Australian Boxing/SM Memorial thread

Hear ye, hear ye, esteemed men, women & trans-gender Fab4 members of the Stifler's Mum thread.

The OFFICIAL Stifler's Mum thread Australian boxing P4P rankings appear below. The criteria are talent & potential. Not strictly overall career achievement, although that comes into it.

I said there was going to be no favouritism in the rankings. I lied. Due to the criteria, I've excluded anyone 30 years or over from the rankings. With one exception. That's where a smidgen of favouritism comes in. A rogue 30-something fighter has made it onto the list. I won't name him but I can give you a clue. Two in fact: "woof, woof".

Without further ado, below (in order) are the best fighters in Australian boxing right now:

1. Andrew Moloney 21-0(14) Current Interim WBA Jr Bantam champ, former Cth champ, 2014 Cth games gold medalist. Not invincible as we saw last start but I think he'll give future opponents more respect which will mean he's less likely to walk into one he doesn't see coming. It's exciting to think we could see him in with either the fully fledged WBA champ or the IBF Jr Bantam champ next year. A win against either will vindicate his current position as the best fighter in Australian boxing.

2. Justis Huni Amateur, 2020 Olympian, 2019 World Amateur champs medalist. The Holy Grail of Australian boxing isn't winning a professional world title. Or even unifying a professional world championship. We've done that twice before in the split titles era with Kostya Tszyu & Vic Darchinyan. The Holy Grail of Australian boxing is winning an Olympic gold medal. This bloke can do it in Toyko. For real.

3. Jeffrey "Two-time" Horndog 20-2-1(13) 2012 Olympian, former WBO Welter champ. Needs two more fights before taking a world title shot at 154lbs at the end of next year. Needs to put the late rounds hippy-hippy shakes behind him.

4. Michael Zerafa 27-4(16) Former Cth champ. Can we be fair dinkum? You could reasonably take the view that he repeated what he did in Bendigo in Brisbane. That is, effected a 9th round stoppage of Horndog. Needs to get his regional belt back (how about a fight with Tej Singh for that?) & when he does, lobby for a world title shot against Murata. Two tough fights with Horndog & potentially another against the southpaw Tej Singh would be an ideal preparation for him to produce his best against Murata.

5. Jason Moloney 20-1(17) Former Cth champ. Fought three times this year for three stoppage wins after losing a split decision for the IBF Bantamweight title at the back end of 2018. Must be closing in on another world title shot.

6. George Kambosos Jr 18-0(10). Things look like they're finally starting to happen for George. I had him beating Mickey Bey wide although most of the rounds were closely contested. Very good technically & well conditioned. He's done things the hard way in his career. Nothing's been gifted to him. That's likely to continue to be the case b/c he's campaigning in a tough division.

7. Jai Opetaia 19-0(15) 2012 Olympian. Three wins for the year including a very good one to end the year against Mark Flanagan. Another building year ahead with the highlight likely to be a fight against David Light to determine regional supremacy at Cruiserweight. Don't underestimate the Kiwi, would be my advice.

8. Timofey "The Toolman" Tszyu 15-0(11). Fast becoming the biggest drawcard in Australian boxing. Would be wise to keep building at a modest pace despite the opportunities that are likely to be presented to him. I'd fight him three times next year. The Kiwi, Bowyn Morgan, & perhaps light-hitting Dennis Hogan would be great opponents for him. Neither would be easy & both would be a step up from what he faced this year. Also needs to start thinking about benchmark international opponents.

9. Daniel "Drop Bombs" Lewis 6-0(4) 2016 Olympian. Good progress in his first year as a pro but needs someone to get him regular fights & promote him properly in this country. Signing with Dean Lonergan should be a good move for him.

10. Liam Wilson 5-0(3). Can win a world title. Not maybe or possibly. Can. I'd like to one day see him as the fifth member of Australian boxing's IBF Jr Lightweight world champion club. Australian boxing has a rich history with the IBF 130lb championship. I see this bloke continuing it.

11. Liam Paro 18-0(11) Very consistent & steady. May not have the potential star quality of a few of the other guys although it's worth noting that he's still younger than most of them. It seems to me the people with him are doing a good job to prepare him as best they can for a world title shot.

12. Rohan Murdock 24-1(17). No fights this year is a huge negative. Very potent offensively which means our other Super Middles aren't likely to want to fight him.

13. Cesar Mateo Tapia 11-0(6). I've only seen him once but was impressed. He's still very young but is very talented. Spars a lot with Junior Tszyu, I hear.

14. Jason Whateley 7-0(6) 2016 Olympian, 2018 Cth games silver medalist. Not as young as some of the others on this list but worth following. Has some serious amateur credentials and I think I read that his next fight is a Cth title shot. Interesting that three of the top four professionals on this list held professional Commonwealth titles as part of their career development. Coincidence? Possibly, but it also perhaps demonstrates their commitment to gaining more well-rounded professional experience by facing guys from different parts of the world rather than just relying on regional belts to ascend the world rankings.

15. Brock Jarvis 17-0(15) Heavily hyped but was hurt badly a couple of times last start when faced with a higher caliber opponent. On the plus side, he overcame that to register a good win.

16. Sam Goodman 6-0(3) Plenty of hype around Brock Jarvis at Junior Feather, but what about this bloke? I really like what I've seen so far. One of several very talented fighters with Dean Lonergan so we should see more of him next year. Spars with the Moloney bros & that Tanzanian guy so you can't get much better than that.

17. Andrew Hunt 6-0-1(3) A bit like Horndog himself, looked dreadful in Bendigo & a potential world beater in Brisbane. Good athleticism but needs to jab better for a guy with his build. Give him a decent jab & we've got something.

18. Joe "Goodnight" Goodall 6-0-1(5) 2017 World Amateur champs medalist, 2014 Cth games silver medalist. Another one with seriously good amateur credentials. We're yet to see him establish career momentum as a pro. Receiving a poor decision with the draw in Bendigo (his hometown) didn't help. Still undefeated though.

19. Damien "Super" Hooper 14-1(9), 2012 Olympian. Facing tougher opposition outside the ring than he ever will in it. Very talented & could potentially jump straight into the top five on this list with one good win.

20. Paul "Showtime" Fleming 26-0(17) 2008 Olympian. Showtime was a no-show this year & only fought once last year which isn't the way to advance a professional boxing career. Very talented though. Edit - I've just noticed that he's the second fighter on this list who is over 30. Oops.

There's also a couple of very talented internationals who are fighting out of Australia who should be on the list somewhere. They are Conor Wallace 7-0(5) an Irish southpaw light-heavy with very good amateur credentials & Bruno Tarimo 25-2-1(5) a volume punching Tanzanian who holds an IBF International strap. I'll include them on the list when opportunity presents.

 

Nice work wasn't expecting the addition of top amateur prospect Huni,exciting times for boxing in this country with the amount of up and coming talent and established ranked guys on the verge of getting world title shots in 2020.

 

Thanks for that man awesome read.

 

Nice informative breakdown of the scene down under mate thank you , you briefly touched upon the subject of fighters fighting overseas to climb the rankings as opposed to staying home going down the regional route I realise it's a far more economical route taking the latter but imo the blokes who do indeed take that route tend to stagnate , get out there Aus let's see how these blokes go , it's a shame you don't have a level between common wealth and world levels because here the european level is the level fighters really learn their craft and its a real make or break level .

 

* Great read there Sandman. Pretty much agree on top 10 . But there compelling
reasons for the 2nd half for Steven Spark , Jacob Ng and Floyd Masson. The one
to look out for in 2020 is decorated LHW AM Jack Bowen who is turning pro.
* The reason for the hot and cold performance's of Andrew Hunt is he keeps
on breaking his hands as it happened in Bendigo and even his last fight
which made his win even more impressive.
* Tasman Fighter Mick Francis who did a decent job with his Luna Park
promotion debut has since lost stable fighter Jai Opetia and Liam Wilson.
Intriguing if in 2020 if he can hold onto Justi Huni after Tokyo as Huni could
well be the most boxing sought after signature.
* Pascal vs Jack great fight but Tank it seems way overrated. Too bad
Ferocious is in line for mandatory for the formidable Lopez instead of
Tank.
* Opetia hints at fight in his homeland 2020.

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huni no.2 but willis meehan not even in the list at all?

 

Willis Meehan could easily be on the list. I usually pair him with Joe Goodall as being the two most talented up & coming professional h/w's in the country.

It was a late decision to include Andrew Hunt on the list that tipped Willis out of a place. Hunt fought seven times this year, including twice on television. Willis fought only twice against nondescript opposition & did so anonymously in non-televised bouts. The guys with the most potential are the ones who are out there building an audience. You can't do that if you're not fighting on tv.

I make no apology for having Justis Huni so high. An Olympic gold medal is the Holy Grail of Australian boxing (we've never won one) and the facts are there's an Olympics next year. Of all the boxing events next year, the Olympic tournament in Japan will be must-watch.

The amateur Super Heavies from Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan are top class & will take some beating. If anyone can knock them off though, I think young Justis is the man to do it.

 

@Sandman_ I would have Kambosos at 1 and Jason Maloney at 2 I believe these two are the most proven as they have stepped up competition. I fully expect Kambosos to beat Selby who struggled with a well past it Ricky Burns. You don’t think Opetaia makes the list? Or is he a Kiwi?

 

Jai in there at 7 bruh.

 

its ok, its your list you can have whoever you want.

on the criteria of talent and potential i think he's up there for certain.

 

* Brisbane Liam Paro WBO no 2 will be ringside when WBO / WBC Champ Jose
Ramirez defends against Ukrainian sharp shooter Viktor Postol in Mission
Hills China Feb 1. The Prodigy is in prime position to fight JR after the VP fight
but rumour's are circulating JR will follow the Crawford path to 147 lbs leaving
LP and Englishman Jack Catterall to fight for vacant belt.
LP is though having a stay busy fight at the Star Casino Gold Coast on March 7
to face unbeaten German James Chereji . JC like LP was World Youth Champ
and not lost in 6 yrs as pro in 17 fights.

 

Where can I see Horn Zerafa 2? Can not find it anywhere online.

 

* Issac Hardman expected to fight for Adam Copland on NBSS show .
* Whispers that Zac Dunn in line to fight for sanctioned WBA interim title
vs the dangerous Adios Yerbossynuly last seen beating Rocky Jervic
on Tszyu undercard.
* Matchmaker Stuart Duncan ( puts together most Fox Boxing cards )
tells the truth about Lucas Browne.
" Lucas is nothing more than a prize fighter who has a history of ducking
the locals. He was granted the opportunity to fight for OZ Title with
Haumono agreeing to let it happen on the proviso he faced him as the
first defense which was agreed to. Both Angelo Di Carlo and myself
were involved in the negotiations and turned his back telling us he
had bigger fish to fry and went over bowling journeymen abroad.
So it comes as no surprise when he backed away from his obligation
to face Demsey. This is the reason you wouldn't see a massive local
following or him headlining event on TV in Aust.
* Jerwin Ancajas vs Andrew Maloney looking more likely now as Kal
Yafai negotiating to fight Roman Gonzalez Feb 29.

 

Yeah Browne's virtually ducked every Aussie HW and then goes whinging all the time about how little he earns. A bit of karma perhaps?

I see Jai Opetaia is now ranked in every organisation now. The division is starting to open up as well should Briedis and Dorticos move up to HW.

 

If the Kal Yafai v Roman Gonzalez unification fight goes ahead & doesn't end in a draw, Andrew Moloney will become WBA regular champ. That's significant b/c you can make money defending the WBA regular title. You can't make much defending Interim WBA world titles.

If Moloney then unifies with IBF champ Ancajas, he will become WBA Super champ and IBF champ. So there will then be two WBA Super Champs. If they then fight, you will have the first ever WBA Super Dooper champ! Or not.

I was also thinking that if Jason Whateley fights for and wins the Cth Cruiserweight title, surely that will mean he becomes a logical opponent for both Jai Opetaia & David Light who have separate Australian-based promoters. I hope we see Jason Whateley defending the title here rather than overseas. Money will no doubt determine that.

So the battle for regional Cruiserweight supremacy could become a three-way go. Whateley certainly has the credentials. While Jai Opetaia was an Olympian & David Light was a Commonwealth games silver medalist, Jason Whateley was both.