With everyone constantly talking about how Canelo and Joshua are protected, I cannot help but think that Ottke still has them beat. He only fought on home soil, and he seemed to have the refs actively punishing anyone who dared touch him (Reid fight). Is there anyone still active remotely close to this?
Many fighters only fight on home soil When you are talking about the ref, you are only referring to one fight when ottke was at the end of his career Considering how many top smws he fought in 21 title defense, I can't see how you think he was protected? Glen Johnson Branco Tate Larsen Markussen B Mitchell C brewer To only name a few
Never compare Canelo to Joshua or Ottke. Canelo is already high level ATG with peak level skills. Anyway, I think he is actually underrated. He had 21 title defenses out of 34 fights. Calzaghe also had 21 defenses but out of 46 fights. Ottke's defense ratio is simply better.
A lot of the US fighters have been overly protected too, but then it's ok because it's the US. If it's Germany, Italy, Australia or currently the UK people will point fingers. Just look at a couple of active fighters like Wilder and Broner with opponents and scorecards in titlefights. Also take a look at Abner Mares, Andre Ward, Markus Browne, J'Leon Love or Fernando Guerrero... who could get away with murder.
Ottke was much better than what he gets credit for. He was a very good technical fighter but yeah, he definitely should have lost too Ried and arguably some others. There are plenty of American fighters that don't fight overseas so I don't blame him for not wanting to fight outside of Germany. Those type of robberies happen both ways. Anyone remember how badly Sturm got screwed against the Golden Boy? I don't think Sturm ever fought in the US again after that.
Andre Ward was very protected. He always fought with home advantage, and had scumbag referees who let him use illegal tactics (low blows, head butts) and dishonest judges who bailed him out (Ward-Kovalev I). He was permitted to skip a round in the Super Six, and unlike all the other boxers he never had to leave his home country.
Sturm did not had avoided anyone. US business had screwed him cos US boxer must win. German business had screwed him and Ottke with contracts, yeah. Ottke had only just some awful bouts, where he had been under " protection " but this was when he went over the hill. Before this he didn't needed protection. Until this they just needed tickets sales with Ottke on fight card, therefore tied him with different contracts. Promoters and managers did not had gave GGG a lot of lucrative fights when GGG was in Germany. Flowchart: GGG is from not well known country, will not generate big money for us cos this. Nothing wrong, he is from US, therefore it is cool to fight only in some US areas and get helped even more than Clen ever had. Origin matters every bare thing for casuals, people who are casuals loves to pretend that they are boxing not boxers fans and post in internet a lot of comments on daily basis. Basically here are a lot tribal and nationalistic, even racist casuals who are insisting that they are " hardcore boxing fans " and these too loves to post in internet forums and YT comments. Not rare cases under multiple profiles.
For GGG moving to US had helped a lot. In Germany he had been treated not well. If he was from Ukraine or Russia or even Turkey, he I think had some better bouts in Germany. Kazahstan? Where this is? In US at least they get that GGG is watchable boxer.
lived 2 hours away by plane from the best 2 SMW's on the planet. calzaghe and kessler. it's nice that he had "21 title defences", but shame he couldn't have had the most meaningful of fights in there somewhere.
ottke doesn't get credit because he never fought the best in his weight division, even. sturm didn't just not fight in the US again, he never fought a top opponent again.
Kessler wasn't really a major factor when ottke was active and beat his then 2 more highly rated countrymen in markussen and Larsen, who were from the same country as Kessler and higher rated than him at that time ottke beat them Silly to say why doesn't someone stay boxing until someone higher rated from another country comes along
