Boxers Who Don't Get the Respect They Deserve

The continued growth of technology has given the media and even fans more of a role in the fight game. Boxers aren't good until some writer says they're good. Boxers aren't champions until some governing entity says they are. A boxer doesn't get a big payday unless the fans deem him entertaining enough. 

The press and spectators, at times, seem to have these boxers' very careers in their hand. And seeing as how the majority of them have no fight experience whatsoever—or have never even slipped on a glove, for that matter—it would come as no surprise that a number of fighters do not get the level of respect they deserve, for one reason or another. 

So for all of the injustice, repression and bias, here's my attempt to shed some light on those who warrant far more respect than they're receiving.   

Throughout history, boxing’s most exciting fighters have appealed to the mainstream fan base. Fighters like Arturo Gatti, no matter what their résumés may be lacking, are immortalized within the sport forever for the thrilling manner in which they fought.

As of late, Brandon Rios has gained a reputation for his all-out action style. So despite losing his last fight, he was able to obtain a fight with global icon Manny Pacquiao.

But there’s an electrifying little flyweight, tucked deep away in Panama, who makes Rios look like a wet blanket—and most haven’t heard of him.

Introducing: Luis “El Nico” Concepcion.

Aged 27, Concepcion is a top-10 flyweight who boasts a record of 29-3 with 21 knockouts. He has an insane talent for turning boxing matches into firework shows. And in a sport that worships exciting fighters, how Concepcion has managed to stay relatively obscure is ridiculous.  

If you don’t at least consider “El Nico” to be the single most exciting fighter in the business, he is not getting the respect he deserves.

Now, enjoy the video above.

We all know the script by now: Fighters with a stifling or neutralizing skill set are loathed for their “boring” game plans.

Because, you know, damn them for making your favorite fighter look bad. 

From the wrestling-based Ben Askrens of the MMA world to the feisty Sammy Angotts and systematic Tommy Loughrans of boxing’s yesteryear—no sport seems to be immune from this backwards phenomena.

And lightweight Miguel Vasquez's popularity has suffered immensely because of it.

But nonetheless, Vazquez is the IBF lightweight champion and is on a 12-fight winning streak, including five title defenses.

With Adrien Broner scheduled to remain in the welterweight division, Vazquez is the No. 1 lightweight in the world.

He is a methodical fighter who picks his opponents apart. During his six years as a lightweight, Vazquez has handed Breidis Prescott his first loss and defeated standouts Ji-Hoon Kim, Ammeth Diaz, Daniel Attah, Marvin Quintero and most recently Mercito Gesta. 

Shouldn’t all of this be enough?

Boxing, like any other sport, is always keeping an eye out for the next batch of future stars. In the pugilistic realm, names like Leo Santa Cruz and Keith Thurman are consistently brought up as future world-beaters.

But one young name often overlooked by the general fan is Sergey Rabchenko, a monstrous punching junior middleweight from Belarus.

Rabchenko, trained by Ricky Hatton, is the reigning undefeated European and WBC silver light middleweight champion and scheduled to fight Cedric Vitu in a rematch of their close fight in late 2012.

Nicknamed “RabchenKO” for his ferocious knockout power, this 27-year-old is already the No. 1 contender to Saul Alvarez’s WBC title.

Look for Rabchenko to make some serious noise in the near future, as he is a great matchup for just about everybody worth their salt at 154 pounds. 

Guillermo Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games.

He is one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time and has wasted no time making a huge name for himself in the professional ranks. In just Rigondeaux’s seventh fight, he won the interim WBA super bantamweight title when he defeated Ricardo Cordoba. 

Rigondeaux has since solidified that WBA strap and defended it three times, including his most recent win, ripping the WBO share of the super bantamweight championship from Nonito Donaire this last April.

With just 11 fights to his name, “The Jackal” was absolutely breathtaking and completely outclassed Donaire. 

But none of that has been good enough for the HBO cable network.

Despite Rigondeaux’s success and impeccable talent, HBO has shown zero interest in televising his fights.

You see, HBO’s executives don’t find “Rigo’s” defensive-counterpunching style fan-friendly. 

It’s so bad, in fact, that according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum (via Dan Rafael), the very idea of airing Rigondeaux makes the very contents of HBO executives’ stomach violently discharge out of their mouth. 

Or as Arum said much more eloquently than myself:

“Every time I mention him, they throw up.”

And Nonito Donaire—you know, the guy Rigondeaux just took apart for 12 full rounds—is all but set to rematch Vic Darchinyan on a Nov. 9 HBO card. 

The only thing Rigondeaux doesn't deserve is how HBO completely turned their back on him. 

Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez is the reigning WBC middleweight champion and has won 35 of his last 37 fights.

Despite being 38 years old, Martinez is still the premiere middleweight in the entire world. But with all the recent attention phenom Gennady Golovkin has received this year, you wouldn’t even know it.

The website Fightnews.com has gone as far as ranking Golovkin as No. 1 in the division.

That’s right, there are actually those who have already expelled Martinez from his rightful place atop the 160-pound weight class—all because of a few minor struggles against Martin Murray this last April and one bad round against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Never mind Chavez was dominated beforehand.  

Never mind Golovkin has defeated just one legitimate top-10 opponent.

Never mind Martinez has taken apart notable middleweights Darren Barker, Matthew Macklin, Kelly Pavlik, Serhiy Dzinziruk—when he was looking like one of the most technically sound boxers in the world—and starched Paul Williams inside of two rounds.

Martinez’s ring intelligence and consistency have established a sense of mastery of the 160-pound ranks over the last three years and a few bad rounds do not take that away from him. 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is upheld as the pound-for-pound kingpin on account of an “until proven otherwise” line of reasoning—why doesn’t the same apply to Martinez?

It should. This Argentinean wonder deserves better than that.

Aged just 26, Roman Gonzalez has already put together an incredible career. He is the undisputed and undefeated king of boxing’s lowest weight divisions and should be a lock for anybody’s top-10 pound-for-pound list.

And that includes The Ring Magazine’s ranking, which Gonzalez is inexcusably absent from.

The lack of Gonzalez in The Ring’s list (and anybody else’s who doesn't feature him, for that matter) is absolutely ridiculous to the point of being offensive.

Gonzalez, nicknamed “El Chocolatito,” has been the best fighter in his division as far back as 2008—when he rearranged Yutaka Niida’s face en route to winning the WBA world minimumweight title in four rounds.

Over the next two years, he maintained complete control over the 105-pound weight class, defending his belt three times—highlighted by his victory over the current No. 1 strawweight in the world, Katsunari Takayama.

He then jumped up to 108 pounds and won the interim WBA world light flyweight title when he destroyed Francisco Rosas and unified it when he outpointed Manuel Vargas over 12 rounds in 2011.

And Gonzalez has just found ways to outdo himself, time and time again, ever since.

He has won six of his last seven wins by way of knockout, he has become the best 108-pound fighter in the world, defending his WBA title four times—including a fourth round knockout over former WBO champion Ramon Garcia Hirales—and in November of last year, Gonzalez engaged in a barn-burner of a fight against current flyweight (and recent conqueror of Brian Viloria) Juan Francisco Estrada, and dominated him over 12 rounds. To top this devastating run off, Gonzalez has exhibited a level of composite punching and knockout power that is second to none in the sport. 

So unlike the excellent Guillermo Rigondeaux, who TV executives find boring, there’s no excuse to overlook Gonzalez.

“El Chocolatito” possesses an exhilarating style, an undefeated record and strings together combinations better than anybody else in the sport today. He holds a win over the No. 1 strawweight; he is the best junior flyweight and outclassed the No.2 flyweight in the world.

That’s three weight classes that have felt his presence. 

What else does he have to do?