After a busy month of boxing, there are numerous changes in the SNB Rankings. Two new fighters debut on the Rankings and two other boxers move up. Four fighters exit the SNB Rankings, with two of them doing so after controversial endings in their December bouts.
Elevated: Andre Ward With Ward's masterful win over Carl Froch, he secured the championship of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. In the tournament, Ward defeated two super middleweight titleholders (Froch and Mikkel Kessler) as well as a former middleweight champion (Arthur Abraham). The 2011 Saturday Night Boxing Fighter of the Year, Ward has developed into one of the best in the sport. Ward is now an SNB Elite Fighter.
Elevated: Anselmo Moreno After additional reflection, Moreno jumps two positions on the SNB Rankings, from the Bubbling Under list to the Fighters on the Cusp classification. Only 26, the bantamweight from Panama has already defended his title ten times and has beaten four titleholders – Vic Darchinyan, Lorenzo Parra, Mahyar Monshipour and Volodymyr Sydorenko. If the crafty southpaw and defensive wiz can unify titles at bantamweight, he will become an SNB Elite Fighter.
Elevated: Brian Viloria Viloria had an excellent 2011, winning a flyweight title against Julio Cesar Miranda and defending it against junior flyweight titlist Giovani Segura. His stoppage victory over Segura was a significant upset. Viloria, an American who often fights out of the Philippines, has performed much better since his move to the flyweight division. He joins the SNB Rankings on the 10 Boxers on the Rise list.
Elevated: Takashi Uchiyama Uchiyama had the 2011 Saturday Night Boxing Knockout of the Year on New Year's Eve against Jorge Solis. Uchiyama, from Japan, had an injury-plagued year, but is healthy now. He has defended his junior lightweight title four times, each resulting in a stoppage. He also enters the Rankings on the 10 Boxers on the Rise list.
Demoted: Amir Khan On one hand, Khan would have won his fight against Lamont Peterson if not for his infractions. However, he permitted Peterson to remain close on the scorecards and his point deductions were enough to swing the fight out of his favor. Although the second point deduction might have been dubious, elite fighters beat Lamont Peterson. Khan exits the SNB Elite Fighters list.
Demoted: Carl Froch Froch put forth a game effort against Andre Ward last month, but he was overmatched. In total, Froch had a very good Super Six tournament, with wins over Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson and losses to Kessler and Ward. He's a tough and able boxer but the Ward fight demonstrated that he is not close to elite. He exits the Fighters on the Cusp list.
Demoted: Nkosinathti Joyi Joyi had one glaring problem in 2011 – he didn’t fight much. His last match was in January of 2011 and he spent most of the year dealing with injuries and promotional problems. Had he been an elite fighter, such as Bernard Hopkins or Floyd Mayweather, I would be more lenient regarding his ring absence. Nevertheless, it's tough to be a Boxer on the Rise without actually fighting. Joyi exits the 10 Boxers on the Rise list and the SNB Rankings.
Demoted: Robert Helenius The official ledger might indicate that Helenius beat Dereck Chisora, but anyone who watched the fight knows differently. Helenius was thoroughly outclassed in the fight and the heavyweight from Finland has seen his buzz in the sport dim. He exits the Bubbling Under list.
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Question, where do you stand on Miguel Cotto?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've demoted Helenius. He keeps his unbeaten record but he lost to Chisora on everyone's card but the judges. He's got a lot of work to do to get back to where he was, and I'm glad he isn't talked about as a Klitschko opponent any more.
ReplyDeleteFair play demoting Froch, but signing up to a two-part Bute fight straight after makes him a class act. I wouldn't bet against him winning.