Quite
a few changes since the original super middleweight rankings were published.
With Gregory Choplin eligible for the rankings now he jumps into the number one
spot. Joseph Valtellini drops to the number two spot after his loss to Choplin
and Francois Ambang enters the rankings in the number three spot after winning
the Road to Glory USA tournament. Dorian Price falls off the rankings due to
inactivity. With Choplin and Ambang’s additions, former number five Cyrus
Washington falls out of the rankings as Anthony Nieves slides down into the
number five spot.
1.
Gregory Choplin (55-10)
Now
permanently residing in the United States,
Choplin has fought consistently in America
and Canada
in the last few years. After winning four consecutive fights including wins
over Chris Ngimbi, Chaz Mulkey, and Joseph Valtellini, Choplin lost to
Yodsanklai Fairtex by knockout at Lion Fight 8. Regardless of the loss to
Yodsanklai, Choplin remains one of the top fighters based out of the United States and North
America. He most recently defeated Gil Silva by decision at Le
Choc des Légendes 2013 in France,
and is currently set to fight Luis Reis at Championnat Du Monde on May 4th.
After
suffering his first career loss at the hands of Gregory Choplin by decision at
Lion Fight 7 in October of 2012, Valtellini bounced back with a one sided
drumming of Mehdi Baghdad at Muay Thai in America: In Honor of the King in
December. Valtellini was then signed by Glory and made his debut for the
promotion at Glory 6 in Turkey
with an impressive (T)KO victory over Kickboxing veteran Murat Direkci.
Valtellini is slated to return to action in June at Glory 9 in New York when he takes on Road to Glory USA
welterweight tournament winner Francois Ambang.
3.
Francois Ambang (9-2)
Ambang
recently won the Road to Glory USA
welterweight tournament by scoring two (T)KO victories and one decision in the
process. He defeated the like of Marcus Fisher and Brett Hlavacek to win the
tournament, and is now slated to face Joseph Valtellini in June at Glory 9 in New York. Ambang packs
power in his punches and it should be interesting to see him matched up with
another heavy hitter like Valtellini.
Hlavacek
was seen by many as the favorite to win the Road to Glory USA tournament
but came up short in the finals against Francois Ambang. Despite the loss Glory
was impressed and he is now set to fight at Glory 9 in New York this June. Hlavacek will be taking
on Florida’s
Paul Malfort. Fans should be interested to see how Hlavacek rebounds from his
first career loss.
5.
Anthony Nieves (7-3)
Nieves
has suffered back to back losses for the first time in his career. He lost a
decision to Steve Hall at Bangkok Fight Night GP this past September and lost
another decision to Marcus Fisher in the quarterfinals of the Road to Glory USA
welterweight tournament this past March. When Nieves will step back in the ring
is currently unknown.
Rankings qualification - Muay Thai and Kickboxing bouts are all taken into consideration for the rankings. These rankings are not only based on Muay Thai Fights as many fighters compete in both full rules Muay Thai and Kickboxing bouts. Fighters are not to be inactive for any period longer than 12 months or they will be dropped from the rankings unless a fight is schedule within a month from the date they become ineligible. Fighters must be born in North America or permanently reside in North America and are active in the North American fight circuit are eligible for the rankings.
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