Lose-Lose Situation?

Are boxers who agree to fight a boxer moving up a weight class in a lose-lose situation if they beat said boxer?

The boxer moving up a division gets all the credit and plaudits if they win, and if they lose...said boxer is seemingly in a near enough win-win situation. They challenged themselves but were unsuccessful, credit is given because they took on a bigger guy...and they can go back down a division if they are capable of doing it.

Whereas the bigger boxer, the more established guy in the higher division is given pretty much the opposite treatment. Picking on the smaller guy, only won because they were bigger, etc.

Surely there has to be a middle ground...

Examples of when this is not the case are welcome. :good

 

That's a good example actually.

Definitely, like I said in my first post...there has to be some middle ground when analyzing these bouts. Like you pointed out, the bigger guy isn't always the favourite.

 

:good

Not everyone sees it this way though...a lot of people choose who the favourite is based on the size of the two boxers, and ignore the fact that the guy moving up a division could be a level or two above the bigger boxer.
An example is the Margarito v Pacquiao bout...a good few people are expecting an upset because of Margarito's size alone. Pacquiao's advantages outweigh any advantage Margarito holds over him.

If Margarito does somehow pull off the victory, that would be a great victory (whether he deserves to be sharing the ring with Pacquiao or not)...but no doubt people would be saying in the following days, 'Margarito should have won, he was the bigger guy'...etc. I'm not sure Margarito would get all the credit he deserves if he pulls off the victory.

Also, the JMM V Mayweather bout...the only defense people can have of that bout is that Marquez wanted the bout with Mayweather...JMM wanted to chase Pacquiao, and a victory over Mayweather would no doubt secure him that. Other than that, it was a complete mismatch.

 

Mayweather and Pacquiao would deserve all the credit in the world if they picked up a victory over the other one. In my opinion, it will be both boxers biggest win...however, neither boxer will get the credit they deserve from the opposing fans.

 

That would have been exactly what would have happened if Pavlik beat Hopkins.

 

If this was the Pacquiao that had just come off beating Cotto in an impressive performance, and not the Pacquiao who had to throw 1200 punches to try engage Clottey...plus all the media bull**** that Pacquiao is losing focus, isn't doing well, etc. Then yeah, Margarito would have pulled off the upset of the century in a good few peoples eyes.

But having seen the threads and posts people have already started posting...some are already laying foundations for if Margarito pulls the victory off.