At what point does beating a guy like Edison Miranda no longer mean anything? I'm not picking on Miranda. His latest loss just got me thinking. Think about other contenders/gatekeepers/trial horses of the past... at what point was beating these guys no longer a big deal? In 2006 Miranda earned a title shot by beating Howard Eastman (KO7). Many feel he was ripped off in his decision loss to Abraham later that year for the IBF MW title. He came back with 2 wins including a decisive decision over Allan Green. He fought Pavlik in a WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator but was stopped in 7. He came back with 2 wins and got a non-title rematch with Abraham at SMW. Abraham stopped him in 4. He came back with 2 wins and took on rising star Andre Ward. Ward easily outboxed Miranda in a 12 round decision. He came back with a win and took on Bute... we all saw that right? So, what's next? He might come back with a win but the next name opponent he faces he will most likely lose to. Does a win over Miranda mean anything anymore? Remember James Tillis and Tyrell Biggs? At what point was beating these guys worthless toward a fighters career?
I think after his loss last night he's not going to be classed as a credible opponent...some would argue he wasn't really a credible opponent before last night but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, coming in with a new trainer and he seemed up for it, starting the fight decently at least. It was the last chance he had last night, I don't think he'll do anything now apart from fade away. What's more left for him to do? Every time he's stepped up he's failed (maybe not against AA the first time, but the rematch showed who he wasn't really up to the task) Another recent one is RJJ, when would you consider him not to be a credible opponent? Would is be as far back as his third loss to Tarver? Or his loss to Calzaghe? Or even Green?
Miranda is still a good gatekeeper, a win over him proves you are better which means you are probably a contender. It´s not a good or very good anymore like it was for Pavlik and Abraham.
Owen Beck is a recognized name but worthless scalp at heavyweight now - as are Jameel McCline and Oleg Maskaev. Enzo Maccarinelli is borderline at CW. Clinton Woods at LHW. Yeah, Miranda has probably entered that territory at SMW...along with Curtis Stevens. Brian Vera at MW may be a bit unfair to include here, but technically he did attain name recognition from reality TV...and he's definitely a worthless scalp by now. At LMW...if Julio gets KTFO by Angulo he's there...joining Ouma. Hate to say it, but Stevie Forbes is the preeminent candidate at WW. If Holt doesn't right the ship, it's him at LWW.
My mistake then... There are plenty of other substitutes at the weight. Jones, Muriqi, even Johnson have lost their luster as victims now.
If he shows up in the same sluggish and useless form as the Dawson rematch one more time, it's probably safe to write him off. The Mack win went some way toward lending credence to the "Dawson simply made him look bad" argument, but...it was Mack (himself a candidate for this very thread concept).
Johnson?! Did you see his last fight? He's a bona fide threat to Tavoris Cloud in his next fight. No way does the Road Warrior deserve to be classed as a Miranda-type gatekeeper at the moment.
I saw him destroy former super middleweight gatekeeper Yusaf Mack. That alone doesn't wash away the putrid taste of how awful he looked in the Dawson rematch. If he does beat Cloud (or even look halfway decent in losing) maybe that performance can be called a fluke (or a product of "just how good" Dawson is). If Cloud knocks him out, as I expect (and I like Glen...quite a bit...) then it is the Mack fight that needs to be looked at as the fluke.