Wednesday, September 28, 2011

September 2011 Rankings Movement

The most notable fight of September was the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz mega bout.  The unusual ending will be talked about for some time and with the knockout, Mayweather retains his elite status in the SNB Rankings, while Ortiz's loss results in a fall from his previous position.  Additionally, two junior featherweights have been making quite a bit of noise over the last 18 months and make their respective debuts in the rankings.  Here is the complete September 2011 SNB Rankings movement 

Elevated: Toshiaki Nishioka  The Japanese junior featherweight has been on quite a run, defending his title five times, including stopping current featherweight beltholder Jhonny Gonzalez and former junior bantamweight titlist Ivan Hernandez.  Nishioka faces his most notable opponent next month, meeting the legendary Rafael Marquez.  Fighting in Las Vegas, Marquez will have the crowd behind him, but he is moving down to junior featherweight at an age where typically most boxers jump up in weight classes.  Additionally, who knows what Marquez has left after numerous ring wars?  Expect a good showing from Nishioka.  He debuts in the SNB Rankings on the 10 Boxers on the Rise list. 

ElevatedRico Ramos  Ramos is a fast-rising junior featherweight who scored a memorable knockout in July against Akifumi Shimoda.  Through six, Ramos was losing every round, but in the seventh, he landed a right hook that destroyed the Japanese titlist.  It was certainly one of the more improbably victories of the year.  Ramos, undefeated out of California, faces a stiff test in his next fight against mandatory challenger and defensive wizard, Guillermo Rigondeaux.  Shimoda exposed some potential flaws with Ramos – he starts slowly and he can be tentative offensively; however, at just 24, Ramos should have a bright future ahead of him.  He joins the SNB Rankings on the Bubbling Under list.

Demoted: Victor Ortiz  Whatever one makes of Ortiz's performance against Floyd Mayweather, it's tough to claim that his career is on a better trajectory after the knockout.  However, with the attendant publicity surrounding the fight and its aftermath, expect to see Ortiz in a big fight soon, especially in a rematch against Andre Berto.  It wouldn't be shocking if he rights his career and makes another run towards the top.  For now, Ortiz leaves the 10 Boxers on the Rise list.   


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