I'm doing this somewhat privately. There will be one probably almost exactly like this posted on Total-MMA prior to the Wladimir Klitschko/Alexander Povetkin bout.
CHAMP: I haven’t had one listed in years. Rules for me filling this are: A) unify three belts OR B) #1 and #2 fight. This is similar to The Ring’s rule, except that I’m not gonna bend to HBO’s demands to make guys champ (see also: Klitschko, Vitali)
1 ) Wladimir Klitschko (-): No change.
2 ) Alexander Povetkin (+1)
3) Vitali Klitschko (NEW): To be honest, I hate doing it this way. I find it difficult to justify anything else though. Here is why:
-Vitali Klitschko beat a guy ranked one higher than Povetkin, and did so in splendid fashion....but its his first win over a top ten ranked fighter since I saw the Sanders fight in a hotel room in Kileen, TX. That was April 2004. Furthermore, its only his third win over a top ten ranked heavyweight ever in his 12 year (w/4 year layoff) career.
-While Povetkin has not faced a fighter that was ranked as high as Peter, he has beaten a pair of top 50 heavyweights (Donald and Ahunanya), a top 15 heavyweight (Byrd) and a top 10 heavyweight (Chambers) in the last 2 years. Combining all that, its far more impressive than a single win.
-Peter is deeply flawed. Yes, he beat McCline, but did he look good? Sure, he beat James Toney twice on my card, but was it impressively done the first time? Does it matter anymore now? Chambers, Donald, and Byrd may all be flawed, but Byrd beat Vitali Klitschko during their meeting, Donald went ten rounds with him (not to mention the Valuev fight), and Chambers has looked fairly solid since.
4 ) Nicolay Valuev (+1)
5 ) Ruslan Chagaev (-1) This is an enormously tough choice as well. Chagaev beat Valuev and was pretty decisive about it, to boot. Valuev then went and looked horrible against Bergeron and it looked all over for the giant. Wins over John Ruiz (the #6 heavyweight last time I did the list) and Sergei Lyakhovich (who was somewhere in the top 20) are far better than Chagaev's comparative resume of numerous cancelled fights and Matt Skelton.
6 ) Juan Carlos Gomez (+7): You know what beating a top 10 heavyweight does for you? A lot. Gomez beating Virchis shocked some, but I wasn't in that boat at all. He's 35 and grossly over his best fighting weight of about 200-205, and yet he's smoking a lot of the guys he's fought. He's the WBC mandatory for Vitali Klitschko but I can't imagine that fight actually happening. Defines "risk/reward" in the sport and everything. Maybe he can fight Peter for a vacant belt?
7 ) Samuel Peter (-5): If Gomez is talent and potential realized, Peter is the opposite. He argurably lost three of his last five.
8 ) John Ruiz (-2): You may be surprised to see Ruiz still here. Its not as if Valuev smoked him in their second fight (though it was a better fight for Valuev) and he's still a threat to anyone at the upper end.
9 ) Sultan Ibragimov (-2): Where is this guy?
10 ) Eddie Chambers (-): Eddie recently beat Livin Castillo at some card at the Blue Horizon. I'm not really sure what his career has in store but he's sadly one of the best this country has for the weight.
11 ) Vladimir Virchis (-3)
12 ) Tony Thompson (-3): Both recently picked up Ls against better fighters. Thompson's performance was as much impressive as it was depressive about Wladimir Klitschko. Virchis ended up fighting someone who's basics are far improved.
13 ) Oleg Maskaev (-2): Beat Robert Hawkins since the Peter loss. Nothing I can say because I've not seen it. Hawkins isn't a bad fighter though and to come back and take a good placeholder like that makes it appear that Maskaev has some sort of future. Not a bright one, mind you.
14 ) Taras Bidenko (+1)
15 ) Lamon Brewster (+3): Wait, Alan...Lamon Brewster is finished! You keep saying that, right? Well, I did. But:
-his record in the last 4 years is pretty damn good outside of, you know
-he stopped Batchelder, even if he was getting outboxed virtually the whole fight.
16 ) James Toney (-)
17 ) Hasim Rahman (-)
18) Shannon Briggs (-4) : Heavyweight graveyard.
19 ) Alexander Dimitrenko (-)
20 ) Chris Arreola (-): Neither man has stepped up at all. Arreola's next big fight is against Travis Walker. Honestly, if Walker can do what he's capable of, Arreola is fuuuucked. Problem is that Walker can easily be outworked.
21 ) Matt Skelton (-)
22 ) Kali Meehan (-)
23 ) Jameel McCline (-)
24 ) Fres Oquendo (-)
25 ) Sergei Lyakhovich (-)
26 ) Kevin Johnson (-)
27 ) Monte Barrett (-)
28 ) Andrew Golota (-)
29 ) Odlanier Solis Fonte (-)
30 ) Travis Walker (-)
31 ) Ray Austin (+1)
32 ) Luan Krasniqi (-1)
33 ) Jean Francois Bergeron (-): Virtually no significant wins among this pool. Ray Austin beat Domonic Jenkins and Solis has beaten Chad Van Sickle and Chauncey Welliver in the closest everyone from #21 to #32 had to beating others since July.
34 ) Jason Estrada (-): Wasted talent.
35 ) Danny Williams (-): Notable, as he has two opponents in November. He hopes to KO John McDermott quickly so he can fight Frans Botha with no ill effects.
36 ) David Tua (-)
37 ) Davarryl Williamson (-)
38 ) Timor Ibragimov (-)
39 ) Malik Scott (-): More mediocrity.
40) Cedric Boswell (NEW): For a good portion of his fight with McCline, looked like the future. Then he was KOed. Recently was brought in as a sacrifice for Roman Greenberg and ruined that dude in 2.
41 ) Michael Sprott (-1)
42 ) Denis Boystov (-1)
43 ) Francesco Pianeta (-1)
44 ) Chazz Witherspoon (-1)
45 ) Sinan Samil Sam:
46 ) Oliver McCall
47 ) Friday Ahunanya
48 ) Michael Grant
49 ) Brian Minto
50) Evander Holyfield (NEW) : Again, very few changes.
