I like this division, it has a lot of exciting fights potentially in the next few years. Guys like Kessler, Pascal, Froch, Andrade, Bute, Taylor, Bika and Inkin are all fairly established as the best at the moment but the great thing is that they're all about the same age. One or two of the guys have met but we should see some match ups between them all at some point with the possiblity of unifications. With Pavlik looking likely to stay at 160, Dirrell is possibly the only outside bet to break through in the division unless someone like Ward is pushed along quicker. I would rank them as follows: Kessler - the most experienced of the current SMWs. Pushed Calzaghe in a tough fight, beat Mundine in Australia, registered a brutal win over Andrade and looks impressive more often than not. Has let his stock fall a little by not pushing on quicker after the Calzaghe loss but I think that's more to do with his promoter. Rumours of a fight in the USA next and hangs onto the No1 spot at 168 due to his big fight experience. Froch - Not a great deal to choose between Froch and Pascal last week but I think Froch should learn more from that fight than his previous 20-odd put together. Basically, it was the first time the Englishman has been tested and though not spectacular, found a way to win. The obvious negatives have been exposed in a good way and Froch needs to improve markedly on his defence if he's to become a serious threat to Kessler. Pascal - Not elusive enough to completely outbox Froch but looked like a good fighter. Will trouble anyone he fights. Taylor - Only one genuine fight at SMW but has got to be in the mix for title shots due to his work in the division below. Taylor's chin will get some serious working over at the higher weight so his fitness and workrate will need to be better than he's previously shown. Bute - I have some serious reservations about Bute's defensive abilities. Gets hit way too often and has shown a worrying tendancy to slow dramatically late in fights. He needs to throw more punches but that will probably tire him quicker. Possibly the first on the titleists to get beaten if I were a betting man. Andrade - Very close to KO'ing Bute last time out but looked many levels below Kessler last year. I've included him on this list because I would love to see him in fights with Froch and Bika! None are technically brilliant, but there'd be some wild punches landed as all have decent power but poor defences! Inkin - The weakest of the "champions". Suspect reasons for pulling out against Froch for the vacant WBC crown and has slipped under the radar a bit. I can't see Inkin risking leaving Germany very often (except to box in Russia perhaps) so am not hopeful of many meaningful fights happening with him. Bika - Tough customer. Rough house, in your face brute of a boxer that will cause a few problems for whoever he fights. Top 8 will do. Nobody else worth a mention for me at the moment. Kessler still tops the division due to past performances but needs to regularly fight against the others in my list and/or Hopkins/Pavlik type of opponents from other divisions. Who have you got?
I can't understand how Froch + Pascal are ranked above more proven guys like Bute and Andrade... even Taylor. Pascal is not good, had stamina issues and has very poor fundamentals. Froch is the same way, extremely poor defense and also seemed to have stamina issues. I think his power is overrated, he never seriously hurt Pascal and Pascal had been hurt in the past by a guy who had a 40% Ko rate against very poor opposition. I think that Bute, Taylor and Kessler all have much better fundamentals and will easily land on Froch all night should they meet. That left hand is kept much too low and he has poor defense after throwing punches. Froch and Pascal # 2 and 3? Please.
I believe both Froch and Pascal fought the wrong fights against each other. To me, Andrade hasn't proven anything more than either of them except that he can be severely outclassed by Kessler. Bute has looked poor in a few recent fights. Pascal isn't very powerful but he has good skills, I think he'll topple a few of the big names. Taylor is completely unproven at the new weight so until he faces one of these guys, he can't crack the top 3 for me. Has looked awful in a few fights at MW (have you forgotten the Spinks fight?) and has been brutally stopped by a crude banger in Pavlik. Against bigger blokes, he may yet struggle further.
Taylor is unproven true, but he looked much better in his last fight than either Froch or pascal did. I don't really think Froch and Pascal fought the wrong fights with one another. Both guys are way to easy to hit, and both guys have never fought any top notch guys other than themselves, and they looked bad in doing so. Andrade is a pressure fighter, and a good one too... and has a rock solid chin. But yes Kessler outboxed him, because Kessler is just that good. I think that Pascal is much too small and lacks any real power to be ranked as high as you ranked him. The only reason I think you ranked him this high was to strengthen your argument for having Froch ranked #2
168 is one of the top divisions right now. I just hope we get to see the fights that ought to be made. Here is a suggested card; first fight; Miranda/zuniga second fight; Andrade/Bika Co-feature; Froch/Taylor Main Event; Kessler/Bute I'd buy that in a heart beat!
It is a cracking division at the moment, plenty of fights that i would love to see. Kessler still maintains top dog status for me but the rest of them need to slog it out between em to fight him, just as boxing should be:good Froch and Pascal are both technically better fighters than they showed the other day, they just got drawn in. Massively enjoyable to watch though:happy
Bute had stamina problems once in all his career. He never had a tendency to slow down, ever. At the contrary, he's normally the one who finishes hard. Only Andrade, who pushed him all night, was able to tire him. I find very funny the idea Pascal or Froch would have better stamina than Bute. I find ridiculous the idea Bute has defensive issues but not Froch and Pascal. And I find completely irrational the idea that Bute didn't fought well in his las fights. He knocked Berrio when he was easily leading on points. He played with Joppy before knocking him, and he was way ahead Andrade until the 12th round. Just a few points on Bute because I know him pretty well but I'm sure people who know Taylor, Inkin and Andrade can explain why your ranking is biased and worthless.
What I love about this division is that the majority of the top ten have only come into the spotlight in the past few years, most are pretty young and fresh and there's some great style matchups. Not sure I agree with the list though.
I don't think that you took into consideration that Bute fought LIBRADO ANDRADE... A guy with a stellar chin, iron will and will not stop coming and punching.... For the most part, Lucian did very well agaisnt him and even dropped him... something kessler didn't do.. When you fight a guy like Andrade, your stamina and toughness will definitely be tested.... I dont think Froch and for that matter I KNOW Pascal won't give Bute the test that Andrade did... Im puzzled as to how you have Pascal ranked ahead of everybody else... I got 2 words for you, Omar Pittman...