I say this with every last fiber of my being: there are not enough words in any Romantic, Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Slavic, Uralic, African, Sino-Tibetan, Japonic, and all the various Native American tongues both extinct and still spoken to express the absolute level of contemptuous disgust I hold the Super Middleweight division in; never before has boxing assembled a more spineless, gutless, lazy, cowardly, and all-around worthless pack of belt-hunting bums, all climaxing in the Ginger Sweepstakes. Benavidez is the one person there worth half-a-damn, the one person who might actually have a chance against Canelo, so of course, we won't get it, unless Makabu knocks Canelo back down to SMW (I'm not holding my breath).
154 and that new division that I refuse to say the name because of how stupid it is. Useless divisions.
I figured I'd give a division by division breakdown a go.... but simplify it. For the record, some of my Meh's and **** Off's, in some cases I've included fighters I love, but it's time to call it a day on the career. Heavyweight. I Love: Usyk I Like: Hunter, Joyce, Gassiev Lukewarm: Fury, Wilder, Ruiz, Chisora, Helenius, Wallin, Huni, Makhmudov, McKean, Hrgovic, Dychko Meh: Joshua, Pulev, Parker, Ajagba, Whyte, Bakole, Takam, Dubois, Kossobutskiy, Sirenko **** off: Sanchez, Yoka, Hughie, Kownacki, Kabayal, Kuzmin, Lerena, Breazeale, Kean, Gorman, Fa Rating: Pretty pisspoor and overrated, 4 out of 10. Cruiserweight I Love: NA I Like: Briedis, Dorticos, Makabu, Kunkabayev Lukewarm: Cieslak, Papin, Merhy, Goulamirian, Masternak, Mchunu, Glanton, Gevor, Fress, Lawal Meh: Billam-Smith, McCarthy, Turchi, Tishchenko, Apochi **** off: Okolie, Riakporhe, Perez, Muller Rating: Bang on average 5 out of 10. Light Heavyweight I Love: Smith Jr, Johnson I Like: Beterbiev, Vlasov, Bolotniks, Lukewarm: Bivol, Smith, Richards, Izmailov, Azeez, Bauderlique, Stepien Meh: Jack, Ramirez, Barrera, Salamov, Yarde, Buatsi, Krasniqi, Deines, Michel **** off: Arthur, Browne, Hart, Meng, Boesel, Caparello, Burton Rating: Again, very average 4 1/2 out of 10 Super Middleweight I Love: Saunders, Ryder I Like: Alvarez, Lemieux, Jacobs, Rosado, Gongora, Parker, Silyagin, Morrell, Lukewarm: Chilemba, Akhmedov, Ivanov, Angulo, Clarke, Yerbossynuly Meh: Berlanga, Sims Jr, Cullen, Mbilli, Melikuziev **** off: Plant, Dirrell, Lerrone Richards, Stanioch, Scardina, Falcao Rating: Not quite as bad as I thought, still... 5 out of 10. Middleweight I Love: GGG I Like: Lara, Murata, Liam WIlliams, Montiel, Cash, Volny, Derevyanchenko Lukewarm: Alimkhanuly, Czerkaszyn, Meh: Charlo, Islam, Kautondokwa, Zerafa, Brant, Sirotkin, Vidal, Eubank Jr, Bentley, Bohachuk, Dignum **** off: Andrade, Ballard, Centeno, Yildirim, Arias, Signani, Feigenbutz, Quigley, Szeremeta, Jose Benavidez, Falcao, and N'Dam, Kirkland, Maravilla & Eggington (all for their own good) Rating: There's a lot to like, but far more not to like, so 5 out of 10. Light Middleweight I Love: Castano I Like: Beefy, Williamson, Garcia Lukewarm: Harrison, Soro, Adams, Cheeseman, Madrimov, Perrella, Jkitou, Hernandez, Meh: Kurbanov, Tszyu, Charlo, Adames, Teixeira, Mwakinyo, Baraou, Hogan, Culcay, Rosario, Fundora, Lejarraga, Saidi, Conwell, Charrat, J-Rock, Trout, Cissokho **** off: Hurd, Gausha, Fowler, Hatley Rating: The epitome of Meh, 3 out of 10. Welterweight I Love: Ortiz Jr, Butaev I Like: NA Lukewarm: Bud, Spence Jr, Kavaliauskas, Ennis, Meh: Abdukakhorov, Mbenge, Avanesyan, Kelly, James, Stanionis, Hooker, Rocha, Besputin, Algieri, Chukhadzhian, Santillan, Golub, Yeleussinov, Essuman, Riguccini, McKinson, Crocker **** off: Mikey & Lipinets (back to LWW), Benn, Joseito, Dulorme, Figueroa and Guerrero & Thurman (please retire) Rating: Whole lotta Mehing going on, 3 out of 10. Light Welterweight I Love: Taylor, Prograis, Zepeda, Sandor, Matias I Like: Ponce, Marcelino Nicolas Lopez, Ergashev Lukewarm: Ramirez, Barrios, Barroso, Jukembayev, Dauhaliavets, Sasaki, Hiroaka Meh: Stank, Akhmedov, McKenna, Barboza Jr, Ritson, Maxwell, Paro **** off: Puello, Redkach, Ennis-Brown, Hitchens, Barthelemy, Easter, Catterall, Ulysse Jr, Davies, Love, Zorrilla, Alamo, Baranchyk & Beltran (retire) Rating: Pretty balanced overall, 6 1/2 out of 10. Lightweight I Love: Lomachenko, Garcia, Linares (but retire), Zepeda I Like: Gustavo Daniel Lemos Lukewarm: Haney, Teofimo, Patera, Nakatani, Hughes, Fierro, Tellez, Cully, Jonfer Meh: Cruz, Rivera, Abdullaev, Tennyson, Tagoe, Andreev, Berinchyk, Straffon **** off: Romero, Vazquez, Corrales, Tanajara, Marinez Rating: Pretty overrated, 4 out of 10.
I've reached the depressing realization that I don't like the current incarnation of the sport overall very much. Like yeah, big competitive fights at the championship level are getting made, at probably a higher clip than at many points in the past - and that's great and all ...but they're getting made between guys I either don't care about or dislike. Just glanced at the BoxRec top ten p4p and, FFS, there's only a few guys I would ever actively root for: Saúl Álvarez Terence Crawford Oleksandr Usyk Tyson Fury Anthony Joshua Mairis Briedis Chris Eubank, Jr. Keith Thurman Callum Smith Deontay Wilder (Usyk, Briedis, Thurman - the rest can eat a dick as far as I'm concerned). And yeah, yeah, there'll likely be fresh emerging waves of prospects and Olympians in the pipeline distributed around the globe and across the board from HW all the way down through straw over the next couple of years, and maybe there'll be an infusion of guys that are really exciting to watch and have great telegenic personalities - but my point is right now, at this moment in time, at the very top of the sport, ugh, what a bleak assortment of ghouls and/or boring schmucks. In the last twenty years I can't remember there being such a small proportion of p4p rated guys that it actually interested me to follow. 30%, not great (and I'm not even a frothing at the mouth raving fanboy of Briedis and Thurman; they're just ok. Of the top ten I only really love Usyk) and even expanding to include contenders it feels like, while not none, there's a very low percentage of ones that cause goodwill to swell in my breast.
There's a reason why I spend most of my free time on here in the Lounge lately.... Hint, hint. It's because I agree with you. I've been in a bit of a funk with this sport since it came back from Covid, there's moments of bliss, but they're few and far between and the anticipation I usually feel with the exceptions of a few decent matches, hasn't been there.
147 and it's not even close. We are waiting Spenk vs Crawfish for years. Both are afraid of each other.
Super Middleweight because all these dipshits wait around to fight Canelo rather than fight each other
Cruiserweight sucks. Briedis is boxing’s biggest cuck, Okolie stinks the place out every time he fights, every one else either sucks or isn’t worth mentioning