SecondsOut 2015 Divisional Superlatives

By Derek Bonnett: As another fruitful year of professional fisticuffs wraps up, SecondsOut has honored 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 divisional fighters On the Rise, 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 or one of the current titlists. For example, a current titlist, such as Billy Joe Saunders, could deserve a title shot against the SecondsOut number one rated boxer, such as Gennady Golovkin.

 

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: Luis Ortiz

Best Boxer: Alexander Povetkin

Most Protected: Arnold Gjergjaj

Is He Still Around?: Robert Helenius

Matchmaker’s Dream: Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury

On the Rise: Joseph Parker

Deserves a Title Shot: Alexander Povetkin

Most Fun to Watch: Anthony Joshua

On Their Way Out: Tony Thompson

Underrated: Luis Ortiz

 

 

Cruiserweight

Best Puncher: Ilunga Makabu

Best Boxer: Grigory Drozd

Most Protected: Murat Gassiev

Is He Still Around?: Danny Green

Matchmaker’s Dream: Krzysztof Glowacki vs Marco Huck II

On the Rise: Olanrewaju Durodola

Deserves a Title Shot: Ilunga Makabu

Most Fun to Watch: Marco Huck

On Their Way Out: BJ Flores

Underrated: Victor Emilio Ramirez

 

Light Heavyweight

Best Puncher: Sergey Kovalev

Best Boxer: Andre Ward

Most Protected: Dominic Boesel

Is He Still Around?: Chad Dawson

Matchmaker’s Dream: Sergey Kovalev vs Andre Ward

On the Rise: Marcus Browne

Deserves a Title Shot: Andrzej Fonfara

Most Fun to Watch: Jean Pascal

On Their Way Out: Umberto Savigne

Underrated: Juergen Braehmer

 

 

Super Middleweight

Best Puncher: James DeGale

Best Boxer: James DeGale

Most Protected: Roamer Alexis Angulo

Is He Still Around?: Lucian Bute

Matchmaker’s Dream: James DeGale vs Arthur Abraham

On the Rise: Callum Smith

Deserves a Title Shot: Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez

Most Fun to Watch: James DeGale

On Their Way Out: Felix Sturm

Underrated: Martin Murray

 

Middleweight

Best Puncher: Gennady Golovkin

Best Boxer: Gennady Golovkin

Most Protected: Andrey Meryasev

Is He Still Around?: Sam Soliman

Matchmaker’s Dream: Danny Jacobs vs Gennady Golovkin

On the Rise: Antoine Douglas

Deserves a Title Shot: Billy Joe Saunders

Most Fun to Watch: Andy Lee

On Their Way Out: Daniel Geale

Underrated: Willie Monroe Jr.

 

Junior Middleweight

Best Puncher: Jermall Charlo

Best Boxer: Erislandy Lara

Most Protected: Jack Culcay

Is He Still Around?: Joachim Alcine

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jermall Charlo vs Erislandy Lara

On the Rise: Julian Williams

Deserves a Title Shot: Jermell Charlo

Most Fun to Watch: Michel Soro

On Their Way Out: Ishe Smith

Underrated: Willie Nelson

 

Welterweight

Best Puncher: Kell Brook

Best Boxer: Timothy Bradley

Most Protected: Brad Solomon

Is He Still Around?: Randall Bailey

Matchmaker’s Dream: Timothy Bradley vs Kell Brook

On the Rise: Errol Spence Jr.

Deserves a Title Shot: Amir Khan

Most Fun to Watch: Timothy Bradley

On Their Way Out: Robert Guerrero

Underrated: Jessie Vargas

 

Junior Welterweight

Best Puncher: Lucas Martin Matthysse

Best Boxer: Terence Crawford

Most Protected: Julius Indongo

Is He Still Around?: Anthony Peterson

Matchmaker’s Dream: Viktor Postol vs Terence Crawford

On the Rise: Eduard Troyanovsky

Deserves a Title Shot: Viktor Postol

Most Fun to Watch: Ruslan Provodnikov

On Their Way Out: Thomas Dulorme

Underrated: Adrian Granados

 

 

Lightweight

Best Puncher: Ismael Barroso

Best Boxer: Rances Barthelemy

Most Protected: Evens Pierre

Is He Still Around?: Ricky Burns

Matchmaker’s Dream: Anthony Crolla vs Terry Flanagan

On the Rise: Ismael Barroso

Deserves a Title Shot: Dejan Zlaticanin

Most Fun to Watch: Anthony Crolla

On Their Way Out: Darleys Perez

Underrated: Miguel Roman

 

Junior Lightweight

Best Puncher: Takashi Uchiyama

Best Boxer: Javier Fortuna

Most Protected: Joel Diaz Jr.

Is He Still Around?: Jonathon Victor Barros

Matchmaker’s Dream: Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura II

On the Rise: Oscar Valdez

Deserves a Title Shot: Eden Sonsona

Most Fun to Watch: Takashi Miura

On Their Way Out: Jhonny Gonzalez

Underrated: Edner Cherry

 

Featherweight

Best Puncher: Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar

Best Boxer: Vasyl Lomachenko

Most Protected: Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda

Is He Still Around?: Hozumi Hasegawa

Matchmaker’s Dream: Leo Santa Cruz vs Vasyl Lomachenko

On the Rise: Josh Warrington

Deserves a Title Shot: Leo Santa Cruz

Most Fun to Watch: Lee Selby

On Their Way Out: Evgeny Gradovich

Underrated: Satoshi Hosono

 

Junior Featherweight

Best Puncher: Nonito Donaire

Best Boxer: Guillermo Rigondeaux

Most Protected: Luis Rosa

Is He Still Around?: Kiko Martinez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg

On the Rise: Moises Flores

Deserves a Title Shot: Genesis Servania

Most Fun to Watch: Carl Frampton

On Their Way Out: Cesar Seda

Underrated: Albert Pagara

 

Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Shinsuke Yamanaka

Best Boxer: Jamie McDonnell

Most Protected: Petch Sor Chitpattana

Is He Still Around?: Stuart Hall

Matchmaker’s Dream: Shinsuke Yamanaka vs Jamie McDonnell

On the Rise: Rau’Shee Warren

Deserves a Title Shot: Pungluang Sor Singyu

Most Fun to Watch: Jamie McDonnell

On Their Way Out: Jason Canoy

Underrated: Lee Haskins

 

Junior Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Naoya Inoue

Best Boxer: Omar Andres Narvaez

Most Protected: Khalid Yafai

Is He Still Around?: Julio Cesar Miranda

Matchmaker’s Dream: Carlos Cuadras vs Naoya Inoue

On the Rise: Rex Tso

Deserves a Title Shot: Takuma Inoue

Most Fun to Watch: Kohei Kono

On Their Way Out: Mark Anthony Geraldo

Underrated: Luis Concepcion

 

Flyweight

Best Puncher: Roman Gonzalez

Best Boxer: Roman Gonzalez

Most Protected: Kevin Satchell

Is He Still Around?: Ulises Lara

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

On the Rise: Daigo Higa

Deserves a Title Shot: Kazuto Ioka

Most Fun to Watch: Roman Gonzalez

On Their Way Out: Edgar Sosa

Underrated: McWilliams Arroyo

 

Junior Flyweight

Best Puncher: Rey Loreto

Best Boxer: Donnie Nietes

Most Protected: Paiphrob Kokietgym

Is He Still Around?: Nkosinathi Joyi

Matchmaker’s Dream: Yu Kimura vs Akira Yaegashi

On the Rise: Randy Petalcorin

Deserves a Title Shot: Jonathon Taconing

Most Fun to Watch: Akira Yaegashi

On Their Way Out: Milan Melindo

Underrated: Moises Fuentes

 

Strawweight

Best Puncher: Vic Saludar

Best Boxer: Wanheng Menayothin

Most Protected: Petchmanee Kokietgym

Is He Still Around?: Muhammad Rachman

Matchmaker’s Dream: Hekkie Budler vs Wanheng Menayothin

On the Rise: Simphiwe Khonco

Deserves a Title Shot: Byron Rojas

Most Fun to Watch: Kosei Tanaka

On Their Way Out: Mario Rodriguez

Underrated: Ryuji Hara

 

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