SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

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.

Was August, 2012 the Worst Month of Heavyweight Boxing Ever?

Perhaps, but September 2012 is shaping up as one of the better months in years

The month of August was a very forgettable one for heavyweight boxing, as you can tell by looking at our Top 100: there are NO wins or losses reported among the top 100 fighters, simply some downward movement for inactivity.

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	Aug Rank	Sept Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	August results / September schedule
1	1	1	1	1	WLAD KLITSCHKO	69.90	36-3-0
2	2	2	2	2	VITALI KLITSCHKO	46.91	26-2-0	...9/08 vs. #17 MANUEL CHARR
4	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	37.88	18-0-0	...9/29 vs. #100 HASIM RAHMAN
94	9	4	4	4	TYSON FURY	23.23	9-0-0
74	5	5	5	5	ROBERT HELENIUS	22.64	9-0-0
--	14	13	6	6	KUBRAT PULEV	20.77	10-0-0	...9/29 vs. #22 ALEX USTINOV
--	4	23	7	7	TOMASZ ADAMEK	20.47	7-1-0	...9/08 vs. #174 TRAVIS WALKER
7	13	8	8	8	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.87	19-2-0
6	10	11	9	9	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.10	15-2-0	...9/01 vs. Werner Kreiskott
23	8	9	10	10	DAVID HAYE	18.31	6-1-0

Two fighters in the top 100 had bouts—#38 Alexander Flores and #46 Jason Bergmann—but neither was against a rated fighter. In our entire database, only three fighters (outside the top 100) had significant fights:

• Travis Kaufmann rose from #146 to #135 after beating Charles Davis, who fell from #225 to #259
• Hector Avila lost a cruiserweight bout and fell from #131 to #180; his victor doesn't become rated since it wasn't a heavyweight contest

Note that possibly the most high-profile heavyweight fight this month was #105 Deontay Wilder beating Kertson Manswell, but Manswell was dropped from the system for too many consecutive losses so that fight isn't entered, either.

This activity—2 fights entered into the database—is the fewest we can find for a month since September, 1897. That's 1897, not 1997.

But help is on the way. September, 2012 is shaping up as one of the busiest in the sport in quite a while. Just among our top 100 there are 25 scheduled bouts listed in Boxrec: 13 between two rated fighters, 7 between two in the top 100, 2 of which between top 25 boxers.

The big attractions this month:

• #2 Vitali Klitschko (44-2-0) vs. #17 Manuel Charr (21-0-0) on the 9th
• #6 Kubrat Pulev (16-0-0) takes on also-undefeated #22 Alexander Ustinov (27-0-0) on the 29th

Other top ten boxers in action in September:

• #3 Alexander Povetkin (24-0-0) vs. #100 Hasim Rahman (50-7-2)
• #7 Tomasz Adamek (46-2-0) vs. #174 Travis Walker (39-7-1)
• #9 Ruslan Chagaev (29-2-1) has a bout scheduled with unrated Werner Kreistkott (12-18-1) today (the 1st), maybe as a warmup for a supposed bout with #4 Tyson Fury later this year.

The remaining top 100 vs. top 100 bouts are:

• #31 Vyach Glaskov vs. #54 Konstantin Airich on the 8th
• #77 Malik Scott vs. #95 Bowie Tupou, also on the 8th
• #32 Andy Ruiz, Jr. vs. #85 Maurenzo Smith, on the 12th
• #54 Konstantin Airich vs. #78 Ekran Teper on the 14th

Note that Konstantin Airich has two scheduled fights in a 7-day span. #71 Fabio Moli also has TBA fights listed on the 14th and 15th; presumably that is due to an uncertain date/location.

Here is the full list of the 25 scheduled bouts featuring top 100 fighters in action this month, by date. Fighters in lowercase are not rated/ranked:

Date    Fighters
9/01    #9 RUSLAN CHAGAEV vs. Werner Kreiskott
9/07    #15 FRANCESCO PIANETA vs. #292 FRANS BOTHA
9/07    #83 MARCUS TOMALA vs. Tomas Mrazek
9/08    #2 VITALI KLITSCHKO vs. #17 MANUEL CHARR
9/08    #7 TOMASZ ADAMEK vs. #174 TRAVIS WALKER
9/08    #28 BRYANT JENNINGS vs. Chris Koval
9/08    #31 VYACH GLAZKOV vs. #54 KONSTANTIN AIRICH
9/08    #48 FRANKLIN LAWRENCE vs. #235 HOMERO FONSECA
9/08    #63 MAGO ABDUSALAMOV vs. #297 JAMEEL MCCLINE
9/08    #77 MALIK SCOTT vs. #95 BOWIE TUPOU
9/12    #32 ANDY RUIZ JR vs. #85 MAURENZO SMITH
9/14    #54 KONSTANTIN AIRICH vs. #78 EKRAN TEPER
9/14    #71 FABIO MOLI vs. tba
9/15    #71 FABIO MOLI vs. tba
9/15    #13 EDMUND GERBER vs. #296 MICHAEL SPROTT
9/15    #79 DILLIAN WHITE vs. Mike Holden
9/15    #97 EUGENE HILL vs. Stacy Frazier
9/19    #33 KYOTARO FUJIMOTO vs. #188 CHAUNCEY WELLIVER
9/22    #56 BYRON POLLEY vs. Richard Carmack
9/22    #80 ALEJANDRO VALORI vs. Diego Egea
9/22    #84 STEPHEN SIMMONS vs. tba
9/28    #66 GARY CORNISH vs. David Vyletel
9/29    #3 ALEX POVETKIN vs. #100 HASIM RAHMAN
9/29    #6 KUBRAT PULEV vs. #22 ALEXANDER USTINOV
9/29    #58 SPAS GENOV vs. Steve Kroekel

And remember, those are just the fights involving the top 100; there are many others such as cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham's debut at heavyweight against Jason Gavern. Undoubtedly some of these won't happen but no matter what, September promises to be many, many times more entertaining than August and next month's top 100 will have some red and green on it instead of an expanse of yellow!

Adamek back in top ten; Tor Hamer jumps into top 25 after Prizefighter win

Tomasz Adamek led a charge of Polish fighters moving up in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, while American Tor Hamer jumpstarted his career in a big way with his win in the Prizefighter tournament.

Adamek's unanimous decision win over former #8 Eddie Chambers vaulted Adamek back into the top ten, where he resided before his loss to Vitali Klitschko last fall. Chambers, crippled by a torn bicep after the first round, still made a good go of it 1-handed and to some observers (we scored it 116-115 for Chambers) came out ahead. But the judges saw it differently, with one giving Adamek a ludicrous 119-109 advantage.

Adamek jumps to #7, fittingly once again ahead of #8 Chris Arreola whom he bested in another close contest.The rest of the top ten was unchanged from last month.

SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top Ten for July, 2012

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	June Rank	July Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	June results / July schedule
1	1	1	1	1	WLAD KLITSCHKO	68.69	35-3-0	...7/07 vs. #10 TONY THOMPSON
2	2	2	2	2	VITALI KLITSCHKO	46.91	26-2-0
4	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	37.88	18-0-0	...7/14 vs. #97 HASIM RAHMAN
94	44	4	4	4	TYSON FURY	23.21	8-0-0	...7/07 vs. #305 VINNY MADDALONE
75	10	5	5	5	ROBERT HELENIUS	22.64	9-0-0
--	16	13	6	6	KUBRAT PULEV	20.77	10-0-0
--	6	21	23	7	TOMASZ ADAMEK	20.47	7-1-0	UD 12 #8 EDDIE CHAMBERS
6	13	12	7	8	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.87	19-2-0
5	5	11	9	9	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.10	15-2-0
19	12	10	10	10	TONY THOMPSON	18.51	17-1-0	...7/07 vs. #1 WLAD KLITSCHKO

Chambers drops to #29 with his third loss, though all three are to current top ten fighters. "Fast Eddie" came in at 202 pounds for the fight, suggesting to many that he should indeed drop to cruiserweight. For the first time, we think the idea might not be a bad one; few cruiserweights walk around at 202. But without the injury Chambers might have won and we'd be talking rematches with Povetkin or Klitschko rather than dropping a weight class.

Another Polish fighter, Andrej Wawrzyk, moved from #25 to #20 after beating #124 Denis Bahktov. Wawrzyk is now 26-0 and is the 2nd highest ranked fighter from Poland in our rankings. #3 is Mariusz Wach, 27-0, who was in the top 30 years ago but fought nobodies for 2 straight years, leading to a decline. He has since recovered to #51.

And rounding out the Polish sector, the much-discussed Artur Szpilka makes his debut at #60 this month, too, winning fights at the beginning and end of the month, the first a KO of Gonzalo Omar Basile, the 2nd a dull points win over a tired Jameel McCline. Szpilka is famous for having spent time in prison, after which he emerged a heavyweight when he continued his boxing career.

Tor Hamer, Bryant Jennings bright spots for Americans

Seems that boxing is littered with American prospects that are almost but not quite ready for the big time; add two more names to the list: Tor Hamer and Bryant Jennings.

Hamer impressed at the latest Prizefighter tournament, beating Brazilian giant Marcelo Nascimento, viciously knocking out Brit Tom Dallas, then out-working fellow American Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson over 3 rounds to take the title. Hamer was a rising prospect two years ago before losing a split decision to Kelvin Price; the Prizefighter wins re-establish Hamer as a prospect and he makes our top 25 at #25.

Jennings debuted in our top 100 in January, had a signature win over Sergei Lyokhovich in March, and jumps from #50 to #30 with his latest win, a round-by-round domination of former #104 Steve Collins.

Also moving up within the top 100:

• Japanese hopeful Kyotaro Fujimoto: The former kickboxer quickly added to his résumé with a third-round KO of Clarence Tillman. Fujimoto entered the top 100 just last month at #40, and rises to #34.
• Richard Towers stopped Gregory Tony in the 9th round; the 6' 8" Brit moved up 8 spots to #67.
• Argentina's Fabio Eduardo Moli beat Emilio Zarate for the 2nd time in two years, getting the KO in 8 rounds this time. He jumps 19 spots in a weak area on the chart, from #89 to #70.

Ibragimov, Grano rejoin top 100

Hamer wasn't the only fighter outside the top 100 to re-enter the rankings. Timur Ibragimov did it in a big way, besting the overranked Wiseman Dlomo and jumping from #110 to #45. The 270-lb. Dlomo barely had a winning record and exits the top 100. Meanwhile Tony Grano knocked out journeyman Davarl Williamson in the 4th round to move from #112 to #91.

New Entries

Oscar Rivas becomes the latest overranked Canadian (by way of Colombia) on our list, nearly debuting in the top 25 for his split-decision win over Sylvera Louis. Louis had beaten two other "fluke" Canadians who made the list recently. The good news is that Rivas is actually undefeated at 11-0, young at 25, and may have the ability to live up to his ranking unlike the others—he defeated #6 Kubrat Pulev in the 2008 Olympic games before losing to Gold medalist Roberto Cammarelle.

Matias Vidondo took advantage of the expanding number of registered Argentinian heavyweights in our system and stopped Luis Oscar Juarez in the third, allowing him to debut at #56. Right behind him at #57 is journeyman Byron Polley (25-13-1) who beat recently-registered uber-journeyman Marcus Rhode. Finally, Joey Wilson of New Zealand beat Junior Iakopo, an easy route to joining our system and a #79 debut. Iakopo has no professional wins, but he fought Clarence Tillman to a draw last year, marking him as "legit".

July fight scene: Klitschko-Thompson, Haye-Chisora on tap; Povetkin-Rahman cancelled

#1 Wlad Klitschko rematches #10 Tony Thompson on the 7th of the month, and a week later David Haye takes on Dereck Chisora. The Povetkin-Rahman WBA "title" fight scheduled for the same day was first moved from the Haye-Chisora undercard to Germany, then cancelled due to a Rahman injury.

Of the top 25, Tyson Fury will be in action against the marginally-ranked Vinny Maddalone, #14 Edmund Gerber will stay busy against #300 Michael Sprott, and in possibly the most interesting fight, #21 Monte Barrett takes on Shane Cameron, who is moving back up from cruiserweight.

Kubrat Pulev jumps into top ten; David Price not far behind

Bulgarian pugilist Kubrat Pulev moved into the top ten of the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100 for June of 2012 following his early May stoppage of former #13 Alexander Dimitrenko. Pulev (10-0 in rated fights, 16-0-0 overall) rose to #6 from #12 last month, while Dimitrenko, suffering his 2nd loss in what was an exciting fight, tumbled to #54.

The top five was unchanged consisting of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Tyson Fury, and Robert Helenius; as a group, the top five has not lost a pro fight in the last eight years.

Pulev's ascendence bumped the rest of the top ten down a notch, including Eddie Chambers, the other man to beat Dimitrenko. Chambers is at #8 and will face #23 Tomasz Adamek on June 16. Former #10 David Haye, who "retired" and hasn't won since beating Audley Harrison in late 2010, fell from the top ten to #12 while Seth Mitchell held at #11.

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	May Rank	June Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	May results / June schedule
--	16	13	12	6	KUBRAT PULEV	20.77	10-0-0	KO 11 #13 ALEX DIMITRENKO
6	13	12	6	7	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.86	19-2-0	...6/23 vs. tba
7	8	7	7	8	EDDIE CHAMBERS	19.42	14-2-0	...6/16 vs. #23 TOMASZ ADAMEK
2	5	9	8	9	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.05	15-2-0
19	12	11	9	10	TONY THOMPSON	18.68	17-1-0
--	37	36	11	11	SETH MITCHELL	18.17	11-0-0
26	4	8	10	12	DAVID HAYE	18.12	5-1-0	last win -18 months.
--	58	29	24	13	DAVID PRICE	17.76	4-0-0	KO 4 #34 SAM SEXTON
--	20	15	14	14	EDMUND GERBER	17.06	7-0-0	UD 8 #148 MAURICE HARRIS
28	32	33	42	15	ODLANIER SOLIS	16.88	9-1-0	UD 12 #17 KONSTANTIN AIRICH
15	15	16	23	16	FRANCESCO PIANETA	16.54	7-0-1	UD 10 #87 OLIVER MCCALL

The area just below the top ten was very active, with David Price jumping 11 spots to #13 after his 4th round knockout of Sam Sexton. Another unbeaten, Germany's Edmund Gerber, held at #14 due to a (somewhat controversial) unanimous decision over Maurice Harris. Odlanier Solis, recovering from a long layoff due to knee surgery, leapt back into title consideration with a comfortable comeback win over Konstantin Airich, moving up to #15 from #42. And Francesco Pianeta moved up seven spots after beating aging but resilient Oliver McCall. McCall fell from the top 100 for only the 2nd time in the last 20 years; though his title-contention days are over, he can't be counted out from returning to the top 100 yet again. Airich dropped to #56 while Sexton held on at #97.

The rest of the top 100 was rather quiet. Ukranian Vyach Glazkov (4-0, 12-0-0 overall) moved up one spot to #32 for his 7th round stoppage of Gbenga Oloukun. Yohan Banks made a surprise debut in the top 100, jumping all the way from #308 to #95 after upsetting former #106 Skyler Anderson. Anderson's last loss was in 2005 when he was 18 years old, though he faced a kind schedule; Banks knocked him out in the 4th round. The win is actually Banks' first against a fighter in our system; previously he had two draws and four losses among registered heavyweights. Overall he is 5-6-3.

This month also features a rare entry by a Japanese heavyweight. Kyotaro Fujimoto debuts at #40 after beating Afa Tatupu in a 2nd round TKO. Only one other Japanese fighter, Masataka Takehara, is in our system, with a 0-3-2 record against ranked fighters (6-6-3 overall). In fact, there are only 6 Japanese heavyweights tracked by BoxRec.com. Time will tell if Fujimoto lasts in the top 100—he is undefeated, but only at 3-0-0—but he could provide a means of entry for other Japanese or regional fighters.

June Preview: Chambers/Adamek the big fight

June 16th is the biggest day of the new month, with #8 Eddie Chambers (36-2-0) facing off against Tomasz Adamek (45-2-0) in Newark in a battle of smaller, quick, skilled heavyweights, both of whom are re-establishing themselves after being knocked out by a Klitschko brother. The winner will hold a ranking just outside the top five with a fast-track toward another title fight; the loser will fall from the top 25 and face an uphill battle for future title contention.

On the same card, rising American prospect Bryant Jennings (#50, 13-0-0) takes on #104 Steve Collins (25-1-1). Also on the 16th but in England, aptly-named Richard Towers (#73, 13-0-0) fights #209 Gregory Tony (17-2-0). #44 Lucas Browne also faces an opponent to be determined on that card.

Current #7 Chris Arreola (19-2, 35-2-0 overall), our highest-ranked American, is also looking for a title fight, with his June 23 bout against a to-be-determined foe in Los Angeles perhaps the final stepping stone toward another Klitschko match. Another former Klitschko foe, #36 Kevin Johnson, headlines the latest Prizefighter tournament to be held on the 20th.

Two non-heavyweights in the top 100 face each other, #64 Lateef Kayode and #70 Antonio Tarver, the former light heavyweight king. Both made the top 100 with wins over rated heavyweight opponents but will fight at cruiserweight.

Mitchell nears heavyweight boxing top ten; Pulev-Dimitrenko on May 5th

Seth Mitchell had a first-round scare against Chazz Witherspoon but righted the ship and put his opponent away in the 3rd, and he climbs from #18 to #11 in this month's SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100.

Mitchell is now 25-0 with 19 stoppages, no losses, and just one draw—since avenged—to blemish his record. He's 11-0 against ranked fighters, and has moved from #37 six months ago due to a solid win (TKO 2) over Timur Ibragimov and the Witherspoon fight.

He also solidifies his status as one of the very top American heavyweights, ranking 4th behind #6 Chris Arreola, #7 Eddie Chambers, and #9 Tony Thompson. Witherspoon (30-3) again drops off the top 100, but he'll surely bounce back as he did after losses to Arreola and Thompson. Witherspoon is becoming a gatekeeper in the mode of #20 Monte Barrett; fighters who beat him have a title shot in their future, while those who lose, don't.

Top-ranked American Heavyweights (in bold) as of May 1, 2012:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	Apr Rank	May Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	April results / May schedule
6	15	12	6	6	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.86	19-2-0
7	8	5	7	7	EDDIE CHAMBERS	19.63	14-2-0	last win -14 months.
2	5	9	10	8	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.05	15-2-0	KO 3 #155 BILLY ZUMBRUN
19	12	11	8	9	TONY THOMPSON	18.68	17-1-0
26	4	8	9	10	DAVID HAYE	18.33	5-1-0	last win -17 months.
--	37	37	18	11	SETH MITCHELL	18.17	11-0-0	TKO 3 #46 CHAZZ WITHERSPOON

Two top ten fighters were in action last month: #4 Tyson Fury put away Martin Rogan in the 5th, while Ruslan Chagaev needed just 3 rounds to KO Billy Zumbrun. Fury's win helped create a smidge of distance between he and #5 Robert Helenius, while Chagaev gained a couple of spots. Three years ago this month Chagaev was at #2, while Fury was very green at #93.

Denis Boytsov (31-0) moved up a spot to #15 by winning a wide unanimous decision over Domonick Guinn. Only one judge gave Guinn a single round, a patter that held in his previous two losses, both of which were also to undefeated fighters (Amir Mansour and Kubrat Pulev).

Yet another undefeated prospect, Alexander Ustinov (27-0) climbed a notch with a victory over Jason Gavern. Ustinov has been in a holding pattern for over a year as he schedules mostly stay-busy fights.

Kelvin Price moved up 9 spots to #36, beating Arron Lyons, while Kevin Johnson leaped back into the top 100 at #39 with an April 1st TKO of former #32 Alex Leapai in Australia. Juan Carlos Gomez paid back Darnell Wilson for his earlier upset loss, regaining a bit of lost ground to #45. Joe Hanks' first-round KO of journeyman Marcus Rhode was good enough to put Hanks just outside the top 50, while Rhode's first stint in our top 100 came to a quick end.

Upcoming: Pulev-Dimitrenko, Airich-Solis, Price-Sexton

Mitchell may have fallen just short of the top ten but either #12 Kubrat Pulev or #13 Alexander Dimitrenko will get there after their May 5th showdown. Dimitrenko (32-1) resided in the top ten before his only loss to Eddie Chambers, while undefeated Bulgarian Pulev (15-0) has been moving up the charts rapidly since his debut in September of 2009. That was 2 month after Dimitrenko's loss, meaning Pulev has fought 5 times as often as Dimitrenko lately. We favor Pulev to get the win and the top ten ranking. Also on that card is #14 Edmund Gerber (19-0) who has a much more manageable foe in current #148 Maurice Harris.

Odlanier Solis, ranked #42 after his loss to Vitali Klitschko and subsequent inactivity while recovering from his knee injury, begins his comeback on May 19 as he faces #17 Konstantin Airich. Airich (23-5-2), was barely holding on to a top 300 ranking before he upset Ondrej Pala and leapt into the top 20 last month. He has won six fights in a row, against reasonable competition, so he should provide a decent comeback test for olympic gold medalist Solis, who needs to re-establish himself as a force on the heavyweight scene and prove that the layoff hasn't eroded his skills—or added to his weight problem. We expect Solis to win but will be watching his conditioning.

Also on the 19th another olympic medalist, the UK's David Price, ranked #24, faces off against #34 Sam Sexton for the British heavyweight title that #4 Tyson Fury gave up rather than face Price. Many believe Price would defeat Fury given the opportunity, but there are questions about Price's chin lingering from his amateur days. Sexton's chin has its own weaknesses, and Price's accurate punching will most likely expose them; we pick Price in a late stoppage. The two are fairly well-matched skillwise, but Price's reach gives him a big advantage.