Life Beyond Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao: Boxing’s Underrated
By Daniel “Tex” Cohen
Prize-fighting is an economically idiotic idea for the fighters themselves. While HBO, Showtime, and Don King get rich, the guys that serve as the product itself wind up with pathetically little to show for their efforts. Hell, Izzy Vazquez and Rafael Marquez split barely more than a million bucks in the third fight of what was one of the greatest trilogies of all time.
In an era when other professional athletes can make far more money for far less impact and effort, getting a few thousands per drop of blood is darn near criminal.
Most of the Pound for Pound characters discussed on boxing message-boards don’t have that problem.
Guys like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, JR., are so wealthy that they overshadow some of the world’s most powerful businessmen. Unfortunately, this is not the norm. Most guys don’t make as much as Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Presented here are the most underrated fighters in the world.
#1: Sergio Martinez
Martinez is finally getting his due after his complete destruction of the once-mighty Youngstown hero, Kelly Pavlik. Martinez won that fight fair and square and (styles be damned) he took out a hellacious opponent in doing so. If that weren’t enough, keep in mind that Martinez pulled a near draw against the mighty Paul Williams.
Williams is heralded by many as the most dangerous man on the planet. Pulling even with the most dangerous man would seem to logically make a fighter just as dangerous. I would pencil Martinez in as a favorite in most potential fights. My only hope is that he gets some more pugilistic action before that speed fades away. At 35 years old, he’s playing with father time.
#2: Timothy Bradley
Bradley’s last five opponents: Junior Witter, Edner Cherry, Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, and Lamont Peterson. All of those guys were on winning streaks when they met Bradley. Furthermore, Bradley was slated to face the always dangerous prospect killer Marcos Maidana before Maidana pulled out of the fight.
In response, Bradley wound up moving to welterweight and scheduling a fight with a dangerous, unknown, undefeated ass-kicker in Luis Carlos Abregu. Unlike the coddled stars that rule Boxing, Bradley is willing to fight anyone, anywhere, on a normal schedule, with no complaints.
What more can a guy ask for?
#3: Ivan Calderon
If you still haven’t seen Calderon fight, you should. I understand that not everyone loves boxers, but Calderon is a bit like a modern Willie Pep. With a knockout percentage below the Mendoza Line, Calderon has had to use his wits and Boxing ability every step of the way in his dominant career.
His competition has been solid if not spectacular, and he has now suffered brutal head-butt cuts in three straight fights. Give the man credit for resilience and consistency, two highly underrated attributes in one of the ultimate global blood sports.
#4: Chris John
John is an immaculate boxer, and he has shown good guts in his last few fights. John now holds a wins over Rocky Juarez, beating him in September of 2009. In their first fight (in February of the same year), John went into Juarez’s back yard in Houston and held off a surging Juarez down the stretch to retain his title. As if that weren’t impressive enough, John was battling a case of the flu that evening. In his victorious rematch, John again left the comfort of his home in Indonesia to face Juarez in Las Vegas. This time, John built a bigger and better lead on the scorecards and survived a last second barrage by Juarez to earn yet another victory.
John, who is undefeated, also owns a debatable but non-controversial decision victory over a prime Juan Manuel Marquez. At only 30 years old, he likely has plenty more to show us.
#5: Marcus Johnson
If you haven’t seen Johnson, you’re missing out on one of the best prospects in the country. Johnson is undefeated and most recently snagged a minor belt that had been vacated from Allen Green for failure to defend. Belts may be growing ever more irrelevant each day, but Johnson secured his by scoring a solid decision victory over another undefeated fighter in Derek Edwards.
Edwards may have built his resume based on tomato can fighters, but he still has some above average tools, and Johnson took him down a peg rather easily. Johnson has great amateur pedigree and has worked with some world class fighters in an effort to accelerate the learning process. Expect to see the 24-year-old in several big fights over the next few years.