By Derek Bonnett. As I begin my reflections on the 2012 boxing
calendar, one trait stands out above all others, which I truly
appreciated seeing in the careers of the copious professional
prizefighters I followed in and out of the SecondsOut rankings. That
venerable characteristic was easy to find and one I’d like to see more
in all fighters, but especially the world class variety whom are
constantly under my On the Move microscope. Simply put, it’s activity.
What do Jean Pascal, Andre Dirrell, Joseph Agbeko, Celestino
Caballero, Guillermo Jones, and numerous other top names in their
respective divisions have in common? They were all dropped from the
SecondsOut rankings for sustained inactivity. The worst part about it is
that each fighter mentioned is a repeat offender with the exception of
Pascal.
In a year when world champions such as Leo Santa Cruz and Nonito
Donaire can fight five and four times respectively to secure Breakout
Fighter of the Year and Fighter of the Year contention status, an elite
class fighter should be expected to fight once or twice in a twelve
month period barring extenuating circumstance, such as Ulises Solis had
after having his jaw broken outside of the ring by Saul "Canelo"
Alvarez. Even in the wake of defeat to start 2012, the now retired
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam fought six times. The world’s best light flyweight
according to most, Roman Gonzalez, punched his pugilistic time-card
four times in 2012. Lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez posted four
defenses of his title this year. Top-rated heavyweight, Tomasz Adamek
will fight for the fourth time of 2012 next week. As will Marco Antonio
Rubio fight for a fourth time, now campaigning as a super middleweight
and unranked by SecondsOut. Top-rated strawweight Denver Cuello put on
the brakes in 2012 and still managed to fight three times.
Too many capable ring practitioners let 2012 pass them by and it was
truly a special year in boxing to be a part of. This is where other
sports gain an advantage over boxing due to scheduling. Fans know
exactly how many times they will minimally see their favorite football,
rugby, baseball, and basketball teams. With boxing it is anybody’s guess
as we see our favorite fighters pull out due to contractual disputes,
surrender titles to avoid mandatory challengers, and stay on the
sidelines as long as they see fit. Here’s to hoping for a busy 2013 as
all of the SecondsOut ranked fighter try to stay On the Move.
On Saturday, December 15, at Hilton Garden Inn & Casino, San
Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina, Omar Andres Narvaez out-scored David Quijano
in a twelve round WBO super flyweight title bout. The three scores read
120-106, 120-108, and 119-109. The win marked Narvaez’ sixth defense if
his crown and raised his ledger to 38-1-2 (20). Quijano fell to 15-3-1
(9).
Narvaez had won thrice since his bantamweight loss to Nonito Donaire,
but in order to reclaim the top spot at 115 he needs to take a large
step up in opposition to match Tepparith Singwancha. He remains ranked
third among SecondsOut’s top super flyweights.
Also on this date, at Arena Nurnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg,
Bayern, Germany, Arthur Abraham stopped Mehdi Bouadla in eight rounds of
a WBO super middleweight bout. The end came at the 2:11 mark. Abraham
made his first defense of the title and lifted his record to 36-3 (28).
Bouadla dropped to 26-5 (11).
Abraham has perhaps reached his peak in today’s 168-pound division,
but still has interesting match-ups against George Groves and other
second tier super middles. Abraham held his number four ranking among
SecondsOut’s elite 168-pounders.
Also on the card, Mateusz Masternak kept busy with a twelve round
shut-out of Juho Haapoja in a cruiserweight bout. All three scores
tallied 120-108 in favor of Masternak. Masternak raised his dossier to
29-0 (21). Haapoja fell to 18-3-1 (11).
Masternak remained ranked number eighth amid SecondsOut’s
top-performing cruiserweights. However, the rising prospect is also in
need of a sterner test in order to advance the rankings.
Also on the same day, at Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA,
Amir Khan stopped Carlos Molina after ten rounds of a junior
welterweight bout. Molina retired on his stool after ten rounds at the
3:00 mark. He was cut in the opening round. Khan raised his record to
27-3 (19) and snapped a two-fight losing streak. Molina dipped to 17-1-1
(7).
Khan held his shaky number five ranking among SecondsOut’s top junior welterweights.
Also on the card, Leo Santa Cruz won a tough unanimous decision over
Alberto Guevara in a twelve round IBF bantamweight title bout. Santa
Cruz prevailed by margins of 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112. Guevara was
cut in the sixth round. Santa Cruz won for the fifth time in 2012 and
raised his record to 23-0 (13). He defended his title for the third time
this year. Guevara dipped to 16-1 (6).
Santa Cruz held onto his number three ranking in a very talented bantamweight division at the top.
Also on this date, at Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA, Nonito
Donaire demolished Jorge Arce in three rounds WBO super bantamweight
title bout. Arce hit the canvas in the second and third rounds. The end
came at the 2:59 mark. Donaire won for the fourth time in a Fighter of
the Year worthy 2012. He moved his numbers to 31-1 (20). Arce fell to
61-7-2 (46).
Donaire regained the top spot at 122-pounds at SecondsOut. Abner Mares fell from first to second.
Also on the card, Victor Terrazas won an eight round split decision
over Juan Ruiz in an eight round featherweight bout. The scores read
79-73, 78-74, and 74-78. Terrazas improved his record to 36-2-1 (21).
Ruiz fell to 23-11 (7) and lost for the sixth consecutive time.
Terrazas barely held onto his top ten ranking at number eight.
Also on the move, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym has been removed from the
122-pound rankings at SecondsOut after failing three blood tests which
led to the cancellation of his showdown with Guillermo Rigondeaux. Carl
Frampton climbed aboard at number ten to fill the void.
Also on the move, Andre Dirrell has been dropped from the 168 pound
rankings at SecondsOut as he neared one year of inactivity. Dirrell had
been dropped to the ten spot and is now replaced by George Groves, who
re-entered at number ten in the wake of his wide decision win over Glen
Johnson.
Also on the move, Jean Pascal returned to the SecondsOut light
heavyweight rankings after more than a year layoff. Pascal reclaimed his
number three spot in a barren light heavyweight division. Isaac
Chilemba exited the rankings to make room.
SecondsOut ranked fighters in action through Sunday, December 23:
On Monday, December 17:
At Circus City Hall, Myakinino, Russia: Denis Lebedev versus Santander Silgado in a twelve round WBA cruiserweight title bout.
On Tuesday, December 18:
At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan: Rocky Fuentes versus Yuki Nasu in a twelve round flyweight bout.
On Saturday, December 22:
At Auditorio del Bicentenario, Morelia, Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico:
Raul Garcia versus Sammy Gutierrez IV in a twelve round light flyweight
bout.
At Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA: Tomasz Adamek
versus Steve Cunningham II in a twelve round heavyweight bout.
To check out Derek’s SecondsOut rankings click on the link...
below
http://www.digenie.net/sorankings/p_so_world.asp
For further boxing discussion, contact Derek DBO Bonnett on Facebook or at mabfan@comcast.net.
SecondsOut.com to Doghouse Boxing.