SecondsOut 2014 Divisional Superlatives

By Derek Bonnett: As another fruitful year of professional fisticuffs wraps up, SecondsOut will honor boxing’s greatest practitioners and non-participants with such accolades as Fighter of the Year, Fight of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Service to Boxing, etc. However, among the 170 ranked SecondsOut fighters and beyond, a multitude of fighters go unrecognized for their less obvious contributions to the sport inside of a single division. Each fighter brings something special into the ring and honors their weight class with unique qualities.

 

The following is a divisional breakdown of boxers and the various superlatives I would award them with. There can only be one Fighter of the Year, but here I can honor seventeen separate fighters for being the Best Boxer or Best Puncher in their respective class. I can alert SecondsOut fans of various fighters On the Rise across the divisions, who one day may be featured in my weekly column On the Move. Most of these superlatives are obvious, but some require explanation. For example, the Is He Still Around? award acknowledges fighters for lengthy careers regardless of their success or someone who has fallen off the radar. The Deserves a Title Shot nod refers to a fighter who deserves a chance at SecondsOut’s currently ranked number one fighter in the division in 2015, even if he already holds a title.

 

These superlatives reflect my own thoughts and were comprised entirely for fun and in the interest of sparking boxing discussion and debate. As usual, for further boxing discourse, contact Derek DBO Bonnett on Facebook.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

Heavyweight

Best Puncher: Wladimir Klitschko

Best Boxer: Wladimir Klitschko

Most Protected: Deontay Wilder

Is He Still Around?: Eddie Chambers

Matchmaker’s Dream: Kubrat Pulev vs Alexander Povetkin

On the Rise: Bryant Jennings

Deserves a Title Shot: Tyson Fury

Most Fun to Watch: Tyson Fury

On Their Way Out: Dereck Chisora

Underrated: Christian Hammer

 

 

Cruiserweight

Best Puncher: Denis Lebedev

Best Boxer: Marco Huck

Most Protected: Jordan Shimmell

Is He Still Around?: Jean Marc Mormeck

Matchmaker’s Dream: Rahkim Chakhkiev vs Denis Lebedev

On the Rise: Dmitry Kudryashov

Deserves a Title Shot: Thabiso Mchunu

Most Fun to Watch: Denis Lebedev

On Their Way Out: Juan Carlos Gomez

Underrated: Youri Kayembre Kalenga

 

Light Heavyweight

Best Puncher: Sergey Kovalev

Best Boxer: Adonis Stevenson

Most Protected: Sean Monaghan

Is He Still Around?: Enzo Maccarinelli

Matchmaker’s Dream: Sergey Kovalev vs Adonis Stevenson

On the Rise: Artur Beterbiev

Deserves a Title Shot: Jean Pascal

Most Fun to Watch: Sergey Kovalev

On Their Way Out: Chad Dawson

Underrated: Eleider Alvarez

 

 

Super Middleweight

Best Puncher: Carl Froch

Best Boxer: Andre Dirrell

Most Protected: Jonathon Gonzalez

Is He Still Around?: Peter Manfredo Jr.

Matchmaker’s Dream: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Carl Froch

On the Rise: Fedor Chudinov

Deserves a Title Shot: James DeGale

Most Fun to Watch: Carl Froch

On Their Way Out: Brian Vera

Underrated: Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez

 

Middleweight

Best Puncher: Gennady Golovkin

Best Boxer: Martin Murray

Most Protected: Caleb Truax

Is He Still Around?: Ossie Duran

Matchmaker’s Dream: Miguel Cotto vs Gennady Golovkin

On the Rise: Billy Joe Saunders

Deserves a Title Shot: Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam

Most Fun to Watch: Andy Lee

On Their Way Out: Marco Antonio Rubio

Underrated: Dmitry Chudinov

 

Junior Middleweight

Best Puncher: Saul Alvarez

Best Boxer: Erislandy Lara

Most Protected: Jack Culcay

Is He Still Around?: Joshua Clottey

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jermell Charlo vs Saul Alvarez

On the Rise: Julian Williams

Deserves a Title Shot: Jermell Charlo

Most Fun to Watch: Saul Alvarez

On Their Way Out: Carlos Molina

Underrated: Cornelius Bundrage

 

Welterweight

Best Puncher: Keith Thurman

Best Boxer: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Most Protected: Brad Solomon

Is He Still Around?: Randall Bailey

Matchmaker’s Dream: Timothy Bradley vs Marcos Rene Maidana

On the Rise: Sadam Ali

Deserves a Title Shot: Keith Thurman

Most Fun to Watch: Manny Pacquiao

On Their Way Out: Luis Collazo

Underrated: Ionut Dan Ion

 

Junior Welterweight

Best Puncher: Lucas Martin Matthysse

Best Boxer: Danny Garcia

Most Protected: Frankie Gomez

Is He Still Around?: Ali Funeka

Matchmaker’s Dream: Adrien Broner vs Ruslan Provodnikov

On the Rise: Viktor Postol

Deserves a Title Shot: Viktor Postal

Most Fun to Watch: Ruslan Provodnikov

On Their Way Out: John Molina

Underrated: Mauricio Herrera

 

 

Lightweight

Best Puncher: Terence Crawford

Best Boxer: Terence Crawford

Most Protected: Eduard Troyanovsky

Is He Still Around?: Gamaliel Diaz

Matchmaker’s Dream: Tommy Coyle vs Anthony Crolla

On the Rise: Dejan Zlaticanin

Deserves a Title Shot: Denis Shafikov

Most Fun to Watch: Tommy Coyle

 

On Their Way Out: Rustam Nagaev

Underrated: Anthony Crolla

 

Junior Lightweight

Best Puncher: Takashi Uchiyama

Best Boxer: Mikey Garcia

Most Protected: Romain Jacob

Is He Still Around?: Edner Cherry

Matchmaker’s Dream: Orlando Salido vs Takashi Miura

On the Rise: Adrian Estrella

Deserves a Title Shot: Francisco Vargas

Most Fun to Watch: Orlando Salido

On Their Way Out: Celestino Caballero

Underrated: Bryan Vasquez

 

Featherweight

Best Puncher: Nicholas Walters

Best Boxer: Vasyl Lomachenko

Most Protected: Thabo Sonjica

Is He Still Around?: Rocky Juarez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Nicholas Walters vs Jhonny Gonzalez

On the Rise: Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar

Deserves a Title Shot: Lee Selby

Most Fun to Watch: Evgeny Gradovich

On Their Way Out: Akifumi Shimoda

Underrated: Simpiwe Vetyeka

 

Junior Featherweight

Best Puncher: Carl Frampton

Best Boxer: Guillermo Rigondeaux

Most Protected: Kid Galahad

Is He Still Around?: Rolly Lunas

Matchmaker’s Dream: Carl Frampton vs Guillermo Rigondeaux

On the Rise: Rey Vargas

Deserves a Title Shot: Chris Avalos

Most Fun to Watch: Carl Frampton

On Their Way Out: Jeffrey Mathebula

Underrated: Luis Rosa

 

Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Shinsuke Yamanaka

Best Boxer: Tomoki Kameda

Most Protected: Petch Sor Chitpattana

Is He Still Around?:Luis Melendez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jamie McDonnell vs Tomoki Kameda

On the Rise: Randy Caballero

Deserves a Title Shot: Liborio Solis

Most Fun to Watch: Stuart Hall

On Their Way Out: Christian Esquivel

Underrated: Rodrigo Guerrero

 

Junior Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Naoya Inoue

Best Boxer: Naoya Inoue

Most Protected: Sho Ishida

Is He Still Around?: Luis Alberto Lazarte

Matchmaker’s Dream: Carlos Cuadras vs Naoya Inoue

On the Rise: Ryo Matsumoto

Deserves a Title Shot: Paul Butler

Most Fun to Watch: Kohei Kono

On Their Way Out: Hernan Marquez

Underrated: Zolani Tete

 

Flyweight

Best Puncher: Roman Gonzalez

Best Boxer: Roman Gonzalez

Most Protected: Nawaphon Por Chokchai

Is He Still Around?: Juan Hernandez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Juan Francisco Estrada vs Roman Gonzalez II

On the Rise: Takuma Inoue

Deserves a Title Shot: Juan Carlos Reveco

Most Fun to Watch: Koki Eto

On Their Way Out: Rocky Fuentes

Underrated: Edgar Sosa

 

Junior Flyweight

Best Puncher: Rey Loreto

Best Boxer: Donnie Nietes

Most Protected: Paiphrob Kokietgym

Is He Still Around?: Sammy Gutierrez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Donnie Nietes vs Pedro Guevara

On the Rise: Ryoichi Taguchi

Deserves a Title Shot: Milan Melindo

Most Fun to Watch: Pedro Guevara

On Their Way Out: Nkosinathi Joyi

Underrated: Ganigan Lopez

 

Strawweight

Best Puncher: Francisco Rodriguez Jr.

Best Boxer: Hekkie Budler

Most Protected: Jeffrey Galero

Is He Still Around?: Florante Condes

Matchmaker’s Dream: Wanheng Menayothin vs Hekkie Budler

On the Rise: Alexis Diaz

Deserves a Title Shot: Kosei Tanaka

Most Fun to Watch: Katsunari Takayama

On Thier Way Out: Merlito Sabillo

Underrated: Carlos Buitrago

 

For further boxing discussion, contact Derek DBO Bonnett on Facebook. Also, be sure to "LIKE" the SecondsOut.com page on Facebook.

 

January 5, 2015