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1. Jean Marc Mormeck: As the current unified WBC/WBA cruiserweight champion, Mormeck’s introduction to the world is somewhat belated. Nevertheless, having beaten Wayne Braithwaite, Virgil Hill (twice), Alexander Gurov and Dale Brown in his last five fights, Mormeck deserves his place atop this list. Under the promotion of Don King, Mormeck could conceivably be involved in many significant fights, and it would serve King to focus on serving Mormeck’s talent as opposed to that of his less than inspirational heavyweights. It would be nice to see a revival of the division and Mormeck might be at the centre of it, but at the least, it would be nice to see Mormeck avoid burial on the under-cards of John Ruiz and Chris Byrd fights.
2. Wayne Braithwaite: “Big Truck” is down but not out. Expectations were great on the Guyanese puncher having already beaten Dale Brown, Louis Azille (twice), Vincenzo Cantatore and Ravea Springs in good style. At twenty-nine-years-old, it will be very interesting to see how Braithwaite responds to defeat. This is a period that could make or break his career; if Braithwaite is a true champion, he will return in force, if not, we may never see him fulfill his potential.
3. O’Neil Bell: Bell has torn through the cruiserweight division and is now a world champion. His only loss came via knockout in his second fight, but now in twenty-four wins, only Jason Robinson and Dale Brown survived to hear the final bell. Bell’s stoppage victims include former IBF champion Kelvin Davis, Ezra Sellers, Derrick Harmon, Michael Rush and Arthur Williams. To become a world champion at the age of thirty, Sellers defeated tough Canadian Dale Brown, albeit controversially, who has only ever lost to world champions. Whether Bell is elite material is one thing, either way, finding out will be very interesting.
4. Carl Thompson: Thompson may be nicknamed “The Cat” because of his full name initials (Carl Adrian Thompson), or as is more apt these days, because as a prizefighter, he certainly has nine lives. Hopes could not have been high for the novice Thompson as he suffered stoppage losses to Crawford Ashley and Yawe Davis, but the fighter Thompson was to become was a different story. Thompson stopped well-known Welshman Nicky Piper before gathering the British and European cruiserweight titles. A horrific in-ring shoulder injury short-circuited Thompson’s WBO title challenge to Ralf Rocchigiani, but the revenge mission went ahead as Thompson took a split decision in Germany in 1997. A brace if wins over an aged Chris Eubank further heightened Thompson’s stature before losing the title to Johnny Nelson. On the comeback once again, Thompson took four decent wins before succumbing in a shootout with American Ezra Sellers. Recently, Thompson acquired the IBO title with a stunning knockout of Sebastian Rothmann and furthermore, Thompson put talented youngster David Haye in his place via a fifth round stoppage. Thompson may not always win, but he always provides a thrilling fight.
5. Johnny Nelson: “The Entertainer” is not exactly that. Nelson owns one of the least exciting boxing styles in the world today, as he seems to push out his punches while fighting extremely negatively. Credit where it is due though, Nelson has begun to knock his challengers sideways in defense of the WBO cruiserweight championship. It is amazing to behold that Nelson, who lost all of his first three fights, went on to have the career has had, with British, European and world championship fights taking him to venues all over the world. It is likely that Nelson will retire soon, but hopefully, not before he takes on Welsh newcomer Enzo Maccarinelli in an all-British showdown.
6. Dale Brown: This Canadian contender may be able to right what many feel is a serious wrong done to his career in losing a decision to O’Neil Bell last Friday. World champions past and present Vassiliy Jirov, Wayne Braithwaite and Jean Marc Mormeck can all make statements about Brown’s innate toughness. If the Calgary native is to avoid the brand of stepping-stone for younger contenders, he must find a way back into the title picture and put the result beyond all doubt. No outstanding names adorn Brown’s record, except the ones that defeated him, but hopefully for him, he can change all of that very soon.
7. Kelvin Davis: Davis is a cruiserweight replica of Mike Tyson, and takes great pride in that fact. Davis won the IBF cruiserweight title with a stoppage win over the now retired Ezra Sellers, but found that the IBF were going to strip him. Therefore, Davis returned to the ring only to be stopped in four rounds by Guillermo Jones. Davis’ world championship achievement keeps him one step above the other names on this record, and his explosive style always ensures he has a chance of victory, but where he goes from this latest setback, nobody can truly say.
8. Enzo Maccarinelli: This Welsh puncher is acquiring a huge reputation in the British Isles after logging a string of impressive stoppage wins. Against a lone stoppage loss to British journeyman Lee Swaby, Maccarinelli has twenty wins with fifteen knockouts. In seven defenses of the WBU cruiserweight crown, Maccarinelli holds wins over Jesper Kristiansen, Bruce Scott, Rich LaMontagne, and Garry Delaney in a fight in which the Englishman hit the deck on no less than seven occasions. At just twenty-four-years-old, Maccarinelli has plenty of time to develop, but the word that he might be fast-tracked to a fight with Johnny Nelson might mean a baptism of fire for the young fighter, or a glorious coronation in the domestic scene before turning his attention to the rest of the world’s cruiserweights.
9. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk: Poland’s cruiserweight hopeful only has one defeat, if you can call it that. Any fighter can lose a technical decision on cuts, therefore, we cannot gauge from such results any greater detail about their fighting mettle. What we can say of Wlodarczyk is that he knocked out former WBO title challenger Rudiger May in his last fight to become the European Community cruiserweight champion. With thirty-one wins and twenty-four stoppages to his credit, and being only twenty-three-years-old, statistics weigh in favor of Wlodarczyk making something of a name for himself.
10. David Haye: This British prospect may well turn out to be the prodigy of this list. Having torn through a number of decent fighters, Haye came up against IBO champion Carol Thompson and ran out of gas. However, a stoppage in five rounds on that occasion may prove to be the making of Haye as a future contender. None of Haye’s victims heard the final bell while in the ring with him, not even former Roy Jones challenger Glenn Kelly. Thirteen fighters fell before the speed and power of Haye’s advances, and doubtlessly, many more will fall in the years to come. Haye could be a future great if he has truly learned the valuable lessons doled out to him in the Thompson fight, and his presence affirms that on the British domestic scene at least, the cruiserweight division has a very bright future.
Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk
