Evening Boxing Notes: WBA ranks a dead man, Chudinov-Buglioni

WBA ranks Ali Raymi, who died in May

Ali Raymi, a social media legend of sorts and a contender of sorts at 108 pounds, running up a record of 25-0 (25 KO) with wins over a bunch of nobodies in Yemen, died on May 23 in Yemen, reportedly in an explosion in the war-torn country. The fighter was 41 years old.

The WBA has Raymi ranked at No. 11 in its latest junior flyweight rankings, which were updated on June 5. News of Raymi's death had reached RingTV.com via his manager by May 28.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Darrin Morris was actually moved up in the WBO rankings after his death in 2000, and he was ranked for four months after he'd passed away.

Chudinov-Buglioni reportedly set for 7/24

In a surprising bit of news, the Daily Mail is reporting that Frank Buglioni will receive a WBA "world" super middleweight title shot on July 24 at Wembley Arena, as the 26-year-old British fighter will take on Fedor Chudinov, rather than face Lee Markham in a rematch.

Buglioni (16-1-1, 12 KO) fought Markham to a draw in his last outing on May 9, and was stopped in six by Sergey Khomitsky in April 2014. If this fight is indeed really happening, it might be a clear sign that promoters don't see a big future in Buglioni, and that they may feel it's time to get a cash-in fight while they still can.

Buglioni has been a solid ticket seller in the United Kingdom, and has some rowdy, vocal fans, and he seems for all the world like a really nice guy, but on paper this is a mismatch. Chudinov (13-0, 10 KO) doesn't have much pro experience either, but he convincingly beat Felix Sturm in his last fight, also on May 9, despite what judge Victor Simons saw to make it a split decision.

Does Buglioni have any chance if this fight is indeed going through, or is this a straight cash-in/out on his popularity before he loses to someone on a lesser stage?