Looks like Ismayl Sallakh's camp is raising his profile, which I think is only right. Like many others, his bout earlier this year on Friday Night Fights against a very talented Cuban - Yordanis Despaigne (that's another nation that has supplied a lot of great boxers and continues to do so) impressed me a lot. I believe he's fought since then, didn't see it, but apparently he had yet another top notch performance. To make a long story short, I think that he can definitely beat Pascal and Hopkins. Dawson, not sure and also not sure if he can beat Tavoris Cloud. Nathan Cleverly's promising, but he needs to step up his competition. So, what are your thoughts on Ismayl Sallakh....real deal, or great pretender?

The Black Russian is the real deal. Anytime James Toney gives a guy his stamp of approval and says he's impressed with their boxing technique means something.

I didn't know that Toney had endorsed him, cool. So far, Sillakh's boxing has spoken for itself. He and Tavoris Cloud are my top two boxers in that division. Chad Dawson could prove me wrong, but so far they're the boxers that I rate the most in that division.

He's not top 5.

Im pretty sure I know your reason for not ranking him in the top 5