Most Underrated Champion Today?

Question

In your opinion, who is the most underrated champion, pound-for-pound, in boxing today? When I say champion, it can be a holder of one of the four alphabet organizations or even ring magazine champ.

It woud be nice to have some facts or thoughts on why you made your selection.

Answer 1

Kelly Pavlik- he has domianted the middlewieght by beating and knocking out jose luis zertuche who nobody has ever knocke out. then gave miranda a beating, nobody saw that coming .and then beating taylor twice

Ivan Calderon-this champ has beaten pretty good compitation  juan esquer who is just a tough son of a ***** to name one. i think he has the same skills mayweather has but because he is a jr. flyweight he dont really get recognition.

Cristian Mijares- this guys has some great skills good fighting syle. he took arce to school and recently beat jose navarro and alexander munoz whos is ranked #2 by the ring magazine

orthers- Robert Guerrero,Arthur Abraham,Antonio Margarito,Nonito Doniare,Joan Guzman

Answer 2

I think that the IBF cruiserweight titleholder, Steve Cunningham is very underrated- the guy goes into his opponents backyards EVERYTIME out to defend HIS title (not challenge for theirs), and he beats them every single time.  I actually think that he has the stuff to beat the true champ, David Haye, but unfortunately that won't happen because Haye is moving up to heavyweight.

Another titleholder that I believe is very overlooked is the WBA junior featherweight titleholder Celestino Caballero.  He DOMINATED Daniel Ponce De Leon who also currently has a title, and to this day, it it De Le Leon's only loss.  Every time there is going to be a rematch, Caballero is ready and willing, but De Leon backs out every time- I think that he knows Caballero would outbox him again.  I would love to see him get a shot at the true 122 pound champion Israel Vazquez, but Caballero is going to face the IBF titleholder Steve Molitor in his home town after his next fight.  I think that he'll beat Molitor fairly easily, and the only one in that division who I think MIGHT be able to beat him is Vazquez.

I also believe that the lightweight champion Joel Casamayor is very underrated by some.  Yes, he was given a gift decision against Jose Armando Santa Cruz, but he proved in his follow-up fight with Michael Katsidis that he is still a serious force and he has a case to be made in all 3 of his losses as well as the draw on his record.  He has never shied away from the best challengers out there, and he wins almost every time out, which is why he is the current lightweight champion of the world.  In his next fight, he is following this pattern by most likely facing a rematch with the number one contender and multiple belt-holder Nate Campbell (Casamayor beat Campbell by decision in their first fight back when Nate was undefeated).

Answer 3

Chris John at featherweight and middleweight Arthur Abraham are the first fighters that come to mind for me and deserve more acclaim and recognition for their ring accomplishments.

Answer 4

Antonio Margarito he was over looked for years being tough heavy handed with iron chin and in your face nobody wanted anything to do with him. Now he gets Cotto and watch him knock Cotto out late.

Answer 5

I feel like many lighter-weight fighters, specifically Ivan Calderon, are underrated. However, like one other answerer pointed out, I also feel Steve Cunningham is underrated. He is undefeated, and I dont care what anyone says he won that first fight with that guy from Poland. He can be a boxer and pick you off with potshots like Mayweather or he can slug it out with his opponents in the middle of the ring, he is successful at both and honestly, I think he would have a pretty good shot at beating David Haye if they ever fought, which they never will unless moves up to heavyweight. Now, that is not to say that he is the best champion out there today, just the most underrated in my view.

Answer 6

Three or four that spring to mind for me would be Chris John at Featherweight, Israel Vasquez at Super Bantam and Arthur Abraham at Middleweight although the main one may well be Wladamir Klitshcko i think we underrate him because of the quality around in his division, it is a crying shame that he hasnt got the really good opposition needed to show yourself as a potential great as he may well be potentially but will we ever know.

Answer 7

Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon with out a shadow of a dought is the most underrated Boxer. Despite being the WBO Champ. Calderon Stands at 5 Feet flat and went 31-0 at the 108 weight class and making title defences against guys usually 4 inches taller and as high as a whole HALF A Foot taller. He consistantly proves it's not about physcial stature but skills. He is pound for pound the best without ever being considered in the Top Ten. Can you imagine what would happen to Money May if he fought guys 4 to 6inches taller in every fight. He is slicker then Malinaggi or Mayweather. Not to mention Cotto has admitted when he weighed 107 yrs. ago Calderon put a Whooping on him.

Ivan "iron Boy" Calderon next bout is a rematch w/ Hugo Cazares on AUG. 31. A MAN WHO IS A WHOLE HALF FOOT TALLER. watch for your self to WITNESS possibly the best pure boxer of his era and without a dought P4P the best. IVAN "IRON BOY" CALDERON a boxer never geting his credit for someting he has no power over his height and weight.

Answer 8

It is definetely Pavlik, he has done everything that a great boxer ought to do, he has won titles, he has fought great battles (the fights with taylor), he has faced every opponent and he has defeated them all and he is considered by many to be the king of the middleweight division, yet outside of the boxing world very few people know him and he is yet to enter into mainstream fame, i feel he has done a lot and he ought to be rated a lot higher than he is, the fact that calzaghe was rated higher than him after defeating an old hopkins only adds insult to injury, i hope he gets a fight with calzaghe and claim the spot that is rightfully his.