British Scene: Top 15 P4P

Dave Oakes updates The Boxing Bulletin's British Scene P4P list.  Make sure to check back tomorrow for our overall top 25 P4P list.

Let's get to the rankings...

1. David Haye

Haye has being resting and enjoying family life after becoming a father for the first time earlier this summer. November looks the most likely month for his return to the ring - unfortunately it’ll probably be against Audley Harrison.

2. Carl Froch

The Nottingham man faces Arthur Abraham on October 2 in another fantastic match-up. He lost his unbeaten record last time out, when Mikkel Kessler out-pointed him, but remains ahead of Amir Khan due to him facing far superior opposition than that of the Bolton light-welter.

3. Amir Khan

Khan remains in third place on our list. He comprehensively out-boxed and stopped Paul Malignaggi in May but needs to take on one of the divisions big boys if he wants to overtake Froch or Haye on our list.

4. Rendall Munroe

Munroe secured a world title tilt at Toshiaki Nishioka’s WBC belt after producing an impressive performance to stop Victor Terrazas in an eliminator. He has the unenviable task of taking the champion on in Japan on October 24.

5. Ryan Rhodes

He successfully defended his European title for the first time in May, butchering the outgunned Luca Messi in six rounds. He makes another defence on September 18 against Lukas Konecny as part of the massively exciting ‘Magnificent Seven’ card at the LG Arena in Birmingham.

6. Nathan Cleverly

The Welsh light-heavyweight is another boxer who’s taking part in the ‘Magnificent Seven’ card. He faces the unbeaten Karo Murat in a WBO eliminator, a match-up that should show us how good Cleverly is.

7. Jason Booth

He’s unbeaten in his last eight bouts and seems to be making the most of the resurgence in his career. He faces a tough assignment in September when he takes on Steve Molitor for the Canadians IBF belt but is more than capable of springing an upset.

8. Matthew Macklin

The former European champion hasn’t fought since December last year and will be hoping ring rust doesn’t affect him when he takes on arch rival Darren Barker. Their eagerly anticipated match-up is, in my opinion, the highlight of the aforementioned ‘Magnificent Seven’ card.

9. Paul McCloskey

McCloskey looked sloppy in his last bout but toughed it out against Giuseppe Lauri before knocking the Italian cold in the eleventh round. He makes another defence of his European title against Barry Morrison on October 2.

10. John Murray

Murray won the European title in May, grinding down Gary Buckland in eleven rounds. He makes the first defence of the title against Andriy Kudriavtsev in Wigan on September 25.

11. Ola Afolabi

He remains at number eleven on our list but this is due to the omissions of Messieurs Hatton and Witter rather than anything Afolabi has achieved inside the ring. Inactivity has blighted his career and it doesn’t look like Afolabi has any immediate plans on fighting again.

12. Darren Barker

As mentioned earlier, Barker takes on Matthew Macklin in what promises to be an exceptional fight. Barker showed vulnerabilities last time out against Affif Belghecham and will need to be at his sharpest if he’s to beat Macklin.

13. Kevin Mitchell

I feel Mitchell has still got a bright future ahead of him despite being blasted out in three rounds against Michael Katsidis. There’s no disgrace in losing to a fighter of Katsidis’ calibre and hopefully he will have learnt from the experience and can come back rejuvenated, as well as making a few adjustments to his defence.

14. Kell Brook

Brook’s talent is unquestionable but injuries have slowed down his progress over the last eighteen months. He last fought six months ago when he picked apart Krztsztof Bienias before stopping him in the sixth. He faces Michael Jennings in yet another mouth-watering bout on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ show.

15. Martin Lindsay

Looks to be a level above the British scene and should be looking towards the European title as soon as possible. He’s pencilled in for an eight rounder on the undercard of Molitor v Booth.

Just missing out:

Paul Smith, Brian Magee, John Simpson, Ajose Olusegan, Matthew Hatton and Enzo Maccarinelli.

e-mail Dave Oakes