The most-difficult question this week was how far Amir Khan would drop -- if at all -- after his knockout loss to Danny Garcia on Saturday. We also had to decide where David Haye would fit in after his KO victory.
Bob Arum said Julio Cesar Chavez could fight Brian Vera next, and eventually, Andre Ward.
RING Ratings Update: Where does Khan fit in?
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Danny Garcia’s spectacular fourth-round knockout of Amir Khan on Saturday night in Las Vegas gave the young Philadelphian the vacant RING Magazine junior welterweight title. That part of this week’s ratings update took care of itself. Sorting out the rest of the junior welterweight ratings wasn’t as easy. The key question mark was Khan, who entered the week No. 1 (one spot ahead of Garcia), but the conversation among members of the Ratings Panel and Editorial Board expanded to everyone who is rated and a few who aren’t. This was the problem: Some members of Ratings Panel suggested that Khan remain No. 1 (behind new champion Garcia) because he had knocked out No. 3 Judah (and outpointed No. 7 Marcos Maidana). But Khan has lost consecutive fights, the first by a close decision to Lamont Peterson and the second by a brutal knockout. One could argue that he should drop at least a few positions in the Top 10. See the problem? Doug Fischer, Editor of RingTV.com, and I couldn’t agree on what to do about Khan. He sided with those convinced it would be inappropriate to rate Khan below a fighter (Judah) he had domianted. I wanted to drop Khan to No. 4, a position I believe would’ve reflected his consecutive setbacks. And, for the record, this wouldn’t be the first time a fighter would be rated below someone who beat him. It happens often. Anyway, we didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. On top of that, several members of Ratings Panel took the opporunity to object to the positions held by two fighters. They thought Lucas Matthysse (No. 4 last week) and Juan Manuel Marquez (No. 6 last week) were too low. So rather than pull our hair out (figuratively, in my case), the Editorial Board decided to ask each member of the Ratings Panel to provide his Top 10 and we then averaged their lists to come up with a new offical Top 10. These are the results: Champion: Danny Garcia
1. Lucas Matthysse Astute observers will notice a problem with the new ratings: Matthysee is rated higher than Judah, to whom he lost a split decision in 2010. However, that decision and another split-decision loss to Devon Alexander are disputed and Matthysse is now on a three-fight winning streak. Some believe the Argentine should be undefeated. Meanwhile, Judah was stopped in five rounds by Khan only a year ago before he bounced back to stop Vernon Paris is nine rounds. Why isn’t Marquez higher? No one can argue with his overall resume but he is only 2-0 at 140 pounds, with victories over second-tier opponents Likar Ramos and Sergei Fedchenko. Garcia’s ascension to champion opened a position in the ratings. Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14 knockouts), a Nigerian who fights out of the UK, enters at No. 10. RING RATINGS UPDATE Heavyweight: Another significant decision was where to rate David Haye after his own spectacular knockout of Dereck Chisora on Saturday. One could argue that Haye, who was dropped from the ratings when he “retired,” should enter in the bottom half of the Top 10 because fighters typically must work their way up the ladder. Plus, although Chisora is a solid fighter, he had lost three of his previous four fights. On the ther hand, Haye gave a dominating performance. That combined with past accomplishments allowed the Briton to enter at No. 4, behind only the Klitschkos, Alexander Povetkin and Tomasz Adamek. That pushes Odlanier Solis (No. 10 last week) out of the ratings. Super middleweight: We bid farewell to Glen Johnson, who announced his retirement after losing a unanimous decision to unrated Andrew Fonfara on Friday in Chicago. Johnson was replaced by Adonis Stevenson, who enters at No. 10. Stevenson (18-1, 15 knockouts) has recorded five consecutive KOs since he was stopped by Darnell Boone in 2010. Flyweight: Sonny Boy Jaro’s reign as RING champion lasted exactly one fight. Toshiyuki Igarashi (No. 9 last week) of Tokyo defeated the Filipino by a split decision Monday in Japan to take THE RING crown and the WBC title. Jaro drops to No. 3.
UP NEXT Rated fighters in action this coming weekend (with current ratings) Junior lightweight: Juan Carlos Burgos (No. 8) vs. Cesar Vazquez (Friday); Adrien Broner (No. 3) vs. Vicente Escobedo; Argenis Mendez (No. 7) vs. Martin Honorio (Saturday) |