Heavyweights who are as ready as they'll ever be and need to fight better opponents

[Perkin Warbeck]

Frank Sanchez
Arslanbek Makhmudov
Zhilei Zhang
Demsey McKean
Evgeny Romanov
Jermaine Franklin
Filip Hrgovic
Agit Kabayel
Junior Fa
Ivan Dychko
Hemi Ahio
Cassius Chaney

Most of these guys are in their 30s, the others are in their late 20s, and yet have not yet fought a decent top 25 heavyweight.

Promoters need to do something with these guys, they are wasting their time and making poor money fighting soft opposition. Some of them should fight each other.

[Scott14833]

I think Dirty Frank Sanchez could do with a bit more tuning after last night.

[Verdi]

Majidov

[Boxtune]

The problem with these heavyweights, they have no fan base .. you can easily found out by looking at youtube views. No promoter like to lose money.

Prime example was dangerous Amir mansour 6 years ago, whose fight was most exciting to watch, but still had no fan base.

Another prime example was tyson fury, that no one give damn about him until he took title from wlad, still people loved Joshua x 10 times, so he had to take supposedly risky Wilder fight.

[Boxtune]

I think Dirty Frank Sanchez could do with a bit more tuning after last night.

Frank "No charisma" Sanchez .. says it all.

[Ruthless-RKO]

They should just fight each other..

[joshj909]

They should just fight each other..

Stop using logic, this is boxing matchmaking here

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Hrgovic should be in a top 10 fight now. 2

[gregregegg]

On your 30th birthday if you are undefeated but with no World championship you should be shot, if that were the rules people would take some chances...

[Enlightened-One]

Frank Sanchez
Arslanbek Makhmudov
Zhilei Zhang
Demsey McKean
Evgeny Romanov
Jermaine Franklin
Filip Hrgovic
Agit Kabayel
Junior Fa
Ivan Dychko
Hemi Ahio
Cassius Chaney

Most of these guys are in their 30s, the others are in their late 20s, and yet have not yet fought a decent top 25 heavyweight.

Promoters need to do something with these guys, they are wasting their time and making poor money fighting soft opposition. Some of them should fight each other.

COVID-19 has resulted in there being less money to stage boxing events, due to a lack of gate receipt revenue. So there's less money to invest in building the careers of heavyweight prospects.

And as we’ve already seen with the likes of Hughie Fury and Daniel Dubois, as soon as a heavyweight prospect loses, they’re essentially written off by mainstream casual fight fans.

And this means that it’s more expensive and time-consuming for promoters to market heavyweight prospects that have tasted defeat.

It’s far more lucrative for promoters to protect their heavyweight prospects, by matching them up against over-matched journeymen or totally shot veterans. They desperately need to build superficially impressive KO highlight reels to generate a fan-base that are willing to tune into their fights, because the networks will only push fighters that guarantee them sizable audience viewing figures.

Whenever you think about the reason why something either does or doesn’t happen in boxing, it’s usually due to business rather than sporting reasons.

[morm]

Hrgovic should be in a top 10 fight now. 2

Agree, hope he fight next Hunter

[DrDuke]

Everything has come to protecting records and going for the straps. The organizers think, that thus they'll make their fighters valuable. That's nonsense. No one gives a damn about cherry pickers and their straps. Well-promoted competetive fights bring the popularity.

Furthermore, it's better for fighters themselves to lose competetive bouts than to win in mismatches. You learn when you are pushed to the limit. It's so simple to understand, but somehow this simple truth gets ignored with the sport becoming more rooted in business.

If all mentioned mofos fought each other, they could have been stars already. The matchups of undefeated competitors can be promoted well and if they become exciting, next bouts of undefeated fighters will get even more attention. And such fights will be exciting, because they will be competetive in contrast to mismatches of fresh fighters against old big names, fringes, blown up never-was fighters and etc.

[joshj909]

If I had to matchmake for them for fights early next year:
Frank Sanchez Vs Rivas
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Kean
Zhilei Zhang Vs Bakole
Demsey McKean Vs Ahio or Fa/Parker winner
Evgeny Romanov Vs Wallin
Jermaine Franklin Vs Breazeale
Filip Hrgovic vs Hunter (already rumoured)
Agit Kabayel vs Dubois
Junior Fa Vs Parker (already booked)
Ivan Dychko vs Ajagba
Hemi Ahio Vs McKean
Cassius Chaney Vs someone like Jerry Forrest

[morm]

If I had to matchmake for them for fights early next year:
Frank Sanchez Vs Rivas
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Kean
Zhilei Zhang Vs Bakole
Demsey McKean Vs Ahio or Fa/Parker winner
Evgeny Romanov Vs Wallin
Jermaine Franklin Vs Breazeale
Filip Hrgovic vs Hunter (already rumoured)
Agit Kabayel vs Dubois
Junior Fa Vs Parker (already booked)
Ivan Dychko vs Ajagba
Hemi Ahio Vs McKean
Cassius Chaney Vs someone like Jerry Forrest

super choise ... Chaney vs Shaw better as Forrest

[bobcatbox]

They should just fight each other..

Stop using logic, this is boxing matchmaking here

Would be a throwback if PBC or Top Rank would make TV tournament for eight of them for like the NABF and NABO straps or a few intercontinentals. ESPN once had an ESPN Heavyweight champ after such a tournament in the past.

[Lackeos]

The OP missed Majidov and Tyrone Spong. One is a gold medalist, the other is overhyped. Both are 35+ and neither has entered the top 50 yet.

Insane that some people claimed Ivan Dychko would ultimately be the highest achiever from his Olympic class. He's older than Yoka, Hrgovic, and Ajagba; still nowhere near as accomplished (in the pros) as them or Joyce.

Was pretty annoying seeing the Junior Fa hype back in the day as well. You gotta base hype on something, not just picking some random 30-year-old.

Romanov and Zhang are two more that are already 35 and haven't done sh*t yet. Why would anyone wait until they're 35+ before they take an interesting fight? Are they just trying to retire undefeated without making any money? They should hurry up and fight a low-tier gatekeeper like Dimitrenko, Carlos Negron, Dawejko, Ustinov, Teper, Gjergjajj, or Rudenko.

[Perkin Warbeck]

COVID-19 has resulted in there being less money to stage boxing events, due to a lack of gate receipt revenue. So there's less money to invest in building the careers of heavyweight prospects.

The boxers named in the OP were in their 30s or late 20s before Covid-19 hit earlier this year, and yet never had a meaningful fight.

A single loss doesn't mean much (the Klitschkos, Louis, and Lewis all had losses and went on to great success afterwards) and a big fight, win or lose, can raise a boxer's profile. A win over another contender will give a boxer to greater recognition (and more money for his next fight).

[Enlightened-One]

COVID-19 has resulted in there being less money to stage boxing events, due to a lack of gate receipt revenue. So there's less money to invest in building the careers of heavyweight prospects.

The boxers named in the OP were in their 30s or late 20s before Covid-19 hit earlier this year, and yet never had a meaningful fight.

A single loss doesn't mean much (the Klitschkos, Louis, and Lewis all had losses and went on to great success afterwards) and a big fight, win or lose, can raise a boxer's profile. A win over another contender will give a boxer to greater recognition (and more money for his next fight).

A single loss doesn’t mean much to members of the hard-core boxing fraternity, but mainstream casuals believe otherwise.

And at the end of the day, that’s the main source of income for the networks and promoters.

[gilgamesh]

Put Frank Sanchez up against Jermaine Franklin.

Sanchez would win.

Franklin is pretty mediocre.

[SportsRatings]

And as we’ve already seen with the likes of Hughie Fury and Daniel Dubois, as soon as a heavyweight prospect loses, they’re essentially written off by mainstream casual fight fans.

Well, in the case of Hughie Fury it's as soon as they lose 3 times...

[oogiebe]

And as we’ve already seen with the likes of Hughie Fury and Daniel Dubois, as soon as a heavyweight prospect loses, they’re essentially written off by mainstream casual fight fans.

Well, in the case of Hughie Fury it's as soon as they lose 3 times...

Haven't seen anyone write off Dubs here. Hughie has his fans and his detracters before losing and since.

[keirw]

On your 30th birthday if you are undefeated but with no World championship you should be shot, if that were the rules people would take some chances...

bit harsh that. Surely their can be exceptions.
Joyce for example, he is in his thirties, undefeated and not yet had a world title shot. But he hasn't exactly been sitting on his laurels either, has he?

But I do get your frustration, too many fighters are treading water waiting for something big to come their way rather than taking tough fights and trying to earn their shot.

[gregregegg]

On your 30th birthday if you are undefeated but with no World championship you should be shot, if that were the rules people would take some chances...

bit harsh that. Surely their can be exceptions.
Joyce for example, he is in his thirties, undefeated and not yet had a world title shot. But he hasn't exactly been sitting on his laurels either, has he?

But I do get your frustration, too many fighters are treading water waiting for something big to come their way rather than taking tough fights and trying to earn their shot.

Yea well look, under my dream scenario Olympic boxing would be a under 25s event (no care about pro or am) because amature is a silly thing to decide eligibility on. unfair on people from countrys with poor boxing programs, who have to work 40+ hour weeks and cant get sparring to have to vs people on team USA or Team GB ect who have there meals, rent, supplies training cost, sparring partners ect paid for.. so if you brang in under 25s Olympics too, that would fix future "joyce" problems.

[candyslim]

Frank Sanchez
Arslanbek Makhmudov
Zhilei Zhang
Demsey McKean
Evgeny Romanov
Jermaine Franklin
Filip Hrgovic
Agit Kabayel
Junior Fa
Ivan Dychko
Hemi Ahio
Cassius Chaney

Most of these guys are in their 30s, the others are in their late 20s, and yet have not yet fought a decent top 25 heavyweight.

Promoters need to do something with these guys, they are wasting their time and making poor money fighting soft opposition. Some of them should fight each other.

COVID-19 has resulted in there being less money to stage boxing events, due to a lack of gate receipt revenue. So there's less money to invest in building the careers of heavyweight prospects.

And as we’ve already seen with the likes of Hughie Fury and Daniel Dubois, as soon as a heavyweight prospect loses, they’re essentially written off by mainstream casual fight fans.

And this means that it’s more expensive and time-consuming for promoters to market heavyweight prospects that have tasted defeat.

It’s far more lucrative for promoters to protect their heavyweight prospects, by matching them up against over-matched journeymen or totally shot veterans. They desperately need to build superficially impressive KO highlight reels to generate a fan-base that are willing to tune into their fights, because the networks will only push fighters that guarantee them sizable audience viewing figures.

Whenever you think about the reason why something either does or doesn’t happen in boxing, it’s usually due to business rather than sporting reasons.

FFS EO stop applying logic and talking sense, the facts are just too depressing.

I do think though, that if you really believe in your own ability and you're the wrong side of thirty, your best chance of progressing in these difficult times would be to seek out and take on like-minded individuals for the best payday you can get, even if it's a lot less than it would be pre-covid.

There's little point sitting around wasting what time you have left hoping that things will get better. If you are a Stephan Shaw and you managed to flatten a Cassius Chaney for example, or vice versa, then hopefully that might open the door to better opportunities. You do do need to have self-belief though, so these two may not have been a good choice for an example.

[SportsRatings]

And as we’ve already seen with the likes of Hughie Fury and Daniel Dubois, as soon as a heavyweight prospect loses, they’re essentially written off by mainstream casual fight fans.

Well, in the case of Hughie Fury it's as soon as they lose 3 times...

Haven't seen anyone write off Dubs here. Hughie has his fans and his detracters before losing and since.

I think there were a few people saying Dubois was mentally broken or too emotionally weak to ever achieve anything going forward. But yeah most said he's young, a tough loss but good experience he'll bounce back