Bad Left Hook Boxing Rankings (June 25, 2019): Rigondeaux returns, Cancio confirms his status

Rankings will be posted every Tuesday at Noon ET.

This week’s ranked fights:

Heavyweight: (10) Joseph Parker vs Alex Leapai, June 29

Middleweight: (4) Demetrius Andrade vs (9) Maciej Sulecki, June 29

Middleweight: (6) Jermall Charlo vs Brandon Adams, June 29

Lightweight: (3) Richard Commey vs (10) Ray Beltran, June 28

Super Flyweight: (7) Kal Yafai vs Norbelto Jimenez, June 29

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Upcoming Fights: (10) Joseph Parker vs Alex Leapai, June 29 ... (5) Dillian Whyte vs (9) Oscar Rivas, July 20 ... (2) Deontay Wilder vs (6) Luis Ortiz, TBA ... (3) Andy Ruiz Jr vs (4) Anthony Joshua, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Murat Gassiev vs Joey Dawejko [heavyweight], July 27 ... (6) Denis Lebedev vs Arsen Goulamirian, TBA ... (2) Mairis Briedis vs (4) Yuniel Dorticos, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (5) Marcus Browne vs Jean Pascal, August 3 ... (2) Sergey Kovalev vs Anthony Yarde, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (10) Rocky Fielding vs TBA, July 12 ... (3) Caleb Plant vs Mike Lee, July 20 ... (8) Caleb Truax vs Peter Quillin, Aug. 31 ... (2) David Benavidez vs (4) Anthony Dirrell, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (4) Demetrius Andrade vs (9) Maciej Sulecki, June 29 ... (6) Jermall Charlo vs Brandon Adams, June 29 ... (7) Rob Brant vs (8) Ryota Murata, July 12 ... (1) Canelo Alvarez vs TBA, Sept. 14

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Notes: Nothing changes with Jermell Charlo’s third round wipeout of late replacement opponent Jorge Cota on Sunday, as it was more or less the expected result. Charlo still wants that rematch with Tony Harrison, who was in attendance, surgically repaired ankle and all. If Harrison’s healthy enough, we should see that by the end of 2019. Another kinda interesting note is that Brian Castano gave up his secondary WBA “world” belt instead of taking a deal he didn’t like to face mandatory challenger Michel Soro, which does run the risk of Castano, should he not sign with PBC or Matchroom or someone, finding himself squeezed out of opportunities in this division. He proved he can fight for real, no question, against Erislandy Lara in their draw. So unless he gets a power backer now, he’s a high-risk, low-reward opponent for anybody.

Upcoming Fights: (3) Erislandy Lara vs Ramon Alvarez, Aug. 31

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Upcoming Fights: (9) Amir Khan vs Neeraj Goyat, July 12 ... (3) Manny Pacquiao vs (4) Keith Thurman, July 20 ... (7) Yordenis Ugas vs Omar Figueroa Jr, July 20 ... (8) Sergey Lipinets vs John Molina Jr, July 20

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Maurice Hooker vs (4) Jose Ramirez, July 27 ... (1) Regis Prograis vs (2) Josh Taylor, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Richard Commey vs (10) Ray Beltran, June 28 ... (9) Teofimo Lopez vs Masayoshi Nakatani, July 19 ... (1) Vasiliy Lomachenko vs (4) Luke Campbell, TBA

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Notes: Andrew Cancio’s rematch knockout of Alberto Machado on Friday night was still a surprise to some, but not all. My question going in was whether or not Cancio’s style was the real problem for Machado in February, not just a weight cut or any out of the ring issues. Turns out that was exactly it. Machado probably moves up to 135 from here, but anyone who pressures him as Cancio has done is going to be a nightmare. He just had no answers once Cancio got going in the first fight, and Cancio came into this one revved up. Part of me kinda wants to move Cancio up — his two wins over Machado are as good a run as Farmer or Davis can claim. I mean at this point, what’s the difference in his record or Farmer’s? Only time, really — we’ve heard for longer that Farmer, despite the four losses, can Really Fight. Cancio has just recently achieved that. If I reordered, it’d go Davis-Cancio-Farmer, I think, but I didn’t reach the line where I felt it necessary at the moment, so I’m leaving it alone. As for Machado, he goes all the way to 10. Vargas and Roman don’t have as decent a recent win as Machado, but imagine him fighting either of those guys — even if you think Vargas is past prime (he is), can you figure Machado dealing with Vargas’ pressure?

Upcoming Fights: (2) Tevin Farmer vs Guillaume Frenois, July 27 ... (3) Gervonta Davis vs Ricardo Nunez, July 27

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Upcoming Fights: (8) Shakur Stevenson vs TBA, July 13

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Notes: Guillermo Rigondeaux had his first notable fight at 122 in quite a long time, knocking out Julio Ceja on Sunday night. It was an interesting fight, very entertaining, as Rigo stood in the pocket and traded the whole way. Did he do that because at 38, he’s looking to be more entertaining and secure a few more good paydays? Or did he do it because at 38, his legs just aren’t what they used to be? My guess is the latter, but that doesn’t mean Rigo is done, either. He’s got power, he defends pretty well even in the phone booth, and he puts punches together really well. He’s going to be different, but he might have a surprising, if perhaps brief, second run at 122 as Guillermo “War Machine” Rigondeaux. He now is WBC mandatory. Rey Vargas defends that title July 13 against Tomoki Kameda, and Rigondeaux may have to wait a while for a shot at the winner, but he’s back in the race for real.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Rey Vargas vs (8) Tomoki Kameda, July 13 ... (10) Brandon Figueroa vs Javier Nicolas Chacon, Aug. 24 ... (2) Daniel Roman vs Murodjon Akhmadaliev, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Nordine Oubaali vs Arthur Villanueva, July 6 ... (2) Luis Nery vs (10) Juan Carlos Payano, July 20 ... (1) Naoya Inoue vs (3) Nonito Donaire, TBA

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Notes: Kazuto Ioka was really impressive stopping Aston Palicte. Palicte, who was No. 9 last week, falls out — not way out, but out for now. He’s a game fighter, but he’s looked out of depth against Ioka and Donnie Nietes. Ioka’s win over Palicte wasn’t unexpected, but the fashion of the win convinced me to bump him a couple spots. I also felt he deserved a close nod over Nietes in December, which helped with the decision. This is still such a good division.

Upcoming Fights: (7) Kal Yafai vs Norbelto Jimenez, June 29

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Kosei Tanaka vs Jonathan Gonzalez, Aug. 24 ... (4) Charlie Edwards vs (5) Julio Cesar Martinez, TBA

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Notes: Fairly busy week for the division. Hiroto Kyoguchi retained his title with a decision win over Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart, that went as expected. Reiya Konishi is the man who falls out to make room for Elwin Soto, whose upset, 12th-round stoppage of Angel Acosta won the previously-unknown Mexican fighter the WBO title. Acosta was up on points at the time of the stoppage, and the stoppage was plenty controversial, largely agreed to be too early. Acosta should probably get a rematch, but we’ll see. This is another fantastic division at the moment.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Ken Shiro vs Jonathan Taconing, July 12

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Deejay Kriel vs (9) Samuel Salva, Aug. 23