Having noticed a lot of people put down the Super-Middleweight division lately for its lack of PvP stars besdies division king Joe Calzaghe, I thought it was time to do an analysis on what I think is definatly a top3 weight division in boxing, here's why. Current SMW stars. 1. Joe Calzaghe - The best SMW of all time. WBO and RING magazine champion, on verge of being an ATG and breaking all-time defences record. 2. Mikkel Kessler - WBC and WBA "Super" Champion. Highly regarded european seen as Calzaghe's biggest threat in the division. Often considerd in the top 15 PvP. 3. Anthony Mundine - Popular Australian, although it looks now as if his career's over due to injury. 4. Lucian Bute - High-rated prospect and future champion. Often thought to be the number3 fighter in the division. 5. Jeff Lacy - VERY GOOD FIGHTER, FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. People on this forum are quick to dismiss Lacy as a hype job, while yes he was over-hyped, he's still a world class fighter. Lacy is a bonefide knockout artist with tremdendous punching power and has beaten some class operators etc Reid. His lack of dimension was shown in his defeat to Joe Calzaghe but with time can improve what was limited skills and can be a force in the division. The yanks might deny it now that his reputation has been tarnished somewhat, but Jeff Lacy is still one of America's best fighters. 6. Carl Froch - British and Commonwealth champion, seen as a British successor to Calzaghe. In danger of become the next "Junior Witter" in that he constantly calls out Calzaghe whilst knowing that a fight between the 2 in current circumstances is impossible. Upcomming fight with former-WBC champ Robin Reid should lead to a world title shot against Berrio. 7. Robin Reid - Very experienced veteran, been there and done it. Some say he's past his best but has recently found good form and should be a fantastic fight against Froch to settle who's got domestic supremacy. 8. Alejandro Berrio - IBF champion, although many think not for long with a long list of possible and better candidates waiting to take the belt from him. 9. Allan Green - Highly rated prospect, knocked back with his loss to Edison Miranda. Claimed that he was unwell for the fight and has taken quite a lot of time off. Bounced back with a tremendous win a few weeks ago against Darrel Woods. Allan Green is most certainly a force to be reckoned with, dont base hime off the Miranda fight. 10. Peter Manfredo Jr - Contender star. Not only does the SMW division posess these fighters, but will soon have the following. Jermian Taylor Kelly Pavlik Edison Miranda Taylor has said himself win or lose in the Pavlik fight he will be moving to SMW, and it says on his Offciail website. Exactly the same has been said by Pavlik and Miranda. Calzaghe Kessler Taylor Pavlik Mundine Lacy Miranda Green Bute Froch Reid Only the WW division has as much high-class compeititon. It's a good year to be a Super-Middleweight.
Reid, Green and Manfredo are never ever Top10 SMW. Where are Tsypko, Brahmer, Beyer, Inkin. They are a league above them. But you´re right the SMW is a hell of a division.
I wasnt listing them in ranking order, I was just talking about them as the current SMW crop. I'd definatly say that Green is top10 SMW, Reid is bordering. I didnt mention people like Inkin and Brahmer because they are not as known as the ones of mention. I was just bringing to light that the SMW is not as weak as people make out.
Things are looking good - lots of great potential match-up, Taylor-Pavlik vs Kessler-JC, first and foremost. Boxing is back
Reid was a top fighter but is shot to pieces , he doesn't belong anywhere near the top 15 in the division and Froch will most likely knock him out . Super Middleweight isn't seen as an interesting division in America mainly due to the lack of American fighters , which means they see the division less as a whole and then perceive it to be weak(it's quite understandable , it's the same way a lot of people underate the lower weight classes) I think it's quite a strong division , but I don't think anyone can touch Calzaghe in it........if anyone is going to prove me wrong though it'll be Kessler .
You are surely right in saying that smw is a hot division,but I had a good laugh when reading that you called Manfredo a contender star.Haha! I for my part wouldnt even rate him among the top 25 of this weight division. Green a top 10 fighter? What has he done to deserve such a high ranking? What about Inkin? Most fight fans and experts think that he is the present nr.3 behind Kessler and Calzaghe.
Maybe top 5, but he isn't better than bute. His KO of veit was impressive enough. He's not as good as mundine either. Froch might even be better than the russian b/c of his power.
I like 168 and think it clearly has much more going for it than 175 (which is thin and old), but I think you've got some pieces out of place. Besides Manfredo, I think you also are overly optimistic about Jeff Lacy. I'm a Lacy fan, but who knows what he'll have left in the tank. He won a very disputed decision over Tsypko in a fight that saw him hurt badly by shots that wouldn't have troubled him pre-Calzaghe. So we know his chin is not what it once was. Now, with a major surgery on his critically important left shoulder, there's another huge question mark. I hope you're right, but it's for logical -- not emotional -- reasons that many Americans have turned a skeptical eye toward Jeff.
Froch better than Inkin? I very much doubt it! Tsypko beat Adamu quite convincingly dominating most rounds of their encounter.Just about 10 days after his loss to Tsypko Adamu travelled to England to square off against Froch. The African gave him hell.I am not really sure anymore but as far as I can remember he even knocked the Brit down losing a very close fight to Froch. I am not sold on the Brit. Bute? Yep! He seems to be the real deal.
Froch has improved a lot , his last 3 wins(Magee , Dodson , Tatevosyan) saw vastly improved performances from Froch compared to the rest of his career . Before those fights I thought Froch would be found out at European level , now I believe that Froch is a top 10 Super Middleweight and it would take another top 10 to beat him . When Inkin would do that I'm not sure but what I do know is I would love a fight between Inkin and Froch .
Sorry,but I am still not sold on him.Neither do I think that he truly belongs among the top 10 at supermiddle weight.
:-( The only two SMW who are better than Lucian Bute (who would have a higher chance of beating him than of being beaten by him) are JC and MK. Everyone else, Bute would beat!:yep
