Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - September 2018

Presenting the September 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:

Movements:

Heavys – Alexander Povetkin drops from 4 to 6 with stoppage loss to Anthony Joshua.  Charles Martin re-enters from inactive to 19 after tough loss to Adam Kownacki.  Robert Helenius enters at 22 with 8th round stoppage of Erkan Teper.  Teper drops from 22 to 25.  Manuel Charr drops from 23 to out (Suspended) due to positive drug test.  Michael Hunter drops from 25 to out.

Cruisers – Denis Lebedev re-enters from inactive to 6 with win.  Lawrence Okolie enters at 22 with decision win over Matty Askin.  Askin drops from 21 to out.  Yury Kashinsky drops from 25 to out.

Light Heavys - NO CHANGES.

Super Middles - Callum Smith moves from 5 to 1 with impressive stoppage over George Groves to win the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS).  Avni Yildrim moves from 16 to 14 with close win over Lolenga Mock.

Middles - Canelo Alvarez re-enters from Suspended to 1 with close win over Gennady Golovkin for the WBC, WBA and IBO belts. Gary O'Sullivan drops from 18 to 20 after blowout loss to David Lemieux.  Jack Culcay moves from 20 to 18 with win. Kamil Szeremeta moves up from 24 to 23 with win over Ruben Diaz for the Euro title.  Yamaguchi Facao drops from 25 to out.

Jr. Middles - Liam Williams moves from 14 to out due to move up to 168.  Sam Eggington drops from 20 to out after 2nd round stoppage loss to Hassan Mwakinyo.  Mwakinyo enters at 22.  Konstantin Ponomarev enters at 25.

Welters – Jesse Vargas drops from 7 to 9 after draw with unrated Thomas Dulorme.  Dulorme enters at 25.  Yordonis Ugas moves up from 11 to 7 with shutout win over Cesar Barrionuevo.  Bradley Skeete drops from 25 to out.

Jr. Welters – Jose Carlos Ramirez moves up from 5 to 4 with thrilling win over Antonio Orozco.  Kiryl Relikh moves from 6 to 5 with solid win over Eduard Troyanvsky in the WBSS QF.  Jack Catterall moves from 17 to 13 with snoozer of a win over Ohara Davies.  Davis drops from 21 to 22.

Lights – NO CHANGES.

Jr. Lights - Jhonny Gonzalez drops from 16 to out with loss to veteran Tomas Rojas.  Rojas enters at 25.

Feathers - Oscar Escandon drops from 17 to out with stoppage loss at 122 to Brandon Figueroa.  Former Bantamweight champ Marlon Tapales re-enters from inactive to 21 with win.  Horacio Garcia moves from 25 to out with upset loss to Isaac Zarate.  Toka Kahn Clary enters at 25.

Jr. Feathers – Brandon Figueroa enters at 23 with impressive stoppage of Oscar Escandon.  Paulus Ambunda enters at 24 with win of vacant IBO title.  Albert Pagara and Thomas Patrick Ward go from 24 and 25 respectively to out.

Bantams – Takuma Inoue moves from 17 to 7 with impressive win over Mark John Yap.  Michael Dasmarinas drops from 14 to 19 after draw with unrated Ghanaian Manyo Plange.  Plange enters at 24.  Oscar Negrete drops from 22 to 25 after draw with unrated Joshua Franco.  Shohei Omori drops from 25 to out.

Super Flys - Jerwin Ancajas drops from 5 to 7 with draw against unrated Alexandro Santiago Barrios.  Barrios enters at 18.  Kazuto Ioka moves from Retired to 5 with win over McWilliams Arroyo.  Aston Palicte enters at 14 after fortunate draw with Donnie Nietes for vacant WBO title.  Andrew Maloney moves from 20 to 15 with win over Luis Concepcion.  Concepcion drops from 16 to 19.  Felipe Orucuta and Koki Eto go from 24 and 25 respectively to out.

Flys – Kosei Tanaka moves from 4 to 3 with thrilling win over Sho Kimura for the WBO title.

Jr. Flys – Hiroto Kyoguchi moves from 7 to 5 with win over unbeaten Tibo Monabesa.  Monbesa moves from 25 to out.  Daniel Valladeres enters at 22 with win over Alejandro Villasenor Hernandez (recent conqueror of unbeaten Abraham Rodriguez).

Straws – Vince Paras moves from 21 to out after move up to 108 and loss to Jonathan Taconing.  Carlos Licona enters at 25.

Boxing Podcast with Tim Smith VP of Communications at Haymon Sports and the PBC

My guest on this podcast is Tim Smith, VP of Communications at Haymon Sports and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).  We spoke about the PBC's recent multi-year television deals with Showtime and Fox and the possibility of more deals to come.  We also got into what's next for Deontay Wilder, Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, the Charlo Twins, Mikey Garcia, Leo Santa Cruz and others.  It was a fun discussion - enjoy!

Check out what's going on at the PBC at the following link:  http://www.premierboxingchampions.com/

For more Boxing Esq. podcasts, you can find them on Soundcloud at the below embed or subscribe on either iTunes or Stitcher.  If you enjoy the podcasts, please leave a comment or rating, that would be greatly appreciated.

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - August 2018

Presenting the August 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:
Movements:

Heavys – Tyson Fury moves up from 19 to 6 with win over Pianeta.   Bryant Jennings moves from 13 to 12 with win over Dimitrenko.  Charles Martin moves from 17 to out due to inactivity.  Michael Hunter enters at 25.

Cruisers – Denis Lebedev moves from 4 to out due to inactivity.  Steve Cunningham moves from 20 to out due to inactivity.  Thomas Oosthuizen enters at 20 with win over Thabiso Mchunu.  Mchunu drops from 22 to out.  Beibut Shumenov and Yury Kashinsky enter at 24 and 25 respectively.

Light Heavys - Eleider Alvarez moves from 6 to 1 with impressive stoppage of Sergei Kovalev.  Kovalev moves from 1 to 2.

Super Middles - Peter Quillin moves up from 21 to 18 with win over J'Leon Love.

Middles - Jorge Sebastian Heiland moves from 15 to out due to inactivity.  Taureano Johnson moves from 23 to out due to inactivity.  Kamil Szeremeta and Yamaguchi Falcao enter at 24 and 25 respectively.

Jr. Middles - Cornelius Bundridge moves from 19 to out due to inactivity.  Patrick Teixeira enters at 21 with win over Nathaniel Gallimore.  Gallimore moves from 21 to out.  Magomed Kurbanov enters at 25.

Welters – Andre Berto enters at 14 with close win over Devon Alexander.  Alexander drops from 14 to 19.  Luis Collazo enters at 18 with win over Bryant Perrella.  Sergey Lipinets enters at 24.  Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo, Francisco Santana and Felix Diaz move from 23, 24 and 25 to out.

Jr. Welters – Sergey Lipinets moves from 7 to out due to move up to Welterweight.  Antonio Demarco enters at 25.

Lights – Jose Pedraza moves from 12 to 5 with win over Ray Beltran for the WBO title.  Beltran drops from 5 to 6.

Jr. Lights - Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov moves from 22 to 8 with blow out of Robinson Castellanos.  Castellanos drops from 8 to 13.

Feathers - Joseph Diaz moves from 8 to 7 with tough win over Jesus Rojas.  Jonathan Victor Barros moves from 15 to out with his move up to Junior Lightweight.  Horacio Garcia enters at 25.

Jr. Feathers – TJ Doheny moves up from 22 to 6 with win over Ryosuke Iwasa for the IBF title.  Hidenori Otake drops from 14 to 17 after blowout loss to WBO Champion Isaac Dogbae.  

Bantams – NO CHANGES.

Super Flys - Pedro Guevara enters at 12 with win over Roberto Sanchez.  Wengfe Ge moves from 21 to out with move down to Flyweight.

Flys – Wengfe Ge enters at 13 with win over Ivan Soriano.  Takuya Kogawa drops from 13 to 20 after draw with Yasuke Sakashita.  Shiming Zou drops from 17 to out due to inactivity.

Jr. Flys – Pedro Guevara moves from 4 to out due to move up to Super Flyweight.  Hiroto Kyoguchi enters at 7 after vacating the IBF Strawweight title and moving up.  Akira Yaegashi moves from 10 to out due to move up to Super Flyweight.  Edward Heno moves from 15 to 10 with win over Jesse Espinas.  Espinas drops from 13 to 20.  Jose Argumedo enters at 12 after moving up from Strawweight and beating Moises Calleros.  Christian Araneta enters at 19 with win over Jerry Tomogdan.  Tibo Monabesa enters at 25 with win over Lito Dante.  Alejandro Villasenor Hernandez and Siridech Deebok move from 23 and 25 to out.

Straws – Hiroto Kyoguchi moves from 3 to out with move up to Junior Flyweight.  Jose Argumedo  moves from 5 to out with move up to Junior Flyweight.  Ryuya Yamanaka moves from 9 to out with announcement of retirement.  Moises Calleros moves from 13 to 16 with loss to Argumedo.  Omari Kimweri moves from 19 to out due to inactivity.  Leyman Benevides, Rene Mark Cuarto, Tanawat Nakoon and Ayanda Dulani enter at 22, 23, 24 and 25 respectively.

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - July 2018

Presenting the July 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:

Movements:

Heavys – Dillian Whyte moves up from 6 to 3 with his gutsy win over former WBO Champ Joseph Parker in an excellent fight.  Dereck Chisora enters at 15 after his thrilling 8th round TKO win over Carlos Takam.  Takam drops from 10 to 16.

Cruisers – NO CHANGES (Usyk and Gassiev remain 1 and 2 after their superfight for all the belts.) 

Light Heavys - NO CHANGES.

Super Middles - Rocky Fielding moves from 21 to 13 with his win on the road over previously unbeaten "regular" WBA Champ Tyron Zeuge.  Zeuge falls from 14 to 18.  Fedor Chudinov moves from 15 to 14 with his close win over Nadjib Mohammedi.

Middles - NO CHANGES.

Jr. Middles - Jaime Munguia moves from 7 to 6 with decisive win over Liam Smith.  Konstantin Ponomarev moves from 15 to out with split loss to relative novice Sergey Vorobiev.  Vorobiev enters at 25.

Welters – Manny Pacquiao moves from 6 to 5 with impressive win over "regular" WBA Champ Lucas Matthysse.  Matthysse moves from 7 to out due to apparent retirement.  Omar Figueroa moves from 12 to out due to inactivity.  Francisco Santana and Felix Diaz enter at 24 and 25.

Jr. Welters – NO CHANGES.

Lights – NO CHANGES.

Jr. Lights - Masayuki Ito moves from 20 to 11 with exciting win over Christopher Diaz for the vacant WBO title.

Feathers - Nonito Donaire moves from 11 to out after move down to Bantamweight.  Jhack Tepora enters at 22 after his come from behind TKO win over Edivaldo Ortega for the "interim" WBA title.  Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda moves from 24 to out due to move up to Lightweight.  Eduardo Ramirez enters at 25.

Jr. Feathers – Shingo Wake moves from 17 to 9 with win over Yusaku Kuga.  Kuga drops from 14 to 18.  

Bantams – Nonito Donaire enters at 10 after signing up for the WBSS at 118.  Shohei Omori ends his inactivity with a win and enters at 25.  Stuart Hall and Aaron Alameda drop from 24 and 25 respectively to out.

Super Flys - NO CHANGES.

Flys – NO CHANGES.

Jr. Flys – NO CHANGES.

Straws – Victor Saludar moves from 20 to 7 after winning the WBO belt from Ryuya Yamanaka. 

Boxing Podcast With Author Thomas Hauser

My guest on this podcast is, Thomas Hauser, acclaimed author of Missing, The Black Lights and Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times.  Tom is one of the foremost boxing writers in the business and his work has won multiple Boxing Writers Association of America awards as well as nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

We spoke about the state of boxing in 2018 including Eddie Hearn's broadcast deal with DAZN, the Joshua-Wilder negotiations, and the World Boxing Super Series.  It was an insightful and informative conversation.

You can find Tom's boxing articles at The Sweet Science, Boxing Scene and The Ring.  His latest boxing books are There Will Always Be Boxing (2017) and the soon to be released Protect Yourself At All Times (2018).

Enjoy the podcast.  You can listen to it on Soundcloud or subscribe on either iTunes or Stitcher.  Please leave a comment or a rating, I would very much appreciate it.

Fox Settles With Muhammad Ali Enterprises To End False Endorsement And Right Of Publicity Suit

On Monday, July 16, in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, Fox Broadcasting Co. ("Fox") filed a Notification of Settlement of the $30 million suit filed against them by Muhammad Ali Enterprises, LLC ("MAE"), the company that owns the intellectual property rights of former Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali.  The suit alleged that Ali's likeness was used in a Super Bowl commercial without the MAE's permission.

MAE, which is owned by Authentic Brands Group and the Muhammad Ali Family Trust, alleged that a three minute ad, played as a lead-in to the 2017 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, featured images of Ali and audio of him shouting "I am the Greatest!"  The Ali images and audio clips were juxtaposed with images of past Super Bowl stars whose greatness was equated to Ali's.

The suit was originally filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois in October 2017.  The complaint alleged two different causes of action, a Federal Lanham Act claim for False Endorsement, and a Right of Publicity claim brought under an Illinois state statute.  The case was transferred to the Northern District of California in November 2017.

Fox filed both a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings as well as a Special Motion to Strike the Complaint in January 2018.  MAE filed their opposition papers in April 2018.  The parties argued the motions before the Court in May 2018.  A minute Order from the May proceedings stated that the parties agreed to private mediation.  The settlement comes a few months later before the Court had made a decision on the motions.  No terms of the settlement have been released.

See Settlement filing below:

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - June 2018

Presenting the June 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:
Movements:

Heavys – David Haye drops from 18 to out due to retirement.  Tyson Fury enters at 18 with win ending his inactivity.

Cruisers – Kevin Lerena moves up from 10 to 9 with win over Golovashchenko.  Krzystof Wlodarczyk moves from 13 to 12 with win over Durodola.  Andrzej Fonfara moves up from Light Heavyweight and enters at 17 with win over Sillah. 

Light Heavys - Fonfara moves from 13 to out due to move up to Cruiserweight.  Yarde moves up from 21 to 17 with impressive stoppage over Sek.  Blake Capparello enters at 25.

Super Middles - Robin Krasniqi enters at 23 with win over Kashtanov.  Vincent Feigenbutz moves from 25 to out.

Middles - Maciej Sulecki enters at 10 after tough loss to Daniel Jacobs.  Jack Arnfield moves from 25 to out.

Jr. Middles - Sulecki moves from 9 to out after move up to Middleweight.  Antonio Margarito moves back in to 25.

Welters – Thulani Mbenge enters at 22 with impressive 7th round stoppage of Diego Chaves.  Jose Benevidez enters at 23 with impressive 1st round stoppage for Frank Rojas.  Chaves drops from 21 to out.  Francisco Santana moves from 25 to out.

Jr. Welters – Josh Taylor leaps from 13 to 1 with impressive win over Victor Postol.  Postal drops from 1 to 3.  Maurice Hooker enters at 9 with tough win over Terry Flanagan for the vacant WBO title.  Flanagan drops from 6 to 10.  Jose Zepeda moves from 21 to out due to move down to Lightweight.  Ohara Davies moves up from 23 to 22 with impressive win over Paul Kamanga.  Alex Saucedo moves up from 25 to 23 with a TKO 7 in a war with Lenny Zappavigna.

Lights – Dejan Zlatcanin drops from 10 to 20 with upset TKO2 loss to Roberto Ramirez.  Ramirez enters at 19.  Lewis Ritson moves from 21 to 16 with impressive 1st round blowout of previously unbeaten Paul Hyland, Jr.  Jose Zepeda enters at 17 after move down from Junior Welterweight and stoppage win over Carlos Diaz Ramirez.  Diaz Ramirez drops from 22 to out.  Hank Lundy drops from 25 to out.

Jr. Lights - NO CHANGES.

Feathers - NO CHANGES.

Jr. Feathers – Daniel Roman moves up from 6 to 5 with win over Moises Flores.  Gavin McDonnell moves from 17 to 15 with win over Stuart Hall.

Bantams – Stuart Hall drops from 19 to 24 with loss to McDonnell.  Hiroaki Teshigawara moves up from 24 to 19 with impressive stoppage win over Kinoshita.

Super Flys - NO CHANGES.

Flys – NO CHANGES.

Jr. Flys – Angel Acosta moves up from 10 to 9 with impressive stoppage of Carlos Buitrago.  Buitrago moves up from Strawweight to 22.  Gilberto Pedroza drops from 18 to out after getting stopped by novice Masamichi Yabuki.  Suriyan Satorn drops from 20 to out after losing to Siridech Deebook in their rematch.  Deebook enters at 25.  Reiya Konishi enters at 24.  Abraham Rodriguez drops from 25 to out.

Straws – Buitrago moves from 10 to out after moving up and challenging for WBO Junior Fly title.  Vince Paras enters at 25.