Zab Judah has officially became the gatekeeper of the welterweight division ... Edison Miranda is the gatekeeper of the SMW division Verno Phillips is the gatekeeper of the SWW division
Zab Judah is a JWW contender now. Miranda is a contender himself. Anyway I consider Ben Tackie the WW gatekeeper,Javier Jauregui the LW gatekeeper,Zuri Lawrence the HW gatekeeper,etc.
Andrade very nearly became IBF champ - hardly gatekeeper, he's a contender easily. Bika could well go on to win a title yet, so i wouldnt call him a gatekeeper really... Johnson is a good one - LHW
Manfredo yes but Bika and Andrade are contenders,highly ranked.You people gotta get a grip on these gatekeeper,bum,champ,contender issues.Not everyone who losses is a gatekeeper.
I'd tend to say as a rule Gatekeepers are veterans who fought at a high level when in their prime or younger guys who failed more than once at world level and lost handily to the best they fought
Somewhat yeah,gatekeepers should(in their prime or not) beat low level opposition but lose when stepping up to elite level.But there is a difference between contender and gatekeeper.
heavyweight - monte barrett cruiser - ? maybe herbie hide? light heavy - glen johnson supermiddle - manfredo middle - ? howard eastman? lightmiddle - verno phillips welter - zab judah lightwelter - edner cherry lightweight - possibly turning into one is katsidis