A recap and a look at the next great Cruiserweight

Right a recap of the past few weeks and a new piece all rolled into one, I've been lazy with the world cup and a new addiction (oooh I'm a naughty boy).
Results of tipped guys:
Kenny Glarza L pts Brad Solomon
McWilliams Arroyo L pts Takashi Okada
Demetrius Andrade * Quandray Robertson
Maxim Vlasov WTKO3 Jerson Ravelo
Sherzod Husanov W pts Jhon Berrio
Mark Tucker W Pts Billy Bailey
Edwin Rodriguez WTKO5 Ibahiem King
Frankie Gomez WKO1 Jaime Orrantia
Jose Benavidez WKO1 Josh Beeman

The only losers were Puerto Rican power punchers.
*Denotes fighter didn't fight during the month despite being pencilled in. Not entirely sure what happened though.

So this week's fighter. How do you like the Cruiserweight division? Not much right? They're are just wannabe heavy's but not big enough right? Well here's a name to add to your boxrec “watch” list Rakhim Chakhkiev. A classy Russian amateur who has now turned his attention to taking over the professional ranks and he may well be one of those fighters that can really help establish the “bastard” division. With his amateur background being highlighted by Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a Silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships both at heavyweight he's turned to the professional ranks in a relative blaze of glory.

He started his career by stopping Tayar Mehmed in late 2009 and has stopped all 5 of his opponents as a professional with heavy hands, excellent technical abilities and a style possibly more suited the the pro ranks than the amateur one. With Michael Timm training him and a major German promoter behind him he'll likely remain hidden from American audiences for a while though this does have it's rather cool advantages. At the moment the top Cruiserweights are based in Europe which means that he'll get the competition he needs by facing the faded cruisers out there and the smaller heavyweights as he learns the trade and likely gets fast tracked to the top.

With fighters like Steve Cunningham, Marco Huck, Herbie Hide, Denis Lebedev, Alexander Alexeev, Ola Olafabi, Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Grigory Drozd, Pawel Kolodziej, Giacobbe Fragomeni, Firat Arslan, Steve Herelius and Enzo Maccarinelli all based in or signed to European promoters it seems likely that the division will see the best fighters over here (I'm based in the UK so it's over here ;-)). With that in mind it's likely only a few fights before Chakhkiev will be stepping up in competition.

At the time of posting Rakhim is pencilled in for a bout on July 3^rd on the undercard of Firat Arslan v Steve Herelius and Ina Menzer v Jeannine Garside, though there is no opponent currently named. It's likely to be a solid step up in opponent for a fighter than some are seeing as the future of the division and at 27 years old he may well dominate for a while.

Week 3 part 1 Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez

As part of a double header of prospects for this week (it’s a busy week) as well as a mid week column we’re going to look at probably the best prospect in the world in the second one, though for this column we have a Super Middleweight who seems like he’s being matched better than most in his position. 25 Year old Edwin Rodriguez from the Domican Republic is one of the more well known prospects in boxing today though it worth a look at. With a record of 15-0 (11) since he turned professional in 2008 he has come along nicely and has kept relatively busy learning his trade as he goes.

A talented amateur Rodriguez won both the US Championships in 2005 and the 2006 National Golden Gloves at Middleweight establishing himself as one of the hottest amateurs in the country. Though he failed to make the Olympic team for Beijing after compiling an 84-9 amateur record he decided to move on, knowing life in the professionals would suit him and give him a well earned financial security. Although life hasn’t been plain sailing from then outside of the ring it has inside for the 6 foot man known as “La Bomba”. His battles outside of the ring have circled around the lives of his 2 twins, who were both born with medical problems. Instead of campaigning to get into the Olympic team Edwin put his dreams on hold instead concentrating on the lives of his children.

Having signed with Lou DiBella and the DiBella Entertainment promotional company and managed by Larry Hazard who sees Edwin as a friend as well as a client he has a solid pairing behind him. Though it’s the fact that Edwin is an intelligent and nice guy that has really seen him gaining the sort of attention he has had. Edwin has spent time doing things for those less fortunate than himself, such as playing hide and seek with disabled children and is also a graduate from Holy Cross where he earned a degree in Political Science.

Though with out repeating these facts it’s hard for many to understand what an all round star he is and it’s not just his boxing ability that has seen him become a star. His 15-0 record has seen him beating progressively better opponents such as Darnell Boone who’s 16-12-2 has been spent facing mainly the stiffest prospects out there (such as Erislandy Lara, Craig McEwan and Brandon Gonzales) and George Armenta (who has faced Yuri Foreman, Sachew Powell and last weeks midweek update fighter Mark “TNT” Tucker). In his upcoming fight Rodriguez faces the experienced Gabriel Holguin (25-8-1 with 9KO’s). A loss to Holguin would likely seriously damage Rodriguez’s career though it would be a major upset, as Holguin has only a single win in his last 4 fights, however he has only been stopped once in his career back in 2004, a stoppage win for Rodriguez would be incredibly impressive, though the bout is a good test for “La Bomba’s” stamina as it’s to be his first 10 rounder.

Expect a wide decision for a very talented fighter who will hopefully be moved onto top 30 type fighters as he has the talent to try and get in with some of the fighters from the Super 6 come the end of 20111