Glen Johnson (right) cracks Chad Dawson with a right in their first fight last April. Johnson, who lost the first bout, is an underdog in their rematch this Saturday but the veteran remains a threat because of his considerable experience. Johnson, who has 334 consecutive weeks in THE RING's light heavyweight rankings, is one of the magazine's longest-ranking contenders. Photo / Fightwireimages.com.


Two major fights involving four RING-ranked contenders take place this Saturday.

Former cruiserweight champ David Haye challenges 7-foot-tall heavyweight beltholder Nikolai Valuev in Nuremberg, Germany, while light heavyweights Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson meet up for their rematch in Hartford, Conn.

Odds makers have made the lesser-experienced fighters the favorites in both matches.

Haye (22-1, 21 knockouts), THE RING’s No. 8-rated heavyweight, is a 2-to-1 favorite over Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs), the magazine’s No. 5-rated heavyweight.

Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs), THE RING’s No. 2-rated light heavyweight, is a 3-to-1 favorite over Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KOs), the magazine’s No. 3-rated 175 pounder.

Valuev and Johnson aren’t just more experienced than their younger opponents, they’ve both been RING-rated fighters for a lot longer.

Valuev, 36, has been in the THE RING’s heavyweight rankings for 203 consecutive weeks (170 more than Haye).

The Russian behemoth is one of 28 RING-rated fighters with 200 or more consecutive weeks in the magazine’s rankings.

Among the 200-plus-week fighters are heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko (232), No. 1-rated cruiserweight Steve Cunningham (281), No. 1-rated super middleweight Mikkel Kessler (257), No. 1-rated featherweight Chris John (275), No. 1 rated-junior featherweight Celestino Caballero (243) and No. 1-rated bantamweight Hozumi Hasegawa (236).

Johnson, 40, has been in THE RING’s light heavyweight rankings for 334 consecutive weeks (155 more than Dawson). The former light heavyweight champ is one of 10 RING-rated contenders with 300 or more weeks in the magazine’s rankings.

Among the contenders with more than 300 weeks in THE RING's rankings are No. 5-rated light heavyweight Antonio Tarver (581), No. 1-rated middleweight Felix Strum (320), No. 2-rated junior welterweight Ricky Hatton (342), No. 2-rated flyweight Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (451) and No. 3-rated junior middleweight Verno Phillips (377).

It’s no accident that these fighters have remained in THE RING’s ratings for as long as they have. They are among the best active boxers.

This Saturday, fight fans will find out whether youth will be served or whether Valuev and Johnson can utilize their experience to score minor upsets.


THE RING RATINGS UPDATE

CRUISERWEIGHT:

Guillermo Jones (No. 3 last week) has been dropped because of inactivity. Jones’ last fight was on Sept. 29, 2008. Everybody rated No. 4 or below last week moves up one spot each, while BJ Flores returns at No. 10.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

“Providing there is a definitive winner, look for a major shakeup at 175 (pounds) next week following the Chad Dawson-Glen Johnson rematch,” said Nigel Collins, editor of THE RING magazine. “By signing for a light heavyweight fight against Enrique Ornelas, Bernard Hopkins (No. 1) will not be dropped for inactivity, even though he last fought on October 18, 2008.”

BANTAMWEIGHTS:

Joseph Agbeko (No. 4 last week) and Yonnhy Perez (No. 5 last week) switch positions following Perez’s 12-round decision victory over Agbeko.