For me, I think the following fighters are fairly undervalued. 1)Danny Garcia- I dont think Garcia is a top 10 p4p guy but talking to many folks who know boxing they don't even think he's top 30. According to many he just keeps getting lucky. Truth is, with some improvement around the edges he could be something special. 2)Carlos Molina- This guy has a super awkward style and i firmly believe he would give any one at 154 a run for their money and even win. He's also chronically avoided 3)Abner Mares- I know this one will be controversial, but the fact is many people believe he is not even close to the likes of donaire and and rigondeaux. After his last performance with the guy in my avatar I could tell he was vastly improved and alot better than people on these boards give him credit for. 4)Amir Khan- Ithink this will be another controversial pick but the reality is that in most people's mind Khan is expired goods. Let's not forget that if he covers his chin good he likely outboxes Anyone in or around his weightclass. Far from finished and still one of the most gifted fighters we have. 5)Robert guererro- This one is obvious. Most people think he's a lame fighter who, like the swift one, has gotten some good breaks. With Guerrero i see a smart fighter who has improved tremendously throughout his career to become a pretty crafty professional.
Nice List. I think Khan would become great if he learned proper head movement (e.g bobbing and weaving) and strengthened his neck via weights so he could take flush shots better. Garcia would definitely be in top 30 (I'd say top 20 or 15) if you are talking about boxers alive today. If of all time, then I'd definitely have to disagree. Garcia is a great fighter but has slow starts to his fights like Joe Frazier did.
Roman Gonzalez probably the best little fighter in boxing (by little i mean between straw and super fly) still remains an unknown to many boxing fans, A fight between him and Viloria is one of the best fights that can be made in boxing.
Active-Ola Afolabi and Peter Quillan's left hook.I'd like to say Ricky Burns but there's a lack of objectivity. Retired-Mike McCallum
Danny Garcia - potentially he still confuses me..Slow, boring plodder seems very basic then BAM the fastest hardest counter left hook i've seen in boxing for a long time. Let's see how he deals with Judah. Khan has so much but so little. With more brains, power or chin he'd easily be at the top of 140. Just he lacks these three quality's. Naturally very talented - Watching him 17 years old in amatuers kicking a 27 year olds ass was cool. Froch was very underrated by alot of people intill he fcked Bute up - Does lots of things I respect and don't see in lots of fighters. (keeping that chin on his chest - even though it's rock solid) Soto Karass - Really tough, goes to the body and always brings it - watch out for him. Probaly would have beat the Alexander version of Maidana.
Garcia gets his dues, Mares doesn't get enough credit for competition faced but also doesn't get enough **** for his horrendous dirty fighting, and Khan gets talked about so much and is thought of so highly by some I can't say he is underrated. Guerrero was underrated before the Aydin fight, and is still so. Carlos Molina is underrated on an unprecedented level. Among lower weight fighters; Kazuto Ioka as I believe he's a easy choice for a top 25 P4P fighter and most would not list him. Anselmo Moreno doesn't have the notoriety he deserves after such an impressive display of skills across a great resume. Mario Rodriguez as people neglected him when mentioning the top Fighters of the Year for 2012. Tepparith Singwancha and Suriyan Rungvisai, despite losses last year, are two badass Thai fighters.
I agree that he's underrated, people remember that he was losing the Khan fight, but don't really understand that he wasn't taking the ass whooping everyone seems to remember... He did a great job defensively considering how top notch Khan's offense is On the level of Donaire and Rigo? No... I think he's rated right where he should be, a not too distant third to Doni-Rigo Finally, I thought I was the only one... The ****ing guy was easily the top fighter at 140, and in my opinion would have embarrassed Bradley (and probably still will)... The only one that deserves to be favored over him is Matthysse and that's still not a guarantee He's underrated? Other than not being on Floyd's level, I don't see how anyone could not see him as top quality
Good list with the exception of Khan. I actually think he's overrated by those who admire him. This guy was touted as the next big thing and supposedly had the power to KO anyone. His power is good only against those who are mentally weak. Someone like Garcia or Rios would smile and shake off his punches easily. There is no "if" for Khan. You say if he could protect his chin better he would be an elite. Either he is or he isn't. Maybe he'll get there someday but for now he fits perfectly in his position as a B or B- fighter. That's not underrating him at all.
I can understand where your coming from. In terms of power, I actually remember him being referenced as feather-fisted until he dropped Maidana. Khan was able to protect his chin well enough to avoid getting stopped (or even dropped) from Prescott all the way to Garcia, with a close loss to Peterson preceding his last KO loss. So I'd say that from his performances against Paulie, Judah, Maidana, he was champion-ship level and close enough to elite, but it makes sense for some to say he's not there anymore. A B fighter isn't a bad tag to give him at all.
1. Mares 2. Molina 3. Pdl 4. Bradley 5. Abril Some of these technically proficient, but not very fan friendly. Titere belongs in the list too and gets a shoutout.