Boxers Who Are Being Held Back by Lack of Quality Opponents

Great potential fights fall through the cracks and don't happen for many reasons, but regardless why they fall through, the impact to the careers of the boxers involved can be significant.

The downside is at the very least a lost chance at making good money, but it could also cost them a chance for getting a big win to improve their legacy or prove that they're worthy of the hype they received as a younger boxer.

Sometimes boxers are left without many great choices for possible matches because their division is weak or because other guys don't want to face them, but unfortunately today's politics of boxing play the biggest role.

Fighters sign exclusive contracts to separate TV networks or sign with separate promoters who refuse to work with each other; these two factors are often the biggest roadblocks to making great fights.

Here are a few names that have been held back by these issues that form the dark clouds over the sport of boxing. All of the names on this list are already stars in boxing, but they could be making more money, headlining bigger shows and adding to their Hall of Fame resume if they had better opponents available.

Manny Pacquiao

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Not including himself, six of the nine fighters on ESPN's top 10 ranking for the welterweight division are unavailable to Manny Pacquiao because of the politics surrounding the sport of boxing today.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., Keith Thurman, Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, Devon Alexander and Robert Guerrero are all signed with Al Haymon who Pacquiao's people—Top Rank and HBO—refuse to work with at the current time.

Two other names on the top 10 list are Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, a pair that Pacquiao has fought a combined six times. Besides Kell Brook, there isn't a single compelling matchup available to Pacquiao in the welterweight division.

Some of you might be thinking that a move back down to junior welterweight might make matchmaking a little easier, but many of the top guys in that division like Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, Lucas Matthysse and Lamont Peterson are also signed with Haymon, which makes all of those matchups dead on arrival as well.

Pacquiao is already a lock for the Hall of Fame in my view and I'm sure in the view of most others, so he doesn't have much if anything left to prove. But it is a shame that years of his career are being wasted on fighting the likes of Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri.

Timothy Bradley

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See the previous slide—there aren't many compelling fights available to Timothy Bradley.

Like Pacquiao, Bradley is also signed with Top Rank, so all of the same fights that I mentioned as being unavailable for Pacquiao are also unavailable for Bradley.

Who wouldn't love to see Bradley face Floyd Mayweather Jr., Marcos Maidana, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia or Lucas Matthysse? Those would all be tremendous matchups, but we're being robbed of them because the people in power refuse to get along, do business and make the best fights possible for the fans.

Also like Pacquiao, Bradley has already used up his options among top welterweights signed with Top Rank with three fights against Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The absence of options is probably part of what led to his upcoming fight against Diego Chaves being scheduled for December 2014.

For all the same reasons as listed for Pacquiao and Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez could also have his name thrown into this conversation.

Gennady Golovkin

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If you were a star, would you take the risk of fighting Gennady Golovkin? Most likely not, and most wouldn't blame you for feeling that way.

Since kicking down the door on the American boxing scene a couple years ago after making his HBO debut, Golovkin has laid waste to everyone in his path. Unfortunately for him and the fans, that path hasn't been filled with future Hall of Famers, which has left us hungry for more and some feeling a little skeptical.

At this point, if you still think Golovkin is a fraud, you're either just not paying attention or are the type of person who feels a need to hate on everything to make yourself feel better.

I'm not saying Golovkin has defeated an amazing list of opponents, but he's beaten a very solid list of fighters and arguably the most talented boxers available or willing to step into the ring with him.

Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale and Matthew Macklin were all considered top 10 middleweights at the time Golovkin faced them—the latter two still are—by ESPN and those three guys lasted a combined total of eight rounds with GGG.

For what it's worth Golovkin's next fight will be against the seventh-ranked middleweight on ESPN's list—Martin Murray. No, it's not like what Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns faced in the 1980s or the great heavyweight era of the 1960s and 1970s, but GGG isn't facing chumps either.

Would you rather him stay busy and entertain us with the best matchups available or stay at home until a big name agrees to fight him? It's not like he's taking fights against the "Rod Salka" of the middleweight division; four of his last six fights have been against legit top 10 opposition from his division.

It doesn't appear that Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez has any interest in facing him while they await their possible mega fight. Andre Ward can say whatever he wants, but he can't get back into the ring until his court case is settled, and Peter Quillin is off the table as an Al Haymon guy with GGG being exclusive to HBO.

Not to mention that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. passed on a fight last July with Golovkin after GGG had already signed to move up in weight to make the match.

Golovkin has major drawing power as a fighter who has sold out shows on both coasts and brought in good ratings for HBO as a main event attraction. Once he's able to convince a fighter of his caliber to take him on, the sky is the limit for Golovkin.

Who that fighter will be though is a mystery. After scratching off the Al Haymon fighters and the fighters who appear to be scared there aren't many candidates left.

Leo Santa Cruz

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Quick, name the last time Leo Santa Cruz was tested in a match that went to a decision? You could certainly argue—I am—that he hasn't faced a close decision since his second pro fight when he came away with a draw against Rodrigo Hernandez in 2007.

You could definitely say it's been awhile since Santa Cruz has been challenged.

Among his recent opponents, BoxRec.com has Manuel Roman ranked 131st in his division, Cesar Seda ranked 39th, Alexander Munoz ranked 123rd and Vusi Malinga ranked 86th.

Despite being in a small division that usually has trouble producing major stars, Santa Cruz has everything required to become a star, in my opinion. He has tremendous talent, fights an aggressive and entertaining style and comes off as personable and very likable while being interviewed.

All he needs are opponents who are at or near his level to put him over the top.

Unfortunately for Santa Cruz, even if he lands a fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux—his division's top boxer—that fight likely won't draw a huge TV audience or put him over the top, as Rigondeaux is known as a boxer who makes boring fights and is someone who many fans have no interest in watching.

I'm not sure how much more weight Santa Cruz would feel comfortable putting on, but making a move up to featherweight where exciting possible matches against Nicholas Walters, Abner Mares and Vasyl Lomachenko could be available makes a lot of sense for his career.

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