Ring ratings update: Froch advances to No. 2 super middleweight

The date and site of Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic final has yet to be decided but one aspect of the anticipated showdown between Andre Ward and Carl Froch has been determined:

The two 168-pound standouts will fight for the vacant RING super middleweight title whenever they do meet in the ring.

Froch, who scored a majority decision over former light heavyweight contender Glen Johnson on Saturday to advance to the Super Six final, was elevated to the No. 2 position behind No. 1-rated Ward in THE RING’s super middleweight rankings based on the quality of his recent opposition.

The once-beaten Englishman, who holds the WBC title, was the No. 3-rated super middleweight going into the Johnson fight. Undefeated IBF beltholder Lucian Bute was No. 2.

THE RING’s championship vacancies are filled by box-offs between the magazine’s Nos. 1 and 2 contenders.

“Every member of THE RING’s Ratings Advisory Panel who contributed this week strongly advised that Carl Froch be elevated above Lucian Bute based on superior opposition,” said Nigel Collins, Editor-in-Chief of THE RING magazine. “They made an excellent case, as there is no comparison between Froch’s three most recent adversaries (Glen Johnson, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler) and Bute’s (Brian Magee, Jesse Brinkley, Edison Miranda). Therefore, the Editorial Board is in full agreement with the Advisory Panel.”

The winner of Froch-Ward will become the seventh reigning RING champ along with Wladimir Kitschko (heavyweight), Bernard Hopkins (light heavyweight), Sergio Martinez (middleweight), Juan Manuel Marquez (lightweight), Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (flyweight) and Giovani Segura (junior flyweight).

RING RATINGS UPDATE:

Light heavyweight: Zsolt Erdei returns to the ratings at No. 7, which pushes down Karo Murat (No. 7 last week), Beibut Shumenov (No. 8 last week), and Gabriel Campillo (No. 9 last week) one position each. Isaac Chilemba (No. 10 last week) exits due to Erdei’s inclusion.

“Zsolt Erdei’s return to the rankings is based on his overall resume at 175 pounds,” said Collins. “not his two recent wins over Byron Mitchell and Samson Onyango. The undefeated Erdei exited the 175-pound ranks when he moved up to cruiserweight in November 2009.”

Super middleweight: Carl Froch (No. 3 last week) and Lucian Bute (No. 2 last week) trade places following Froch win over Glen Johnson, who retains his No. 7 spot due to the fact he gave Froch a very competitive fight.

Middleweight: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. debuts at No. 6 after beating Sebastian Zbik (No. 6 last week). Zbik slips to No. 7, which also pushed down Dmitry Pirog (No. 7 last week), David Lopez (No. 8 last week), and Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (No. 9 last week) one slot each. Marco Antonio Rubio (No. 10 last week) departs.

Junior lightweight: Jorge Linares (No. 7 last week) exits because his three most recent fights have been at lightweight, but none of his victories at lightweight have been sufficient to earn a top-10 spot at 135 pounds. Linares’ departure pushes up Takahiro Ao (No. 8 last week), Argenis Medez (No. 9 last week), and Jason Litzau (No. 10 last week) on rung each and makes room for Diego Magdaleno to debut at No. 1.