And the Promoters who Love them:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/10/sports/boxing-boxers-who-are-losers-promoters-who-love-them.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Old, but great article about journeymen/opponents. I'm sure a lot of people on here haven't read it.
This side of boxing has always interested me-- the regular working class types who live fight to fight, paycheck to paycheck. Most pro-boxers never get to fight on HBO, or fight for a world title. Most of the pros I know from being around the gym are guys who have less than stellar records because they get thrown a lot of money early on to fight standout amateurs.
Guys like Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao, De La Hoya, and even guys like Jesse Brinkley and Curtis Stevens are in the minority. Journeymen carry this sport on their backs.
I thought this was common knowledge. Everybody knows how this side of the sport works, which is why I think this thread won't get much attention. Up and coming fighters take 1-2 of these fights a month, compile an undefeated record of about 30-0 and then get bigger fights. Those guys are fighters that just aren't very good, which is why they don't win or get any recognition.
I'm not sure it's common knowledge that fighters will fight under aliases so they can fight 12 times in a month in different states.
The article gives recognition, however little it may be, to guys who otherwise don't get any. It puts a name and human side to fighters that help keep this sport alive, instead of them just being, "that guy that (top prospect) knocked out cold."
To each their own. I thought it was a good and interesting article.
I thought this was common knowledge. Everybody knows how this side of the sport works, which is why I think this thread won't get much attention. Up and coming fighters take 1-2 of these fights a month, compile an undefeated record of about 30-0 and then get bigger fights. Those guys are fighters that just aren't very good, which is why they don't win or get any recognition.
Thanks for posting that article. Just like in the real world, most people will never shine; they'll just go about their business and survive from day to day. These journeyman fighters are no different. They fill a necessary role, while holding out no real aspirations of their own. It's not pretty, but that's life. The article shows that professional boxing is much more like professional wrestling than we'd like to admit.