Once again as summer winds down, vacation days are used up and cooler weather is right around the corner, boxing and football fans gear up for the start of their respective seasons. While boxing technically does not have a off season typically August is fairly slow before it picks back up in September. This year is no different.
So with the start of September fights and the beginning of football season comes the 2nd annual MyBoxingFans.com BCS-Boxing mash up. Here is #25-#15, with the rest being out later this week. Enjoy and let the rankings begin.
25.Louisville-Lucian Bute
Just as Louisville is actually considered in the top 25 ,Bute is in the same boat. While he had some solid wins in his adopted home country of Canada he seemed to be a bit more hype than substance. This became more evident as he was dominated by Carl Froch this past May. Bute may still be a contender in 
the super middleweight division but while he may be a fighter to win a belt its equivalent to Louisville winning the Big East title.
24.Boise State-Timothy Bradley
No other football team has been judged more harshly the past few years than Boise State. Beat Oklahoma? Who cares. Timothy Bradley, beats Manny Pacquiao and… well, no other fighter has been as criticized as much for a win as Bradley. While he may have won the fight, Bradley didn’t win much else. From his promoter Bob Arum to the WBO requesting a investigation into the scoring Bradley seems more of a fighter just waiting out the storm of a very surprising decision than a world champion who just beat Manny Pacquiao.
23.Florida-Saul Alvarez
At one time, Florida was the premier college football program in the nation. They were the “it” team. Urban Meyer was the next college head coach to jump to the pros, his highly popular quarterback Tim Tebow was the biggest thing college football has ever seen with national coverage with every little move he did. Alvarez is similar, with his light skin, red hair and good looks, he does not fit what many expect to see from a Mexican national. However with his aggressive fighting style and undefeated record, he has taken not only the Mexico fans by storm, but the world. However while Florida plays in the toughest conference in college football (SEC), Alvarez seems to be taking the first game of the season approach. Division 2 schools on a consistent basis and handling them with ease. His next fight will be against probably his toughest fight to date, Alvarez has fought way over the hill Shane Mosley, Alfonso Gomez and now the smaller Joseito Lopez. Not exactly LSU, Alabama or even Arkansas. Lopez may be poised to be the spoiler for the larger Alavarez but fighting at 154lb something he has never done in his pro career is similar to Lopez trying be be Mississippi State going into Gainesville and shocking them 7-10. While it may be possible, unless Alavrez get injured or a cut early on, look for a Alvarez route.
22.Kansas State-Victor Ortiz
The obvious correlation is that Ortiz is from Kansas and that is partly true but also while K-State has regained some of the dominance they had when head coach Bill Snyder enjoyed his first time around coaching. The second time may not be as enjoyable. While they are winning games, they are not quite a “powerhouse”. Ortiz is similar due to the fact that while he has shown heart in some fights, Ortiz also seems to lack the mental toughness when the going gets tough, he claims he is looking out for his health. No one will argue that showing heart is smarter than taking more punishment than needed, but Ortiz does so in such odd ways.
His meltdown after his loss to Maidana seemed so out of character but fans waited for him to do it once again. It happened when he foolishly head butted Floyd Mayweather last September and then again as he stopped his fight against Josesito Lopez this past June. Citing a broken jaw as the reason, Ortiz shows that while he can win a big fight here and there, failing to live up to the hype is almost common place. K-State can beat the Iowa States of the world but they fail to come close to beating Texas and Ohio State. Ortiz can beat a Berto but gets knocked out by Mayweather.
21.Stanford-Chad Dawson
Stanford an institution that is highly regarded for its academics more than its sports and while they have a great D-1 sports program, Stanford could cut all sports out and the university would be fine. Dawson is the similar. A fighter who is one the best light heavyweights in boxing today but if he retired it wouldn’t make much of a splash. Perhaps it could also be the fact that at times in fights his demeanor seems as if he is uninterested and would prefer to be somewhere other than the ring does not help his stock. Dawson looks to change his status this September when he faces his biggest challenge in undefeated Andre Ward and just as Stanford has maintained a consistent top 25 football squad for the past few seasons, Dawson beating Hopkins and willing to face Ward in Oakland has got fight fans taking a second look and him.
20.TCU-Mike Alvarado
TCU in the last couple of years have went from a relative unknown football team from Texas to one of the fastest rising football teams not only in Texas but the nation. Alvarado a fighter who was signed by Top Rank and had a good amount of hype as a prospect in 2007 and 2008 seemed destined to be regulated to “could have been” status as personal issues landed him behind bars and not certain he would get the chance to shine. However in the last 2 years Alvarado has stepped up his fight game and in October faces hard hitting Brandon Rios. A fight that can get him out of the Mountain West conference and into the Big 12.
19.Oklahoma State-Amir Khan
Head Coach Mike Gundy realized that in order to be successful in the big 12 he needed to recruit in Texas a lot. Oklahoma State is coming off a 2011 Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl win over Stanford. Having a staff located in the Texas market is paying off. Kahn realizing that he wanted to be considered one of the best in the world realized that he needed to make a splash in the United States. Khan a Silver medalist at the Athens games is one the bigger names in boxing. He is signed to Golden Boy promotions and has (for the time being) Freddy Roach as his trainer. Khan who is one of the few fighters willing to fight all comers has hit a run of unfortunate losses. A over turned loss to Lamont Peterson in December and a stunning stoppage at the hands of Danny Garcia in July has Khan rethinking his fight career. While he is still young and has the pedigree to be a world champion, his chin may not be able to hold up.
18.Ohio State-Juan Manuel Marquez
Ohio State. A program that is deep with history and great players. Juan Manuel Marquez, a Mexican fighter that will go down in history as one of the best boxing technicians ever, Mexican or otherwise. Ohio State had a down year after the firing of Jim Tressel looks to be back on the right track with the hire of Urban Meyer. JMM looked to be finished after his shut out loss to Floyd Mayweather has bounced back pretty good himself. While he lost a third questionable decision to Manny Pacquiao last November, the loss only fueled a need for a 4th fight. Whether or not a 4th fight actually happens, JMM has some very tough and intriguing fights out there in the 135lb or 140lb division.
17.Nebraska-Miguel Cotto
Nebraska a team that over the last 5 decades has consistently fielded a legitimate football squad is looking to not only make it’s way back to the national championship picture but to be back in the mix for many years to come. Cotto, while he may go down as one of the great Puerto Ricans, it’s his consistent performance in the ring that has tested the hands of time. While he may not be the boxer he was 3 years ago, it seems that he is more confident and savvy inside the ropes. He displayed great heart in his loss to Floyd Mayweather this past May which probably helped his stock more than hurt it. A upcoming December fight against the highly touted Austin Trout this December and a convincing win put him back in the sweepstakes for a Mayweather rematch or perhaps a Pacquiao rematch next May.
16.Virginia Tech-Carl Froch
Virginia Tech has the 3rd longest bowl streak in college football yet it would be a surprised if anyone really considered them a threat to make it to the national championship game.VT is more likely to make it to a bowl game just not the National championship game. Froch is a fighter that has been in the ring with Andre Ward, Jermaine Taylor and Lucian Bute despite losing to Ward in a one sided bout his comeback win against Jermaine Taylor and surprise stoppage of Bute proves that while he may not be able to beat the best in his division he can win a belt.
15.Texas-Andre Ward
Texas Longhorns are most coveted team in Texas and easily in the top 5 nationally which means they are always one great recruiting year away from being the best football team in the nation at any given time. Ward is on the verge of being the next heir to the pound for pound throne. However while he has all the boxing skills and ring smarts to be the next great fighter of this era his steady and less than aggressive style is sometimes off putting. A win in spectacular fashion against Chad Dawson this coming weekend and it will all but put him as top 3 pound for pound.
Stay Tune for part 2.