He will have basically become this decade's version of Dariusz Michalczewski. Both fighters will have been: - WBO champions at 175 - Universum-protected fighters with over 10 successful defenses (The Tiger had many more but you get the point) - Linear champions - Cruiserweight champions (if Erdei wins)
Never going to happen. Moving up 25 pounds on 30 days notice is a death warrent issued by his own promoter. Brahmer is the interim WBO LHW champ and too valuable to lose to Erdei, so Universum is moving up the long reinging champ instead. BTW in Tiger's days CW limit was 190, but both him and his CW opponent were 181/182 at the weigh-in, not 200.
I was merely pointing out the similarities based on the possibility of Erdei winning. Now whether or not he is able to beat Fragomeni is a completely different story. Not to get off track but why is Brahmer so valuable? Is it because he's a native-born German as opposed to being an imported fighter?
then he'll deserve some respect because Fragomeni is a decent fighter. and erdei is a small lhw. it will really change my views on him radically. it will make him a today's top 20 p4p candidate for me. the sheer fact of lasting the distance with fragomeni will be considerred a huge step for him. but the judges will have to be more than crooked to give him the decision.
A p4p candidate? I wouldn't go that far. Weight difference aside, let's not mistake Fragomeni for being a real quality fighter. He's a tough guy who can fight a little but he's a beltholder as opposed to being a real champion. No more and no less. Erdei moving up to beat him would be a solid victory any way you cut it but it's not as though Fragomeni represents the top-tier of the division. Now if Erdei were to move up and beat, say a Steve Cunningham, well then we'd have to be having a serious discussion about him. A victory over the Fragomeni, impressive as it may be to fans who know the circumstances and follow the fighters, would end up being a mere footnote.
He's got the nickname "100 Year Talent", and he certainly looked very promising and possibly a big star before he went behind bars for a few years. Universum still think Jurgen can be pretty big (and get them TV opportunities post-ZDF), and he's certainly more exciting than Erdei. But he lost to Garay who Erdei beat (barely) twice, so IMO they'd rather not make Brahmer-Erdei. So it's not like with Dariusz, having a go at CW, it's more like letting Erdei go - with a big fat L in his record.
Fragomeni is a decent fighter . not an atg , but one of the , say , top 15 of his division today. beating a decent fighter from a division higher than yourself , is a p4p achievement. furthermore , the jump from 175 to 200 is bigger and more significant , meaningful than the jump from 168 to 175. it is a big jump. what did wlad an vitali achieve in p4p terms ? beating fighters slightly smaller than themselves at best ? sure less than jumping 25 lbs - a 1/7 of your weight and beating a decent fighter there. and they are regarded top10 p4p fighters today. we live in a poor time , but the bigger reason for this is becuase the ranking formula is ****. it must be changed if wlad and vitali made the top 10. wtf did bute achieve in p4p terms that he is ranked at #14 by boxrec ? so a win over fragomeni should put erdei in the top 20.
The difference is Michalczewski beat the #1 LHW at the time (Hill) unifying 3 belts while the best Erdei's win Gonzales was not even top 5 (still "linear" champion).
I think the comparison is not fair to DM. While DM was also linear and CW champ, WBO champion at 175 and he had over 10 succesful defences, he was nowhere as protected as Erdei. His opponents were almost the same as the ones of RJJ - only DM fought them once RJJ proved they are beatable. Hall (x2), Harmon, Griffin, Hill and a couple of others are level above Erdei's opponents. The only common opponent was Gonzales, who met DM when he was shot, and still was lucky to get the decision. In what way was DM "Universum-protected fighter"? The only decision that was somewhat fishy was TD against Rocchigiani, but I do not think that is enough to compare him to Erdei.
I probably coud have refrained from using the term "Universum-protected" but the point of the thread wasn't to compare the two fighters in terms of who achieved more in terms of level of opposition. It is to point out that, regardless of who they beat, their achievements are very similar. Allow me to reiterate based on a potential Erdei victory: Two Universum fighters from Eastern Europe who both won and defended the WBO light-heavyweight championship over 10 times, won the linear title (DM obviously beat the man while Erdei beat Gonzalez), and moved up to cruiserweight to win a title there. All facts. Now DM fought the stiffer comp while Erdei fought cans so the Tiger gets the nod in terms of legacy. That's a given.
Ring Champions (Supposed to be linear) since Spinks moved to heavy: 18 United States Roy Jones Jr. 2001 - May 15, 2004 (moved up to heavyweight) 19 United States Antonio Tarver May 15, 2004 - December 18, 2004 20 Jamaica Glen Johnson December 18, 2004 - June 18, 2005 21 United States Antonio Tarver June 18, 2005 - June 10, 2006 22 United States Bernard Hopkins June 10, 2006 - April 19, 2008 23 Wales Joe Calzaghe April 19, 2008 - February 06, 2009 (Retired) Those recognized by cyber boxing zone have gone instead like this: # Virgil Hill (1996 - 1997) # Dariusz Michalczewski (1997-2003) # Julio Cesar Gonzalez (2003-2004) # Zsolt Erdei (2004 ...The whole situation disgusts me.
