Allen's fluctuating weight (232 to 264 within a year) though we don't factor that in. He weighed 234 in his last bout, a win over #199 Fabrice Aurieng. Allen had only 10 amateur bouts but overall scores a B, projecting solid potential given his young age.

So there we have it: Brzeski is probably the top prospect of the bunch, grading out at a B along with Allen who may need a bit more time to develop. Ledet is just a step behind and Pucheta, naturally, is ranked lowest by the system. In other words, three fighters with clear top 25 potential to keep an eye on and one you can probably afford to ignore.

Just to check the grading system, here is a listing of our current top ten, and how they would have been graded when they made their SportsRatings Heavyweight top 100 debut:

1. Wlad Klitschko (A+): Wlad was very young when he debuted and as the 1996 Olympic Gold medalist, would have had our highest ranking. In other words, this system predicted his rise to the very top.
2. Alex Povetkin (A): Povetkin was also a gold medalist, but was a bit older (26) when he debuted.
3. Vitali Klitschko (A): Vitali was never a world champ as an amateur (had he competed in '96, that might have changed).
4. Tyson Fury (B+): Fury was very young at his top 100 debut but his limited amateur competition kept him at a B+, which still predicts top 10 success.
5. Vyacheslav Glaskov (A-): Glaskov placed 2nd in the World Championships in 2007, and debuted in our top 100 just after turning 25, which dinged him to an A- (predicts top 5 success).
6. Deontay Wilder (A): Wilder won the Bronze in the Olympics, projecting great success when he debuted at age 24.
7. Ruslan Chagaev (A-): Chagaev's amateur career was stellar and included two World Championships (one later stripped); he gets dinged for an early draw with Rob Calloway, and debuting at 25+.
8. Robert Helenius (B): Helenius never qualified for the Olympics as an amateur which is the main reason for his "low" grade.
9. Andy Ruiz, Jr (B+): Ruiz had a lot of amateur fights but not at the international elite level.
10. Erkan Teper (B): Teper was almost 30 when he debuted on our top 100, and his amateur career did not include the Olympics or World Championships.

As you can see, the top 10 is full of A level fighters, and a few B level in the lower reaches, which is pretty much as expected. For a quick-and-dirty system it seems to check out, at least for modern-era fighters who are more likely to have a trackable amateur career that includes international competition. In other words, the system seems generally reliable for fighters going forward, but go too far back to a more American-centric age where more fighters came "from the streets" and it falls apart. Still, fighters from Muhammad Ali to Lennox Lewis grade out at an A+.

What titleholders are on the horizon? Only one current top 100 fighter gets an A+ on his debut: 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua.

Wladimir Klitschko: Top 5 All-Time Great?

Here's a topic that always stirs controversy: where does Wladimir Klitschko rank, all-time? The boxing community seems very divided as to whether he belongs in the top ten—or nowhere near it. But in our All-time Heavyweight top 500, Klitschko has just broken into the top five, passing Mike Tyson.

ATR -1  year	All-time Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	Peak rating date; highest-rated win by points; highest-rated opponent defeated
1	1	MUHAMMAD ALI	110.32	47-5-0	peak rating: 9/1977  pts: 9/1978 UD 15 #43 LEON SPINKS  opp: 11/1962 KO 4 #8 ARCHIE MOORE
2	2	ROCKY MARCIANO	109.82	29-0-0	peak rating: 9/1955  pts: 9/1952 KO 13 #10 JERSEY JOE WALCOT  opp: 10/1951 KO 8 #3 JOE LOUIS
3	3	JOE LOUIS	109.58	59-3-0	peak rating: 3/1942  pts: 6/1938 KO 1 #20 MAX SCHMELING  opp: 12/1947 SD 15 #10 JERSEY JOE WALCOT
4	4	LARRY HOLMES	94.43	45-6-0	peak rating: 5/1985  pts: 10/1980 KO 11 #1 MUHAMMAD ALI  opp: 10/1980 KO 11 #1 MUHAMMAD ALI
6	5	WLAD KLITSCHKO	89.24	42-3-0	peak rating: 4/2015  pts: 10/2013 UD 12 #65 ALEX POVETKIN  opp: 10/2013 UD 12 #65 ALEX POVETKIN
5	6	MIKE TYSON	89.03	34-6-0	peak rating: 7/1989  pts: 6/1988 KO 1 #22 MICHAEL SPINKS  opp: 1/1988 KO 4 #4 LARRY HOLMES

That's higher than even most of his fans are willing to put him—though there are some who contend he is the best of all time, given the principle that fighters get better over the decades. Would his height and weight be an insurmountable obstacle for the great fighters of the past?

Our formula for the top 500 takes into account this principle, as fighters generally have higher ratings as the decades go by. But a fighter still has to accomplish in the ring, and the current era does not have a lot of high-ranked foes for Klitschko to conquer. That's why some people won't put him in the top 25, or even top 50. His three early losses to very suspect competition underscores this point.

But there's no doubt he's dominating the current era, having won 22 straight fights over an incredible 10+ year period. No formula is going to come up with a perfect ranking, and no ranking will satisfy every fan—but it does make for an "unbiased" ranking, in that all participants are judged by the same criteria. And objectivity is hard to come by when grading the Klitschkos.

So how does he make the top five? Though it's unquestionably been a weak era, Wladimir Klitschko has beaten the best opponents available in his 22-fight winning streak:

Date     Result    Rank Opponent
10/2004: Win  TDW  #16  DAVARL WILLIAMSON
04/2005: Win  KO   #48  ELISEO CASTILLO  
09/2005: Win  UD   #5   SAMUEL PETER     
04/2006: Win  KO   #3   CHRIS BYRD       
11/2006: Win  KO   #8   CALVIN BROCK     
03/2007: Win  KO   #30  RAY AUSTIN       
07/2007: Win  KO   #17  LAMON BREWSTER   
02/2008: Win  UD   #9   SULTAN IBRAGIMOV
07/2008: Win  KO   #6   TONY THOMPSON    
12/2008: Win  KO   #14  HASIM RAHMAN     
06/2009: Win  KO   #2   RUSLAN CHAGAEV   
03/2010: Win  KO   #4   EDDIE CHAMBERS   
09/2010: Win  KO   #13  SAMUEL PETER     
07/2011: Win  UD   #4   DAVID HAYE       
03/2012: Win  KO   #12  JEAN MARC MORMECK
07/2012: Win  TKO  #10  TONY THOMPSON    
11/2012: Win  UD   #46  MARIUSZ WACH     
05/2013: Win  TKO  #14  FRANCESCO PIANETA
10/2013: Win  UD   #3   ALEX POVETKIN    
04/2014: Win  TKO  #30  ALEX LEAPAI      
11/2014: Win  KO   #4   KUBRAT PULEV     
04/2015: Win  UD   #8   BRYANT JENNINGS  

12 of the 22 fighters were ranked in our top ten at the time, and all but four were in the top 25. After he beat Ruslan Chagaev in 2009, his brother Vitali took over the #2 spot and has been there since. He defeated Alexander Povetkin, the #3 ranked fighter, in 2013 and Povetkin still holds down that spot. He beat #4 Kubrat Pulev last year.

Which brings us to another point—not fighting his brother, Vitali, the only other unquestionably great heavyweight of this era. What other top heavyweight in history hasn't battled the #2 fighter of the era? Regardless of the fact that they're brothers, this harms their legacy as their chance to gain an important win disappears. To show this, here is our all-time top ten, and the highest-ranked (all-time) fighter they've beaten:

1. MUHAMMAD ALI          #8 ARCHIE MOORE
2. ROCKY MARCIANO        #3 JOE LOUIS
3. JOE LOUIS            #10 JERSEY JOE WALCOT
4. LARRY HOLMES          #1 MUHAMMAD ALI
5. WLAD KLITSCHKO       #65 ALEX POVETKIN
6. MIKE TYSON            #4 LARRY HOLMES
7. EZZARD CHARLES        #3 JOE LOUIS
8. ARCHIE MOORE         #19 JIMMY BIVINS
9. LENNOX LEWIS          #6 MIKE TYSON
10 JERSEY JOE WALCOTT    #7 EZZARD CHARLES

Here Klitschko stands out like a sore thumb; every other top fighter has defeated someone on the all-time top 25, almost all the top 10. Wladimir Klitschko's best win was over Alexander Povetkin, whom we currently rank at #65. In fact, all of the top 35 all-time fighters defeated someone else in the all-time top 35—except for #30 Vitali Klitschko, whose top vanquished foe, Orlin Norris, comes in at #179.

So the Klitschkos have some résumé problems for sure. If not for Vitali's near-win over Lennox Lewis, it's doubtful the K brothers would get any respect at all from some quarters. That comparison—showing Vitali to be roughly the equal of Lewis at the time—gave Vitali respect that has eluded Wladimir despite his decade-long domination of the division. There are many who think that Vitali would have easily beaten Wladimir if they had fought, and thereby rate Vitali as the better all-time prospect.

Regardless of that speculation, in terms of accomplishment based on actual wins—in which Vitali's controversial loss to Lewis gains him no points—Wladimir has soared well past his brother. Now that he's in our all-time top 5, and looks almost as impervious as ever, what are his prospects for moving even higher on our list?

At age 39, Wladimir has limited time left, but it's hard to say how much time. Brother Vitali retired at age 41 undefeated in his career's "second wind." So that gives him at least 2 more years where we can assume he probably won't lose. Fighting twice a year on average, he'd have 4 more title defenses. That probably puts him past Larry Holmes for the #4 spot.

But Klitscho is more ambitious than that. In 2014 he said he wanted to fight for an astonishing ten more years! That would be about 18 more defenses from this point on, and would no doubt put him #1 in our list (he would be champ for 18 straight years).

We doubt even Klitschko can go undefeated through age 48. More realistically, if he goes 5 more years, that would probably put him near our top trio of Ali, Marciano, and Louis. That's 10 title defenses. Depending on the competition and how many points he gets from them, about 12 more wins—probably six years for Klitscho—might make him the #1 fighter, all-time, by our formula.

Would people think he deserves it? After 16 years without a loss and a 76-3 record, would the boxing community consider him the best heavyweight of all time?

It's doubtful, considering the era and the lack of a great opponent on his résumé. But if he breaks records for consecutive defenses set by Holmes and Louis, even the naysayers might grudgingly admit he belongs in the top ten.

Solis, Ademek fall; Thompson, Glazkov in top ten

Tomasz Adamek fell from the top ten for the first time since June of 2012 and Odlanier Solis dropped out of the top 25 in this month's Heavyweight Boxing Top 100. Vyacheslav Glazkov entered the top ten along with Tony Thompson, who makes his 3rd foray into that territory.

Adamek's loss to Glazkov sent the Polish fighter out of the top ten for the first time since his loss to Vitali Klitschko in November of 2011. A cruiserweight for most of his career, Adamek first made the heavyweight top ten in April of 2010 after scoring a majority decision over #6 Chris Arreola. He made it as high as #4 before losing a lopsided 10th-round TKO to Klitschko. He battled back in mid-2012 with a unanimous decision over #8 Eddie Chambers and he remained constant at the #7 spot since then. He drops to #17 this month.

Despite all his promise and a solid career, olympic gold medalist Solis hasn't spent much time in the top ten. Like Adamek, he also suffered a loss to Klitschko that stalled his upward momentum but had regained his lost ground priot to the current setback. Solis jumped into the top 25 at #17 after beating quality gatekeeper Monte Barrett with a 2nd-round TKO.

When he beat Ray Austin (10th round DQ that should have been a stoppage) he jumped to #9, where he remained until the March, 2011 loss to Klitschko that derailed his career for a while. After a promising first two minutes of the first round, Solis was caught at the temple and fell; the punch wasn't as devastating as the knee injury Solis suffered that ended the fight and postponed his career for an entire year. Solis came back and won three fights that put him as high as #11 before the loss to Thompson dropped him to #33.

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Mar Rank	Apr Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	March results • April schedule
1	1	1	1	1	WLAD KLITSCHKO	76.78	39-3-0	• 4-26 vs. #30 ALEX LEAPAI
2	2	2	2	2	VITALI KLITSCHKO	45.14	27-2-0	last win -18 months.
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	28.30	20-1-0
19	6	4	4	4	KUBRAT PULEV	27.42	13-0-0	• 4-05 vs. tba
39	5	5	5	5	TYSON FURY	24.75	12-0-0
16	4	6	6	6	ROBERT HELENIUS	24.55	11-0-0
29	13	11	12	7	VYACH GLAZKOV	23.57	8-0-1	UD 12 #7 TOMASZ ADAMEK
12	11	20	23	8	TONY THOMPSON	18.99	20-3-0	SD 12 #13 ODLANIER SOLIS
5	9	8	8	9	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	18.63	16-2-0
7	187	18	9	10	DERECK CHISORA	18.60	10-4-0

Tony Thompson Refuses to Go Away

While Adamek and Solis have had their moments in the top ten ruined by Vitali Klitschko, Thompson has had the same happen twice due to Wladimir.

Thompson was ranked #6 when he first fought for the title; he did well in the early rounds before wearing down and losing in an 11th-round KO. At age 36 he could have packed it in but he continued to fight and wins over Chazz Witherspoon, Paul Marinaccio, and Maurice Harris were enough to put him as high as #8; he was at #10 when he lost again to Klitschko, this time by a 6th-round TKO. He dropped out of the top 40 this time.

Eschewing retirement again, he seemed likely to become a gatekeeper to other title-seekers. And that's just what the February 2013 fight against David Price appeared to be, though those in the know felt the test might be tougher than Price's team counted on. On cue, a 2nd round hook to the ear felled Price and Thompson moved up to #11; a win in the July rematch (he was the underdog again) proved it wasn't a fluke and Thompson sat at #8.

Thompson took a fight with Kubrat Pulev just one month later and a unanimous decision loss dropped him to #20. Certaintly it was time to pack it in? Nope, he took the fight with Solis and won a lazy, hard-to-score affair and popped back into the top ten for the third time. Now 42, who knows how much longer Thompson will be able to mix it up among the top contenders but he keeps battling his way into more paydays.

Glazkov's career is far shorter and he had only stepped into the top ten once before. In December of 2012 Glazkov beat Tor Hamer and jumped from #19 to #11; just two months later he scored a draw with also-undefeated Malik Scott and dropped to #13. A win over Byron Polley put him at #10 last August. But it was temporary as he was bumped the very next month to #11. This month's win over Adamek makes his status in the top ten secure, and puts the 29-year-old on the road to a future title shot.

But don't be surprised if he has to get past Thompson first.

December 1: Chagaev-Perez off, Tyson Fury vs. Kevin Johnson still on

December is full of heavyweight boxing action, with the biggest fights on Saturday the 1st. One of those two, #9 Ruslan Chagaev vs. undefeated #30 Mike Perez, was cancelled days ago due to a Perez injury. The other, #5 Tyson Fury vs. #98 Kevin Johnson, is still on (as of this writing, hours before the fight!)

Fury (19-0-0) has faced decent competition in his career but Johnson (28-2-1) might be his toughest fight yet. Johnson has lost only to Vitali Klitschko (where he went the distance) and Tor Hamer (in a 3-round fight). Johnson showed great defensive ability against Klitschko though he attempted little if any offense in losing pretty much every round. Against Hamer in a recent Prizefighter tournament he had his normal slow start and lost on the cards.

Fury has moved up to #5 in our rankings behind convincing wins over fighters such as John McDermott, Dereck Chisora, and Martin Rogan. But in other bouts Fury looked vulnerable. Many felt he lost the first bout with McDermott before getting the stoppage in the rematch. The Chisora that he beat was overweight and seemed unmotivated. And he was rocked by Nicolai Firtha before coming back to stop the fight in the 5th round.

Johnson certainly could be the one to end Fury's undefeated record. But he also might come in like Chisora, since he's had just a few weeks to prepare for the fight.

December 2012 SportsRatings Heavyweight rankings unchanged near the top

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results • December schedule
1	1	1	1	1	WLAD KLITSCHKO	70.40	37-3-0	UD 12 #48 MARIUSZ WACH
2	2	2	2	2	VITALI KLITSCHKO	48.26	27-2-0
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	38.42	19-0-0
58	13	6	4	4	KUBRAT PULEV	23.32	11-0-0
79	4	4	5	5	TYSON FURY	23.23	9-0-0	• 12/01 vs. #98 KEVIN JOHNSON
39	6	5	6	6	ROBERT HELENIUS	22.93	10-0-0	UD 10 #175 SHERMAN WILLIAMS
61	19	22	7	7	TOMASZ ADAMEK	20.80	8-1-0	• 12/22 vs. #79 STEVE CUNNINGHAM
9	12	7	8	8	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.87	19-2-0
5	9	9	9	9	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.10	15-2-0
--	28	13	10	10	DAVID PRICE	18.88	6-0-0	KO 2 #152 MATT SKELTON
6	8	12	11	11	DAVID HAYE	18.31	6-1-0
42	15	14	13	12	EDMUND GERBER	17.51	9-0-0	UD 8 #168 DARNELL WILSON
52	56	52	50	13	JOHNATHON BANKS	17.47	5-0-1	KO 2 #12 SETH MITCHELL

Despite wins from Wlad Klitschko, Robert Helenius, and David Price, there was no change in the top ten this month. Edmund Gerber's win over Darnell Wilson gained him a spot, but only because Johnathan Banks upset former #12 Seth Mitchell, propelling Banks from #50 to #13. Banks hadn't showed great promise in the past but after training with and sparring against the Klitschkos looks to have payed big dividends. Mitchell loses his first fight and falls to #32.

The only other development in the top 25 is the fall of Shane Cameron after his loss to Danny Green in a cruiserweight bout.

Many Top 30 fighters scheduled to fight in December

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results • December schedule
90	29	31	20	20	VYACH GLAZKOV	15.50	5-0-0	• 12/22 vs. #23 TOR HAMER
--	51	41	21	21	ANDY RUIZ JR	15.02	4-0-0	• 12/07 vs. Elijah McCall
--	--	--	22	22	OSCAR RIVAS	14.36	1-0-0	• 12/14 vs. tba
--	102	114	23	23	TOR HAMER	14.33	5-1-0	• 12/22 vs. #20 VYACH GLAZKOV
--	--	39	27	24	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	13.51	3-0-0	• 12/31 vs. #114 SOL HAUMONO
--	--	50	28	25	BRYANT JENNINGS	13.46	3-0-0	• 12/08 vs. #145 BOWIE TUPOU
--	24	26	25	26	MICHAEL WALLISCH	13.45	1-0-0	last win -19 months.
--	27	27	26	27	LUIZ ORTIZ	13.41	6-0-0	last win -15 months.
--	31	30	29	28	VINCENT THOMPSON	13.33	2-0-0	• 12/06 vs. Geovanni Sarran
--	44	33	31	29	KELVIN PRICE	12.99	3-0-0	• 12/15 vs. #107 DEONTAY WILDER

Lots of fights in the top 100 this month, with nearly every fighter from #20 to #29 in action this month. The highlights:

• #7 Tomasz Ademek vs. #79 Steve Cunningham
• #20 Vyach Glazkov (13-0) against #23 Tor Hamer (19-1)
• #21 Andy Ruiz Jr taking on unranked Elijah McCall, Oliver's son
• #24 Kyotaro Fujimoto from Japan builds his career against Solomon Haumono, another ranked regional fighter
• #25 Bryant Jennings, an American hopeful, faces Bowie Tupou
• #29 Kelvin Price takes on Deontay Wilder in perhaps the most intriguing fight of the month
• #39 Lucas Browne (13-0) vs. #67 Richard Towers (14-0)

Adamek vs. Cunningham is a great matchup of former cruiserweights, and would jumpstart Cunningham's heavyweight campaign in a hurry. It's never wise to beat against Adamek, however, and he has much more experience at the higher division.

The Glazkov/Hamer winner will be knocking on the door of the top 10. Fujimoto and Jennings are both legitimate future title contenders largely due to their home countries: American heavies get lots of attention, while Fujimoto is already arguably Japan's greatest heavyweight boxer ever. A title fight there is conceivable as an optional defense for Klitschko if Fujimoto can build to at least 10-0 against decent but not threatening competition. It would be a huge deal in Japan, where they love their combat sports.

Elijah McCall already has a tie and a loss and doesn't look like his career will follow his father's arc. The Price/Wilder fight will tell us a lot about the loser but not much about the winner. Though Wilder has faced very poor competition he looks like the real deal, and should beat Price unless the poor competition has sapped Wilder's skills. Price is very tall and is the only one to beat Tor Hamer, so he isn't a pusher and is far better than anyone Wilder has faced. Browne and Towers are both undefeated so it makes for solid drama, with the winner likely in the top 25. Browne is 6' 4" 260, while Towers lives up to his name at 6'8" 240.