Friday, March 29, 2024  |

News

Aficianado

Ring Ratings Update: Peterson returns to 140-pound rankings

Fighters Network
26
Feb

A busy week of boxing resulted in some movement in THE RING’s divisional rankings, most notably IBF 140-pound titleholder Lamont Peterson’s return to the junior welterweight top 10.

At heavyweight, Tony Thompson’s shocking one-punch second-round stoppage win over David Price will set the previously undefeated British standout back in the division. Thompson’s upset victory raised his stock and will possibly set him up for a big payday fight.

Also at heavyweight, unbeaten veteran Malik Scott appeared to win a decision over previously undefeated Ukrainian prospect Vyacheslav Glazkov, but had to settle for an unpopular split-decision draw. Both American heavyweights, Thompson and Scott, acquitted themselves well but neither earned their way into THE RING’s rankings this week.

At cruiserweight, Alexander Alekseev outpointed American gatekeeper Garrett Wilson in an IBF cruiserweight elimination bout, but it was not enough to get ranked.



At light heavyweight, former RING-ranked Ismayl Sillakh stopped Daniel Adotey Allotey by second-round TKO in his first bout since being stopped by Denis Grachev last April. It’s still early for Sillakh in his comeback but he has all the offensive tools to rebound. Still, his chin will remain a question mark.

At junior middleweight, Ishe Smith became the first Las Vegas-born boxer to win a major world title with his split decision victory over Cornelius Bundrage. The win drops Bundrage out of THE RING rankings and puts Smith in at No. 10.

At junior welterweight, Peterson returned to the ring in impressive fashion, stopping former beltholder Kendall Holt in the eighth round to retain his IBF junior welterweight title.

There was some debate among the Ratings Panel and Editorial Board about where to rank Peterson, who dropped from THE RING’s 140-pound ratings when he tested positive for a banned substance (synthetic testosterone) prior to his cancelled rematch with Amir Khan last year.

Some felt that if Peterson is to be ranked he should enter at the bottom of the top 10 and earn his way back into elite 140-pound company. They didn’t like the idea that the Washington D.C. native could get right back to his old position with just one fight following a failed drug test.

Others believed that Peterson had been punished enough by being dropped from the rankings and then being inactive for more than one year (his last fight was his close split-decision victory over Khan in December of 2011). Some thought Peterson could be ranked as high as No. 2, but others questioned if he should be rated higher than Khan (who is the current No. 2-rated junior welterweight). While Peterson outpointed Khan, he did so one month after he received a one-time synthetic testosterone treatment that elevated the hormone in his body enough for it to be detectable (and over the allowable levels) to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency.

The final decision was to rank Peterson at No. 3, drop No. 10 Dierry Jean, and move every contender below No. 3 down one spot.

Some Panel members discussed dropping Juan Manuel Marquez from No. 4 in our junior welterweight rankings since Marquez is currently rated in both our 140-pound and welterweight ratings (at No.2). However, we will remove his ranking in the junior welterweight division if his next fight is at welterweight.

At junior bantamweight, David Sanchez won a majority decision over Marlon Tapales. No rankings yet for either young standout.

At flyweight, former RING junior flyweight champ Giovani Segura returned for the first time after losing to Brian Viloria over a year ago. Segura stopped Omar Salado in the ninth round. This was Segura’s first real win at flyweight, against a solid opponent, but it was not enough to get him ranked.

SIGN UP TO GET RING NEWS ALERTS