Top Ten from the outer realm

Top Ten from the Outer Realm

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

June 20, 2011

I've always been one to criticize pound-for-pound lists, as they are as egregious as they are subjective. Lists of any sort are, matter of fact. But here I am putting together a Top Ten of my own, one that features a list of ten pugilists, mostly from outside the United States that have yet to appear on HBO or Showtime television in any format. These are ten fighters I feel that should be taken a close look at by both networks, if not just for tomorrow but for beyond.

Roman Gonzalez [28-0, 23 KOs], junior flyweight, Managua, Nicaragua – Gonzalez has emerged as one of the heaviest handed fighters pound-for-pound in the sport and has recently been featured on a couple of peripheral broadcasts like Fox Sports en Espanol. He became an overnight sensation in Nicaragua when he ended the career of long-reigning strawweight champ Yutaka Niida of Japan with a fourth-round TKO beatdown in late 2008. He has looked vulnerable in a few of his title defenses, but only in ways that make him more appealing. To either network, the junior flyweight division is a cheap one to invest in and one that has featured some epic wars. Out of that division were born Fights of the Year featuring Michael Carbajal, Humberto Gonzalez, and Saman Sorjaturong. The little guys are often overlooked, and a clash between Gonzalez and Mexican Giovanni Segura at 108 would be an important bout in the division that would also be a surefire Fight of the Year candidate. Even if the fight is built at the flyweight limit of 112, Gonzalez undoubtedly has the power to travel to the upper weight divisions. Plus Gonzalez has no issue traveling, as he won his title in Japan and has defended in Mexico against locals.

Anselmo Moreno [31-1-1, 11 KOs], bantamweight, San Miguelito, Panama – Moreno was a hair away from making a superfight with fellow bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire but the negotiations were put on the backburner when Donaire's contractual situation became sketchy following his jump from Top Rank to Golden Boy Promotions, which is currently in litigation. That puts Donaire on the backburner for now, but Moreno's achievements shouldn't go ignored alongside. With the Showtime bantamweight tournament final upcoming between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares, the network could shore up 118 minus Donaire [who is expected to go up to 122 sooner rather than later] by pitting the winner against Moreno, an excellent and tricky boxer that has put together a perfect 10-0 record in world title fights as well as a nearly 10-year winning streak. Moreno seems open to the big stage as he said recently he wants one more fight before a clash with Donaire for bantamweight supremacy.

Toshiaki Nishioka [38-4-3, 24 KOs], super bantamweight, Tokyo, Japan – Fellow Tokyo native Akifumi Shimoda is set to defend his WBA 122 pound title on HBO against Rico Ramos, but he is doing so as a B-side to the expected to be emerging talented young pro. Nishioka is 35 years old next month but hasn't lost since dropping two decisions to entrenched champ Veeraphol Sahaprom in 2004. His win over Jhonny Gonzalez has taken on new life as Gonzalez just recently stopped fellow Tokyo fighter Hozumi Hasegawa to claim a featherweight crown. Nishioka has looked like a wrecking machine over his WBC title reign and could make some fights with a developed name like Jorge Arce. He could be the best fighter from Asia not named Manny Pacquiao.

Ricky Burns [31-2, 8 KOs], super featherweight, Coatbridge, Scotland, United Kingdom – WBO 130 pound champion Burns is limited, most definitely, but has the tools necessary to make some action packed fights in a division that is devoid of any standout stars. He scored a dramatic upset of Roman Martinez to claim his belt last September in a back-and-forth firefight that was one of the best and most overlooked tilts of the year. His two title defenses since have come against modest opposition as promoter Frank Warren has been extra careful with his new champion, who could be a cash cow in Scotland. It's not a guarantee by any means that Burns gets by tough former champion Nicky Cook in July, but if he does there are a few fighters controlled by big names that would be willing to step in the ring with Burns, notably Golden Boy Promotions unbeaten 130-pounders Adrien Broner and Eloy Perez as well as Miguel Cotto controlled Luis Cruz who occupy the top part of the WBO rankings. Burns played the role of the Little Engine That Could against Martinez and could deepen that storyline with a big opportunity on big time television.

Austin Trout [23-0, 13 KOs], junior middleweight, Las Cruces, New Mexico – Trout is the one American who cracks the list, but being an African American fighter from New Mexico he might as well be from Jupiter. New Mexico has a proud boxing history but often that background is Mexican, with Johnny Tapia being the most notable name from the region in the past few decades. While Trout has no big following, he does have the tenacity required to be this era's Road Warrior as namesake Glen Johnson winds down a long career which saw him ply his trade in opponent's homelands, more often than not coming out of it with a defeat. Trout is blazing a trail as a new kind of Road Warrior, one that wins. More than half of his fights have come against local fighters including his previous two in Mexico; one against “Canelo” brother Rigoberto Alvarez to earn the WBA 154 pound title as well as David Lopez who he defended successfully against just a few weekends ago. Looming over Trout is the uncertainty surrounding a positive test for marijuana following the Lopez fight, which was later followed by a negative test. In many cases the fighter is stripped anyways, which doesn't bode well for a fighter without a following who has proven to be a tough out for anyone. Take away the guy's bargaining chip and it will be a long road back. You could argue Trout doesn't deserve to be a champion as he holds the regular title to Miguel Cotto's real WBA belt, but Trout is not avoiding a fight with any of the division's big names. Rumors are swirling that he is in negotiations to travel again, this time to Australia to meet the despised Anthony Mundine.

Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam [26-0, 17 KOs], middleweight, Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France – The middleweight division is perhaps the sport's most global, with the top ten spanning every continent sans Antarctica. One of the brightest at 160 is France's flashy N'Jikam, who went to the Prince Naseem School of Ring Entrances and brings to the fold a big punch and bonafide boxing ability. Hassan is a big strong middleweight originally from Cameroon, and holds the interim WBA crown which puts him in line to fight Germany's Felix Sturm at some point. N'Jikam is said to have gotten the better of Sturm in training, as well as dropping former champion Sebastian Sylvester twice over a four round spar session. N'Jikam is at a critical point of his career, he is beyond the European level of opponent that he has been in against consistently but it will be hard to find a top contender willing to fight him. N'Jikam had trouble with Avtandil Khurtsidze two fights ago and emerged with a thin decision, but the fight served as a learning experience for the 27-year old. He followed with an easy victory over former title challenger Giovanni Lorenzo. He did so more decisively than Sturm, Sylvester, and Raul Marquez were able to do prior.

Daniel Geale [25-1, 15 KOs], middleweight, Mt Annan, New South Wales, Australia – Like previously mentioned, the middleweight division is home to a world's worth of television worthy fighters. Geale went on the road to pick off the IBF title from Sebastian Sylvester in May and boasts a crowd pleasing style that would make a fight with any of the top guns worth a viewing. His lone blemish is a controversial one at the hands of Anthony Mundine back in 2009 in a highly enthralling high activity bout. Many felt Geale was the better man that night. Geale reemerged onto the world scene with a twelfth round stoppage of Roman Karmazin in an eliminator before lifting the belt from Sylvester. He also handed Daniel Dawson his first pro defeat years back. As 'the' middleweight champion Sergio Martinez runs through opponents like they are protein shakes, Geale looks to be a formidable foe a fight or two from now if he holds onto his belt. Geale throws a ton of punches and has been breaking guys down more as he has learned to sit on his punches. His workrate alone should provide trouble for all the top guys and intrigue to any fans not familiar.

Gennady Golovkin [21-0, 18 KOs], middleweight, Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany – Rounding out the middleweight trio of featured fighters is Germany's Golovkin, who has been after Felix Sturm's scalp for years and has picked up the other version of his WBA title recently. Golovkin was a silver medalist for Kazahkstan in the 2004 Olympics, beating Andre Dirrell in the process. Even early in his career he was taking on formidable opposition, beating solid pros Daniel Urbanski, Mehdi Bouadla, and Ian Gardner in his first eleven fights. Bouadla just challenged Mikkel Kessler unsuccessfully. He is coming off of a brutal tenth round stoppage of former 154 pound champion Kassim Ouma in which Ouma was hospitalized for fear of how much punishment he was dealt. Golovkin took his fair share of licks in the process but his power eventually won out, as did the torrid pace of the bout. Golovkin has stopped most of his opponents and mostly early in the fight at that. A great fighter with the pedigree to back it up, would be interesting to see how he does in a sink or swim situation with the best.

James DeGale [10-1, 8 KOs], super middleweight, Harlesden, London, United Kingdom – Though DeGale is coming off a loss to archrival George Groves this past May, its widely agreed that it is the 2008 Olympic Gold medalist DeGale who will go on to achieve a more credible pro career. Many would even argue that the loss to Groves could further motivate a young fighter who seemingly felt unbeatable. A humbling experience definitely, but one that could prove beneficial. There's no doubt he has all of the technical ability necessary to succeed on the world level, and with how deep 168 pounds is there will be no shortage of opportunities for DeGale when he does rebound and stepup. Fellow Brit Amir Khan was able to overcome an even more devastating loss [of the KO1 variety] to achieve worldwide success and win a legitimate title, no reason that the unlovable DeGale shouldn't get the same opportunity.

Ismayl Sillakh [16-0, 13 KOs], light heavyweight, Zaporozhye, Ukraine – Sillakh is perhaps the most polished light heavyweight prospect that not many know about. After an extensive amateur pedigree, Sillakh had no trouble picking apart Cuban standout Yordanis Despaigne over ten lopsided rounds in his first step up fight of 2011. Sillakh has shown that he always tries to finish fights, dropping game Rayco Saunders twice in the tenth of a fight he was well ahead in. His emergence was at the hands of Zab Judah brother Daniel Judah as he demolished the veteran inside of two rounds on the dreaded Hopkins-Jones Jr 2 pay-per-view undercard. Sillakh is controlled by Jones, Jr. promotional firm Square Ring which just got stablemate Jason Litzau an HBO opportunity and through his commentating gig should be able to put the word in on his guy. Sillakh figures to be the kind of guy who makes the most of his opportunity when it shows up. He could be an attractive opponent to Tavoris Cloud if Cloud holds onto his IBF light heavyweight title this weekend against Yusaf Mack.

The ten names on this list are all longshots to be given an opportunity on one of the big networks, but even if they pass on these fighters they are ten that should be on every hardcore fan's watch list. If HBO or Showtime wants to make competitive fights with intrigue, go outside the box a little and find guys without soft promoters who are looking to lead their fighter along as slowly as possible.