Ring Ratings Update: Contenders hold their rankings with KO wins
The last two weeks have been slow ones but many RING-rated fighters saw action, including the magazine’s top-ranked flyweight Roman Gonzalez, top five-rated heavyweight Tyson Fury, top-10 middleweight Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam and junior lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno, all of whom notched KOs.
Heavyweight: No. 5-rated Fury (23-0, 15 knockouts) stopped unrated Joey Abell in four rounds. No movement for Fury but it was much needed activity seeing that he hadn’t fought since last April.
Super middleweight: No. 9-rated Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14 KOs) has not fought in over a year, so he will be dropped from the ratings. Marco Antonio Periban (20-1-1, 13 KOs) will move up to No. 9 and Russian standout Maixm Vlasov (28-1, 14 KOs) will enter at No. 10.
Middleweight: No. 9-rated N’Jikam (29-1, 18 KOs) stopped unrated Ricardo Marcello Ramallo in four rounds. No advancement in ratings for N’Jikam but good for him by staying active.
Junior lightweight: No. 8-rated Magdaleno (25-1, 10 KOs) stopped unrated Jorge Pazos in four to maintain his ranking.
Junior featherweight: Jessie Magdaleno (18-0, 14 KOs) stopped unrated Roberto Castenada in the fifth. Jessie, Diego’s 21-year-old younger brother, is still a work in progress and is close to stepping up his competition soon if he continues his winning ways.
Bantamweight: No. 9-rated Julio Acosta (26-1, 24 KOs) stopped unrated Jusus Acosta by TKO in the fourth. No change.
Flyweight: No. 1-rated “El Chocolatito” Gonzalez (38-0, 32 KOs) stopped unrated Juan Kantun in the sixth round. Gonzalez is already our top-rated flyweight so no movement in this division.
Junior flyweight: No. 4-ranked Adrian Hernandez (29-2-1-18 KOs) stopped unrated Janiel Rivera in the third round to retain his WBC title. No change.
Strawweight: No. 3-rated Zhong Zhao Zhong (22-5-1, 12 KOs) lost his WBC title to unrated Osvaldo Novoa by TKO in the fifth. Novoa had previously lost to two RING ranked strawweiights, Jesus Silvestre and Carlos Velarde. The 105-pound rankings will have the following changes:
Champion: Vacant
1. Hekkie Budler (24-1, 7 KOs)
2. Wanheng Menayothin (24-1, 7 KOs)
3. Denver Cuello (33-5-6, 21 KOs)
4. Katsunari Takayama (26-6, 10 KOs)
5. Carlos Buitrago (27-0-1, 16 KOs)
6. Merlito Sabillo (23-0-1, 12 KOs)
7. Jesus Silvestre (28-4, 20 KOs)
8. Osvaldo Novoa (13-1-1, 8 KOs)
9. Ryuji Hara (16-0, 10 KOs)
10. Xiong Zhao Zhong (22-5-1, 12 KOs)
Photo / Yoshikazu Tsuno-AFP
Chuck Giampa, the Chairman of The Ring Ratings Committee, can be emailed at [email protected]