For two fighters this month, winning was not enough to maintain their respective places in the Saturday Night Boxing Rankings. Tavoris Cloud and Alexander Povetkin failed to impress in their close and/or disputed victories. The best performance of February clearly belonged to Adrien Broner, who ascends yet again in the Rankings. Marco Huck acquitted himself well in his first foray at heavyweight, but he had his opponent literally and figuratively on the ropes and wasn't able to secure a victory.
Elevated: Adrien Broner The boxing world loves knockouts and Broner delivered the goods with his ferocious KO of Eloy Perez. What made the victory so impressive was Perez's top-ten standing in the junior lightweight division. Broner summed it up perfectly after the fight, "This is what happens when you put a very good fighter in with an elite fighter." I'm not ready to place Broner in that lofty status yet, but he moves up to the 10 Boxers on the Rise list.
Demoted: Marco Huck Many boxing observers felt that Huck, a longtime cruiserweight champion, did enough against heavyweight titlist Alexander Povetkin to earn a victory. Huck lost a majority decision (a reasonable verdict) but definitely showed that he belongs in the big boy division. Nevertheless, Povetkin was there for the taking. The beltholder was in terrible condition and Huck was unable to put him away. Huck's performance, while impressive on the surface, does not suggest that he is an elite talent. Great fighters dismantle that Alexander Povetkin. Huck exits the Fighters on the Cusp list.
Demoted: Tavoris Cloud Thanks to the beneficence of David Robertson's absurd 116-110 scorecard, Cloud was awarded a split decision victory over Gabriel Campillo. Cloud was unable to finish Campillo off in the first round after two knockdowns and he lacked the technical savvy to match Campillo at many points throughout the fight. Irrespective of the official score, it's safe to say that Cloud's performance didn't raise his stock any. Cloud exits the 10 Boxers on the Rise list.
Demoted: Alexander Povetkin Sure, Povetkin persevered during his 12 rounds against Marco Huck and somehow stayed on his feet despite abominable conditioning. However, true champions don't allow themselves to enter the ring in that manner. Even with the win over Huck, Povetkin failed to impress. Prior to Huck, he was a paper champion; now he is paper champion who lacks professionalism. Povetkin drops off the Bubbling Under list.
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Good Call on Broner - Hes class- nice defense, work-rate and hungry to put shots in!
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