Underrated Boxers Not Getting Enough Credit for Excellent 2016 Performances
The individual nature of boxing always leaves some talented athletes stuck in the shadows. The Sweet Science's spotlight can only contain so many stars at the same time.
This is a list populated by world-title holders and top contenders. But most of them have yet to get the attention they deserve, especially in North America.
Still, at least some of them will be in major fights in the next couple of years.
8. Petr Petrov
1 of 8Petr Petrov is a Russian native who moved to Spain as a boy and turned professional in his adopted nation. He is a classic case of a boxer who has had to grind away over the years in order to battle his way into contender status.
Petrov's "big break" came in September 2011, when he took his first fight outside of Spain and travelled to Argentina to face Marcos Maidana. Maidana is much bigger than the lightweight Petrov and one of the biggest punchers below middleweight of the past decade.
He knocked Petrov out in four rounds.
Petrov won three more fights and then dropped a decision to current WBC lightweight champion Dejan Zlaticanin in April 2013. He went back to the gym and back to work.
Petrov put himself on the map in the United States in 2014, when he won ESPN's Boxcino tournament. But 2016 has been his best campaign to date. In May, he stopped Marvin Quintero in his corner, following Round 6.
In September, Petrov stopped rising young contender Michael Perez in an ugly and bloody fight. In 2017, Petrov definitely deserves a shot at somebody's belt.
7. Robert Easter Jr.
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The case of Robert Easter Jr. demonstrates just how difficult it can be to really seize the spotlight in professional boxing. It's not as if he is obscure or entirely overlooked.
But in 2016, he was not exactly on the main stage of the sport, even as he was turning in an outstanding campaign.
In April he defeated former super featherweight champion Argenis Mendez by Round 5 TKO. In September, he climbed off from the canvas in Round 8 to defeat fellow unbeaten Richard Commey by split decision.
Easter is just 25 and at 5'11" and with a 76" reach, he seems destined to move up a weight class or two in the future.
6. Donnie Nietes
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Donnie Nietes has spent his career fighting at 112 pounds and below. In the United States, at least, fighters that small are almost always off the radar.
Nietes has also been in the shadow of Roman Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada, a pair of elite champions. But with Gonzalez and Estada now moved up to super flyweight, 2016 has been the year when Nietes has finally had a chance to stake his own claim at 112 pounds.
Nietes stopped veteran contender Raul Garcia in May. In September, he shut out former champion Edgar Sosa on all three cards.
Sosa is hardly the fighter he once was, and Gonzalez starched him inside of two rounds in 2015. But it was still an impressive performance by Nietes, who has now gone over a decade without losing.
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5. Julius Indongo
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I have to admit, I had not even heard of Julius Indongo prior to his Dec. 3 challenge against undefeated IBF super lightweight champion Eduard Troyanovsky. Although Indongo had represented his native Namibia in the 2008 Olympics, it was still tough for me to even view him as a credible world-title challenger.
He had never fought outside of his home country. Rather than facing a "Who's Who," his resume looked more like a "Who's that?"
But he came to Russia ready to shock the world. He caught the champion with a sweeping, overhand right seconds into the first round. It wasn't exactly a pretty punch, but it was brutally effective, catching Troyanovsky square on the jaw and knocking him senseless.
Indongo is an intriguing new addition to the international scene. He has a classic puncher's build—long and lean. I hope we see him in the United States in 2017.
4. Jezreel Corrales
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Just like Julius Indongo, Jezreel Corrales came out of obscurity to become a world champion in 2016. In April, he travelled to Tokyo and blasted undefeated WBA super featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama three times in Round 2 before knocking him out with a second remaining in the frame.
If Uchiyama fought out of North America, this bout would have caused a sensation. The long-time champion had a KO percentage of nearly 80 percent. He had easily handled a string of top contenders.
A rematch is set for Dec. 31. If Corrales can turn Uchiyama back a second time, the Panamanian will be in heavy demand for the United States in 2017
3. Murat Gassiev
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If the cruiserweight division got its proper due in the United States, we would not be talking about Gassiev as "underrated." He would be viewed as one of the sport's true rising stars.
As it is, he recorded a major win on Dec. 3 when he defeated fellow Russian Denis Lebedev to capture the IBF and WBA cruiserweight belts. The fight was a split decision, but it's hard to understand how one judge had the fight that close.
Gassiev pounded on the veteran champion, knocking him down in Round 5 and badly swelling his face. Lebedev's trainer, Freddie Roach, conceded Gassiev "was a beast in there."
Gassiev is just 23 and figures to develop into a heavyweight in the near future. He stands 6'3.5" and has a reach of 76". His trainer, Abel Sanchez, is perhaps the ideal coach to develop him into a heavyweight in the professional ranks.
2. Oleksandr Usyk
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Like Murat Gassiev, Oleksandr Usyk is a talented young cruiserweight champion from Eastern Europe. It's not much of a stretch to call him a 200-pound version of his fellow countryman, Vasyl Lomachenko.
Usyk won a gold medal for the Ukraine in the 2012 Olympics fighting in the heavyweight division. He won his first nine professional bouts by knockout. Last September, he faced WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki of Poland.
At the time, I viewed Glowacki as the top fighter in the division. He had won the belt with an August 2015 knockout of long-time champion Marco Huck in one of that year's best fights. Earlier this year, he knocked down former champion Steve Cunningham four times en route to a decision victory.
Glowacki managed to break Usyk's KO streak, but that's about all he could manage. Usyk captured the belt by one-sided scores.
With his technical skill and 6'3" frame, it's likely we will see Glowacki move up to heavyweight in the near future. Meanwhile, he already has a defense scheduled for Dec. 17 in California against Thabiso Mchunu, one of the division's more rugged contenders.
1. Demetrius Andrade
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The super welterweight division is one of boxing's most talent-laden weight classes. So it's easy to get lost in the shuffle there. Still, Demetrius Andrade should be a potential opponent for all the big names at 154 pounds—especially Canelo Alvarez, who holds the WO belt Andrade used to wear.
Part of the blame for Andrade's relatively low profile can be attributed to an extended period of inactivity. From June 2014 to October 2015 he did not compete.
But after his brutalization of Willie Nelson last June, fans should be demanding big fights for Andrade. Nelson might not be elite, but he is a tough, dangerous contender. He came into this bout against Andrade one fight removed from a stunning knockout of previously undefeated Tony Harrison.
Andrade dropped Nelson in the first round and never let him back in the fight. He dropped him again in Round 11 and twice in the final frame, forcing a stoppage with just 1:22 left in the fight.
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