Friday, May 27, 2011

May Rankings Movement (Guerrero, Trout, Rigondeaux)

May has provided boxing fans with some enormous fights, including Pacquiao-Mosley and Hopkins-Pascal II.  However, the outcomes of these contests did not necessitate any changes to the SNB rankings.  Pacquiao and Hopkins were elite fighters coming into their fights and they remain SNB Elite Fighters after their respective victories.  Nathan Cleverly also retains his status with his win over Aleksy Kuziemski this month. 

The rankings movement for May was based on the reevaluation of several fighters' recent body of work and their immediate future prospects.  Two fighters have seen their career momentum stall and two boxers have taken some significant steps forward in the first half of 2011.  With that, the May Rankings Movement:

Elevated:  Robert Guerrero joins the SNB 10 Boxers on the Rise list.  Guerrero's victory over Michael Katsidis demonstrates that he is a force at 135 pounds and could be competitive with any of the titleholders in the junior welterweight division.

Elevated:  Austin Trout debuts on the Bubbling Under list.  Trout, a relatively anonymous American junior middleweight, captured the WBA title earlier in the year.  His opposition hasn't been great but at just 25, he's someone to keep an eye on.

Demoted:  Paul Williams exits the Fighters on the Cusp list.  It's clear that with the choice of Erislandy Lara for his next opponent, Williams is at least a few fights away from recapturing elite status.  The "Fighters on the Cusp" designation is reserved for boxers who would move to elite status with their next big victory.  Williams' career is currently in "regroup" mode.  

Demoted: Guillermo Rigondeaux leaves the SNB 10 Boxers on the Rise list.  Even though Rigondeaux won an interim title earlier in the year in only his eighth professional fight, his career momentum has stalled with an uninspiring performance in 2010 against Ricardo Cordoba.  Top Rank farmed him out to Ireland for his fight against Willie Casey.  Even with his first round knockout of Casey, Rigondeaux finds himself persona non grata on U.S. premium network television – not a good place to be for a 30-year-old Cuban fighter with no natural fan base.

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMay 28, 2011

    Mayweather shouldn't be on any list of fighters. He hasn't fought anybody except security guards and women in more than a year. Goodbye "PrettyBoy". You had the talent to be a great. Now your just a COULD HAVE been.

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