Boxing

Eastside Heavyweight Ranking Update

By Steve Trellert

#16 Henry Akinwande
Up from #20 after a win over Timo Hoffman and the recent decline of Michael Grant and Lawrence Clay-Bey. What was most surprising about Henry's recent victory was not the fact that he won, but that he was the betting underdog despite Hoffman's limitations. Now part of this is due to Akinwande advancing age and the fact that the fight was in his opponents backyard, but I suspect a large portion of it derives from Henry's ever existing status of pariah in the Heavyweight Division. Truckloads of mouthwash are still being used today to remove the terrible aftertaste left in the mouths of those who witnessed Henry's hugg-a-thon disqualification against Lennox Lewis. This in addition to a generally nytol type boxing style did not make Akinwande many a friend in the late 1990's. What made matters worse was the fact that Akinwande had the tools to do the job but ended up mailing them to Angola. With tremendous height and reach advantages in addition to a decent jab and powerful right hand, it seemed Henry was good to go as a legitimate contender and destined to reside amongst the top ten. But when real opportunity landed at his feet he decided he wanted to become Heavyweight Slow Dance Champion ad nauseum. Unfortunately for Henry his chance at redemption was tripped up by a bout of hepatitis and his fight with Evander Holyfield had to be cancelled. After some time off he seemed to finally get a second wind by blowing out Mo Harris in one round, but this momentum was swiftly removed by a devastating late fight right hand a la Oliver McCall. With age forty around the corner it would seem time has run out for the lanky one but with a defeat of Hoffman behind him and a painfully weak Heavyweight division before him there may just be enough gas in the tank to make a move, not to win the Heavyweight Championship, but to make a case for redemption. With the tools seemingly back in hand and a European tour well on its way Sinan Samil Sam just might be the next most logical step forward.

#29. Charles Shufford
Down from #28 after a loss to Jameel McCline. Despite the result, Shufford probably increased his market value and fan base more in this fight than with any victory achieved in the past. One reason was the obvious early stoppage that has been almost universally regarded as a referee mistake (hence the only slight decline in ranking). This in itself garnered a certain amount of sympathy, but what really attained applaud was the fact that Shufford actually fought with aggressive intent, he fought to win instead of not to lose. This is not the norm as usually Charles fights in a tentative and cautious defensive style that rarely sees him come out of his defensive shell in an attempt to take the fight to his opponent. Against decent opposition this style usually results in a close (and yet boring) fight that Shufford usually has about a 50% chance of winning. Against McCline we were shocked to see him take the fight to his opponent and actually startle a fighter much more highly regarded than himself. For a moment it seemed as though an upset may be in order but unfortunately for Shufford his aggression opened him up and allowed McCline to land a punch that placed him on the floor and had a hand in ending the fight in a loss. Shufford could conclude that being aggressive was his mistake and that he should revert back into the sominex strategy. But this would be a mistake as it assumes he was unsuccessful at being aggressive and this is largely not true. A couple of years ago Charles fought a fighter more naturally talented than himself in Lamon Brewster and yet Shufford carried the day through an aggressive strategy of using his jab and dictating the pace of the fight. It worked to a charm as he held the initiative throughout and garnered the surprisingly easy victory. Against McCline he was also being successful until unexpectedly caught by a good shot which is always a risk for any fighter at anytime. Clearly the best policy is to adapt his game to a more aggressive style, at the very least he will gain more respect and fill up a few more seats that would otherwise be empty and that makes the paycheck bigger.

#21 Elicier Castillo
New on the list after his win over Lawrence Clay-Bey. Castillo is the kind of fighter who is tough, durable, and possesses an awkward enough southpaw style to cause his opponents periods of difficulty and frustration. In essence he is the perfect gatekeeper to the top thirty of the Heavyweight division. Get by him and you pretty well earned yourself a spot amongst the upper levels. Luckily for Elicier the division is so weak at this point in terms of depth that with a little success he finds himself standing just outside of the top twenty. Is he shirking his roll and moving on up to the top fifteen? Not likely, but he will likely remain an awkward roadblock for those who harbor similar ambitions and stump quite a few of them.

#30. Jeremy Williams
New on the list after a win over Andre Purlette. Jeremy Williams career ebbs and flows in an unpredictable manner that at the very least provides a tremendous amount of entertainment. From one minute to the next Jeremy goes from looking like is he going to knockout his opponent to looking like he is about to get knocked out. In one fight he will knockout David Bostice in one round, and then go on to draw a washed up Al Cole. Then he will be the favorite in an unofficial Heavyweight tourney and be eliminated in the first round of competition. From there he takes a fight with fellow knockout artist Andre Purlette that most certainly should end in regulation, but it goes the distance. A Box of Chocolates indeed! A year or so ago it looked as though the sunset beckoned but alas he is back again with a string of victories against decent (if not spectacular) opposition. In aggregate wins over David Bostice, Ron Guerrero and Andre Purlette are enough to see Williams back on the chart at #30, replacing a similarly entertaining Derrick Jefferson whose career has been in a going nowhere holding pattern for too long now.

#23 Lawrence Clay-Bey
Down from #17 after a loss to Elicier Castillo. Lawrence is another case in point of an underachiever who really had the goods to go farther but didn't. Against journeyman Sedrick Fields he demonstrated a killer instinct that raised a few eyebrows and had many thinking that he may have actually developed the necessary disposition to make some waves. Unfortunately the storm proved to be brief as he basically retrenched back into his naturally casual demeanor in the ring. Against Charles Shufford he won a relatively close lackluster affair that was just enough to get the job done. In other words not exactly an awe-inspiring accreditation that would advertise his abilities. Against Castillo he seemed to gain the upperhand in the early rounds and then carried on as if he used a punch-clock on the way into the ring. It was as it usually was, just another routine day on the job in an associated performance with seemingly no intrinsic interest in distinguishing himself from his opponent. In fact it was probably Castillo who stood out more. Despite being behind Castillo seemed to up his game enough to make it even and then pulled off a nice knockout punch. In essence it was a lesser version of the Clifford Etienne fight were Clay-Bey possessed a superiority in technical ability but his opponents desire, work-rate and will to win pulled it out. So what now for Clay-Bey, will he pull himself together and try another comeback? The response to that question by anybody would in many ways be a summation of his career, indifference. For now Cley-Bey resides at #23 in the rankings below fighters like Castillo and Frans Botha who fight above their abilities and above fighters like Attila Levin and Joe Mesi who have as of yet failed to defeat a fighter at or close to the top thirty.

#20. Dominick Guinn
New on the list. Some may view it as obscene to put Guinn at #20 when he defeated a clearly spent fighter in Michael Grant, but that would rob him of at least some of the credit he deserves. Unlike Grant he did not wilt under the spotlight (and it was his first performance under it) and did what he had to do, which was drop Grant numerous times until it was mercifully over. It was not pretty, and was nebulous enough that it was hard to ascertain exactly how good Guinn is, but it was effective, even devastatingly so. Unlike Robert Davis, Guinn took advantage of a giant shell of a man and discarded him into a refuse container. Those below him in the rankings have either beaten inferior opposition or are at the tail end of their careers in decline. Will Guinn really give us bang for or our buck? That is still as of yet unresolved as all decrepit Michael Grant could do is shine a penlight at a fighter that is still largely an unknown against quality opposition without a complex.

Other notes:

-Brian Nielson and Derrick Jefferson has been bypassed and removed from the list.
-Michael Grant has fallen off the list after a loss to relative unknown Dominick Guinn.
-Corey "T-Rex" Sanders has not fought for almost a year and is not scheduled to. He has fallen from #22 to #28 in the rankings.

Complete Heavyweight Rankings

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