Is light heavyweight an underrated division? obviously heavies get talked about a lot followed by middle weights, but given the amazing depth of 175 lb division , seems like they get talked about a lot less.
Historically, yes. 175 has always taken a backseat to Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight and Lightweight in overall popularity.
Some of my favorite fights all-time have taken place in this division. Men big enough to dish out harsh punishment yet generally more skilled than their heavyweight brethren. @George Crowcroft get in here and dish on the 175s!
Tunney, Greb, Langford, Fitzsimmons, Lewis, Johnson, Charles, Moore, Spinks, Foster, McTigue, Loughran, Moorer, Dariusz, RJJ, Hill, Conn, Dillon, Delaney, Carpentier, Gibbons, Maxim, Burley, Marshall, Lesnevich etc. In no particular order - seems to be a division with some of the greatest fighters ever - but of recent decades has been relatively poor/unexciting.
Probably the greatest ever division imo.. if i were to list say a top 25 greatest fighters of all time, i bet it would contain many who fought at 175.. probably more than any other division.. Conn, Charles, Greb etc are some of my favourite fighter's ever.. they all have an exceptional legacy at LHW.
Its going to have higher quality then Super Middle, Cruiser and Bridger because those are tweener divisions with little history by comparison. Now one could call LHW the first tweener division but that was wayy back in the 1910s. Right now its the 2nd biggest traditional divisional in the sport of boxing.
I won't go into how good the division is because there's already posts with its best fighters and as you mention, it is a great blend of the skill of smaller guys and the power/strength of the bigger guys. Instead I wanna point out some of the more forgotten names who have styles, lives, careers and skills which make for unique fighters. Paul Berlenbach, Astoria Assassin or Paralyzing Paul: a fantastically underrated Champion from the late 20s who boasted wins over greats like Slattery, McTigue and Delaney. He was born a deaf-mute; and worked as an instructor for other deaf-mutes in Westchester. At 18, he went to the aid of a young lad whose kite had gotten tangled in electric wire up in the air. He climbed the pole, released the kite but got himself an electric shock for his trouble. He fell to the ground and those who came to his aid thought he was dead; he was revived and heard his name for the first time. The shock had completely restored his hearing and later he would develop his speech. Joe Knight, the Cairo Calamity: A southpaw slugger from the 1930s; already a rarity, but one who managed to notch a win off Maxie Rosenbloom. He was NBA champion for a literal day before losing the title to Bob Goodwin - whom he had a long rivalry with. He also started off his career by beating a bloke going by "Battleship Sword" twice Jose Torres, Cheggy: better known than Knight; but a fun fighter nonetheless. A technical pressure fighter marred by an unwillingness to let his hands go and a slightly suspect chin - however, a wizard on the front foot and a forgotten name in the Cus Damato story. I'll be back with more!
175 seems to be the perfect blend of size, power, speed and skill. Not really a small guy but not a dreadnought either. Too big for the little guys but not quite big enough for the big guys.