He's a cherry pickers, he's a cherry picker... is there anyone in the sport today who isn't??

Agree. Wladimir never seems to get the credit he deserves for this.

 

Andre Ward
James Degale
Anthony Joshua

 

Ruslan Provodnikov

He does not strike me as the kind of guy who will whine and complain and ask for a particular fighter.

He seems like a " Whatever , bring it " kind of dude.

 

Crolla - faced Perez twice to get the belts, then Barroso, Linares to try and unify now going for the rematch even though it wasn't super close. He could have definately taken easier defenses and is impressive for a limited fighter.

Pacquiao - fought just about everyone.

Wlad - fought just about everyone. Could take an easy retirement fight now but he isn't.

DeGale - road warrior.

 

He was even actually called a cherrypicker and a bumbasher a lot of times on here, that would "certainly" get knocked out once he'd face a "real opponent".

 

He faced all the real opponents though, and beat them all. I really don't know how anyone could justify calling him a cherry picker. Very strange.

 

Don 't feel too sorry for Wlad . With Joshua rumored to be earning at least 10 million pounds and Wlad
even though he is not champion nearly as much its not a bad nest egg especially after his performance
against Fury.

 

*ahem* Joseph Parker.

 

For example, Danny Garcia. Yes, he has had a couple ridiculously unqualified opponents in his prime. However, he also has one of the ridiculous (in a good way) resumes of quantity and quality. People only focus on the couple soft touches, never dishing out respect for his opposition, which so clearly deserves it.

 

Cherry picking does occur, that's undeniable. But....

1. We never truly know why fights don't get made, even though we like to think we do.
2. People never accuse boxers they follow of cherry picking and nearly always blame the other guy for fights falling through, and logically speaking this cannot always be the case.
3. People like to blame the boxer for ducking, but in reality very few fighters have a big say in who they fight.
4. The best available opponent might be with another promoter with a poor working relationship with their own.
5. The best available opponent might be with another network.
6. How many truly big fights do most fighters have in a typical 40ish fight career? Very few if you look back through most resumes. 50/50 fights are a rare commodity.
7. Fights are business deals, so if the reward doesn't make the risk worthwhile, they don't tend to happen.

My point is, lots of fighters are accused of cherry picking but the reality is 95% of them are pawns in the game. I still believe, in the main, most fighters would fight anyone if it was solely down to them and their egos. It's just other stuff gets in the way, and most of this happens behind the scenes and out of the glare of public attention. In reality all of us DKSAB...

 

There are plenty of cherry pickers in the game these days.....

Fighters padding their records with washed up, shop worn, has been name fights like Arreola, Josesito Lopez, and then looking for the chinniest contenders soas they can bolster their KO% ie Khan, Kirkland, Enzo Mac.

Those types of fights from elite fighters, ie Champions, A listers etc, are for comeback type fights after having lost in brutal or embarrassing fashion.

For instance....

If Wilder had got GTFO by Potvetkin last May, and not in a close fight, but a quick ugly, embarrassing KO, a comeback vs the likes of Arreola or someone like Wawrzyk would be perfectly acceptable.
If Yeller Canelo had fought Khan after being embarrassed in a onesided beatdown by GGG, no one on this board would be riding him.
If Khan had fought Collazo after the Canelo KO, most ppl would consider it a solid win.

Like CST80 posted.....there are some A listers who strive constantly to fight the best or fulfill their mandatory obligations rather than swerve the tougher fights in favor of cakewalks.

Wlad, GGG, Kovalev, BHop, Pacqioua, DeGale, Jack, Usyk, Huck, Potvetkin, Jennings.

There are plenty of top names out there trying their damnedest to make the very best fights, but there's always that diva hiding behind their name value, their handpicked CV, etc for the sole purpose of protecting their own cherry knowing they'll get r@ped if they make the fight the fans want to see.