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SecondsOut 2017 Divisional Superlatives

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By Derek Bonnett: As another excellent year of professional prize-fighting concludes, 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 our SecondsOut world rankings. 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. Incidentally, one of last year’s Is He Still Around? winners, Caleb Truax, is now a world champion. The same can be said in the Most Protected column as Gervonta Davis went on to become a world champion. 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 2016 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, go to Facebook and ask to join the DBOxing page.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

Heavyweight

Best Puncher: Deontay Wilder

Best Boxer: Alexander Povetkin

Most Protected: Trevor Bryan

Is He Still Around?: Alexander Dimitrenko

Matchmaker’s Dream: Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder

On the Rise: Adam Kowacki

Deserves a Title Shot: Alexander Povetkin

Most Fun to Watch: Dominic Breazeale

On Their Way Out: Carlos Takam

Underrated: Jarrell Miller

 

 

Cruiserweight

Best Puncher: Murat Gassiev

Best Boxer: Oleksandr Usyk

Most Protected: Jose Gregorio Ulrich

Is He Still Around?: Danny Green

Matchmaker’s Dream: Oleksandr Usyk vs Mairis Briedis

On the Rise: Constantin Bejenaru

Deserves a Title Shot: Yunier Dorticos

Most Fun to Watch: Dmitry Kudryashov

On Their Way Out: Krzysztof Wlodarczyk

Underrated: Andrew Tabiti

 

Light Heavyweight

Best Puncher: Oleksandr Gvozdyk

Best Boxer: Eleider Alvarez

Most Protected: Adam Deines

Is He Still Around?: Chad Dawson

Matchmaker’s Dream: Sergey Kovalev vs Adonis Stevenson

On the Rise: Anthony Yarde

Deserves a Title Shot: Dmitry Bivol

Most Fun to Watch: Dmitry Bivol

On Their Way Out: Andrzej Fonfara

Underrated: Sullivan Barrera

 

 

Super Middleweight

Best Puncher: Chris Eubank Jr.

Best Boxer: George Groves

Most Protected: Roamer Alexis Angulo

Is He Still Around?: Lolenga Mock

Matchmaker’s Dream: George Groves vs Chris Eubank Jr.

On the Rise: David Benavidez

Deserves a Title Shot: Callum Smith

Most Fun to Watch: Chris Eubank Jr.

On Their Way Out: Arthur Abraham

Underrated: Lolenga Mock

 

Middleweight

Best Puncher: Ryota Murata

Best Boxer: Gennady Golovkin

Most Protected: Jaime Munguia

Is He Still Around?: Sam Soliman

Matchmaker’s Dream: Gennady Golovkin vs Jermall Charlo

On the Rise: Sergiy Derevanychenko

Deserves a Title Shot: Billy Joe Saunders

Most Fun to Watch: Gennady Golovkin

On Their Way Out: Hassan N’Dam N’jikam

Underrated: Hugo Centeno Jr.

 

Junior Middleweight

Best Puncher: Jermell Charlo

Best Boxer: Erislandy Lara

Most Protected: Sergio Garcia

Is He Still Around?: Cornelius Bundrage

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jermell Charlo vs Jarrett Hurd

On the Rise: Brian Carlos Castano

Deserves a Title Shot: Maciej Sulecki

Most Fun to Watch: Jermell Charlo

On Their Way Out: Austin Trout

Underrated: Sadam Ali

 

Welterweight

Best Puncher: Errol Spence Jr.

Best Boxer: Errol Spence Jr.

Most Protected: Tewa Kiram

Is He Still Around?: Antonio Demarco

Matchmaker’s Dream: Errol Spence Jr. vs Keith Thurman

On the Rise: Qudratillo Abduqaxurov

Deserves a Title Shot: Shawn Porter

Most Fun to Watch: Manny Pacquiao

On Their Way Out: Diego Gabriel Chaves

Underrated: Jessie Vargas

 

Junior Welterweight

Best Puncher: Josh Taylor

Best Boxer: Terence Crawford

Most Protected: Emiliano Dominguez Rodriguez

Is He Still Around?: Czar Amonsot

Matchmaker’s Dream: Josh Taylor vs John Molina Jr.

On the Rise: Regis Prograis

Deserves a Title Shot: Josh Taylor

Most Fun to Watch: John Molina Jr.

On Their Way Out: Ricky Burns

Underrated: Eduard Troyanovsky

 

 

Lightweight

Best Puncher: Jorge Linares

Best Boxer: Jorge Linares

Most Protected: Xolisani Ndongeni

Is He Still Around?: Sharif Bogere

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jorge Linares vs Mikey Garcia

On the Rise: Ryan Martin

Deserves a Title Shot: Yvan Mendy

Most Fun to Watch: Raymundo Beltran

On Their Way Out: Dante Jardon

Underrated: Edis Tatli

 

Junior Lightweight

Best Puncher: Alberto Machado

Best Boxer: Vasyl Lomachenko

Most Protected: Rafael Mensah

Is He Still Around?: Dat Nguyen

Matchmaker’s Dream: Vasyl Lomachenko vs Miguel Berchelt

On the Rise: Eduardo Hernandez

Deserves a Title Shot: Alberto Machado

Most Fun to Watch: Miguel Roman

On Their Way Out: Yuriorkis Gamboa

Underrated: Tevin Farmer

 

Featherweight

Best Puncher: Jesus M Rojas

Best Boxer: Leo Santa Cruz

Most Protected: Kid Galahad

Is He Still Around?: Nonito Donaire

Matchmaker’s Dream: Gary Russell Jr. vs Oscar Valdez

On the Rise: Lerato Dlamini

Deserves a Title Shot: Josh Warrington

Most Fun to Watch: Jesus M Rojas

On Their Way Out: Chris Avalos

Underrated: Scott Quigg

 

Junior Featherweight

Best Puncher: Julio Ceja

Best Boxer: Rey Vargas

Most Protected: Petch Sor Chitpattana

Is He Still Around?: Joseph Agbeko

Matchmaker’s Dream: Jessie Magdaleno vs Rey Vargas

On the Rise: Isaac Dogboe

Deserves a Title Shot: Diego De La Hoya

Most Fun to Watch: Julio Ceja

On Their Way Out: Alejandro Hernandez

Underrated: Ryosuke Iwasa

 

Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Luis Nery

Best Boxer: Ryan Burnett

Most Protected: Reymart Gaballo

Is He Still Around?: Norberto Jimenez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Luis Nery vs Zolani Tete

On the Rise: Nordine Oubaali

Deserves a Title Shot: Juan Carlos Payano

Most Fun to Watch: Luis Nery

On Their Way Out: Jamie McDonnell

Underrated: Liborio Solis

 

Junior Bantamweight

Best Puncher: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai

Best Boxer: Juan Francisco Estrada

Most Protected: Norasing Kokietgym

Is He Still Around?: Sonny Boy Jaro

Matchmaker’s Dream: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs Naoya Inoue

On the Rise: Iran Diaz

Deserves a Title Shot: Juan Francisco Estrada

Most Fun to Watch: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai

On Their Way Out: Roman Gonzalez

Underrated: Rex Tso

 

 

Flyweight

Best Puncher: Daigo Higa

Best Boxer: Donnie Nietes

Most Protected: Vincent Legrand

Is He Still Around?: Brian Viloria

Matchmaker’s Dream: Daigo Higa vs Sho Kimura

On the Rise: Artem Dalakian

Deserves a Title Shot: Andrew Selby

Most Fun to Watch: Stamp Kiatniwat

On Their Way Out: Martin Tecuapetla

Underrated: Moruti Mthalane

 

Junior Flyweight

Best Puncher: Angel Acosta

Best Boxer: Kosei Tanaka

Most Protected: Tibo Monabasa

Is He Still Around?: Mario Rodriguez

Matchmaker’s Dream: Ken Shiro vs Pedro Guevara II

On the Rise: Abraham Rodriguez

Deserves a Title Shot: Felix Alvarado

Most Fun to Watch: Ken Shiro

On Their Way Out: Akira Yaegashi

Underrated: Hekkie Budler

 

Strawweight

Best Puncher: Hiroto Kyoguchi

Best Boxer: Knockout CP Freshmart

Most Protected: Samuel Salva

Is He Still Around?: Chao Zhong Xiong

Matchmaker’s Dream: Knockout CP Freshmart vs Wanheng Menayothin (Still!)

On the Rise: Tsubasa Koura

Deserves a Title Shot: Byron Rojas

Most Fun to Watch: Wanheng Menayothin

On Their Way Out: Saul Juarez

Underrated: Leroy Estrada

 

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

 

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