DO SOMETHING!!! ...Fighters you wish would make some more noise

It's frustrating as hell that some really good fighters for whatever reason just can't get themselves in the ring against quality opposition on a regular basis.

Now, this can be world-class guys who've maybe fallen off the radar a bit, or hot prospects who cooled off a bit, or even journeymen who had a career performance and then didn't capitalize on it right away.

For me,

1) Silence Mabuza. Two stoppage losses (and not clean KO's; one by corner, one by doctor in a pair of fights that were as competitive as a one-sided showcase can be) to the best bantamweight in the world are the only blemish on African Spice's record. Many, including myself, have pegged him as the heir apparent at 118 - it's his for the taking much as 168 is Kessler's. Like Kessler, however, he hasn't exactly grabbed the division by the lapels and thrown it against the wall. Since the second loss, he's fought three times in South Africa, and knocked out three so-so contenders to his IBO (???) title. Shoddy promotion, if you ask me. He's a damn exciting and talented fighter and I could easily see him making a splash in the U.S. against the likes of Mares, Penalosa, Sidorenko etc. en route to a big-money unification showdown (after a couple of years of buildup and exposure) with budding star Anselmo Moreno.

2) Julio Cesar Miranda. This guy destroyed Omar Salado in a shocking upset on the undercard of Mijares-Munoz, it was the one really good fight on that undercard. After his fight tomorrow night against a 28-42-2 tomato can with 21 KO losses, his three opponents following Salado will have a combined record of 40-59-3. Super flyweight is STACKED. There are plenty of fights to be made, among A, B, and C grade fighters. Now, I don't think he's a world beater at the weight, but he's certainly a punchers-chance KO threat to most and his style won't allow for a boring fight against anyone, so why isn't this kid riding his momentum instead of squandering it on D's???

3) Jesus Soto Karass. Stopping Estrada then taking a giant step backwards against Lau is not the upward mobility this kid needs. He needs to stay on a consistent arc, steadily forced to improve his game as his opponents get better and better. He should not be thrown to the lions yet; I still think a Cintron would take him out. With the proper development and refinement, however, he could be better than his prototype Margarito in a couple of years. Too slow and his progress will stagnate and he won't learn/grow, too fast and his current flaws will be exploited and he'll lose his momentum and confidence.

4) Kevin Johnson. I've said my piece on the Kingpin here before; I always maintained he was better than Chambers and predicted that Eddie would lose his "0" first (granted, he took a MUCH bigger step up in class than KJ ever has, thus I refrain from gloating). If he can get himself in decent shape, I see him being a major factor in years to come; a perennial contender if not a champ. He gets a LOT of hate on these forums for a few reasons; people are jaded and sick of fat lazy American heavyweights getting their hopes up, also the comments pointed at the very popular Haye didn't help his profile much, and his last fight (the first time many had seen him) didn't really wow anybody. I believe the man, however, when he's stated that he's "saving" his good stuff for when he finally steps up in class and that he's barely tried against the bums he's been in with, preferring at this stage to showboat and make them look bad than putting in the effort to win more emphatically. It's a dumb move, and I think it's going to continue to hurt his chances of elevating himself; but I have seen glimpses of something belied even in his lackluster performances that may not be greatness but is not far off. Maybe it's just my imagination and he's really like everyone says just a low-rent Chambers who like Eddie won't ever ramp it up and rise to the occasion. Time will tell.

5) BJ Flores. Okay, it's been almost a year since he snapped Ding-A-Ling's streak in a very convincing rout (Teddy Atlas scoring it for Wilson shows how badly he overrates ineffective aggression). There were rumors he'd be joining his conquest on the 4th season of The Contender on VS; clearly that's not the case. His name's popped up once or twice very briefly in passing as a possible matchup for another top cruiser, but nothing's materialized. The Wilson fight was an IBF eliminator, and it was fought before Adamek-Bell. So what the hell is going on? Does he get a shot at the winner of Cunningham-Adamek (meaning he'll have to wait at least until early spring most likely...so a layoff of over a year unless he takes a tune-up)?? Hello? Bueller??

Miguel Angel Huerta would've made the list if he weren't fighting Mike Alvarado in the Solo Boxeo series finale verysad) on the 19th. I know he lost to Jauregui but after following his robbery loss to Kid Diamond with two fairly solid wins to round out 2007, this year has been a waste - having even gotten in the ring with J.J. baffles me. If he can beat this upstart, I think the now long-dormant outcry for a rematch needs to be echoed and increased a few decibels.

 

:yep

I guess technically he hasn't really "made noise" in the wake of the loss, but he hasn't been inactive for too long a stretch, nor laying low fighting cans (despite what the haters say). He's failing to capitalize on the little push HBO gave him pre-Calzaghe, that's for damn sure. If he doesn't fight on American TV against a top-rated SMW at least once in 2009, the spotlight may be irretreivably lost.

 

great job providing your insights instead of just names, guys. wouldn't want to make me look like a boob for being the only one! :good

:twisted:

 

Good example; how do you go from smashing BobPac and Attah to Juan Ramon Cruz?

 

I don't know, it's been less than a year since the surprise loss to Vera and he's rebounded with a stoppage of Gibbs, who was overmatched but not a total soft touch. He's not seemed to have strayed too far off course.

Wasn't there talk of a rematch with Vera?