You can do this sorta critical breakdown of any division in the sport if you choose. Find some way of objectively proving that MW fighters are worse P4P than their counterparts in the surrounding divisions and you've got an argument. Just because you ain't seen 'em on the big stage so often don't mean they're significantly worse.
There is an argument to be made that much of the US based talent around the weight opted for 154 as long as there was the hope of the Floyd / Pac sweepstakes, but you have to wonder why the top 154 guys (most of whom come to the ring the same weight as MWs ) aren't leaping in to take over 160.
The current champions of 168 struggling with a faded version of Bute says it all, it too is a faded division yet still above 160. Over are the days of prime Froch, Ward, Kessler, Bute, Pascal, Dirrell, etc. that's when it was staaacked, imagine what they'd do to Martin Murray, arguably ggg's career win when he can't even beat a really faded Abraham at 168.
The lower the weight class, the more money, guys wouldn't want to move up.
Hopkins great fighter but he couldn't beat Taylor (close fights, could have gone either way), Taylor good middleweight stepped up to SMW and started losing badly to pretty much everyone in the top 10, Pavlik's claim to fame was his wins over Taylor but at the end of the day he was a 1 trick pony, Abraham was much better back then but also had hard time vs. top 10 SMW... Miranda? Miranda lost every time he stepped up.
Now i agree that the line up above is stronger then current line up of middleweights... you take out Hopkins who's name will be remembered for years to come and you don't have a whole lot left... just like you do with current division.
Anyways i think we can go about this all day. My point is that the division is decent, there is 1/2 potential ATG (Canelo and GGG) and then there are the rest... no different then any/most other eras.
Taylor-Pavlik-Miranda-Abraham, all these fighters were fighting each other around the same time and taking a lot out of each other in some vicious fights.
You have to remember just how stacked 168 was at that time, I also forgot about Jean Pascal going from 160-168. Taylor and co entered a division with the likes of Bute, Froch, Ward, Kessler, Dirrell, Pascal, all prime versions of them. These days you have the champions struggling to beat a faded version of Bute, drawing with him lol.
If Lemieux was landing the shots that Khan was landing, the diva would have been outta there by round 3.
Lemule has nowhere near the speed khan has, thats the same reason he couldnt land on ggg...
Good try...
I'd have canelo as favorite but its an interesting fight due to lemieux's power. best guess is canelo by UD or late stoppage but if Lemieux catches him or turns it into a war all bets are off.
Middleweight is hot right now
I've done a breakdown of the division before, it's horrific. ggg's next potential opponent is a guy who got dropped by Mora, that's ridiculous.
It's also obvious if you've seen guys like Quillin, 0 boxing ability, he's like a 1 dimensional version of Stevenson lol. Drew with another top 5 mw, Lee who gets dropped by practically everybody.
You also had Cotto destroying Geale and Martinez, Soliman beating Sturm, etc.
Once you see the big pic. you'll see how bad it really is.
You can do this sorta critical breakdown of any division in the sport if you choose. Find some way of objectively proving that MW fighters are worse P4P than their counterparts in the surrounding divisions and you've got an argument. Just because you ain't seen 'em on the big stage so often don't mean they're significantly worse.
There is an argument to be made that much of the US based talent around the weight opted for 154 as long as there was the hope of the Floyd / Pac sweepstakes, but you have to wonder why the top 154 guys (most of whom come to the ring the same weight as MWs ) aren't leaping in to take over 160.
Abraham hasn't beaten anybody in years, he's had close competitive fights with the likes of Paul Smith and Stieglitz. Ramirez showed just how done he was, schooled him badly.
DJ was rocked, he was still unsteady on his feet after getting up, even the commentators noticed it.
Quillin is a terrible fighter, no defense, no chin, basic predictable offense like DJ, that's why he couldn't finish Lee or N'dam after those knock downs and why they were able to box their way back into the fight. N'dam nearly came back against both Lemieux and Quillin despite their multiple knock downs of him.
We saw what Cotto did at 160, we've seen Murray fail at 168, we've seen Lee beaten vs Chavez Jr., Lee vs Quillin, Lemieux beaten by Alcine/Rubio, BJS in a close fight vs Lee, BJS vs Eubank Jr. etc. this is not a quality division, it's one of the worst in boxing.
Compare it to just a few years back with Hopkins, Taylor, Pavlik, Abraham, Miranda etc. that was quality.
Hopkins great fighter but he couldn't beat Taylor (close fights, could have gone either way), Taylor good middleweight stepped up to SMW and started losing badly to pretty much everyone in the top 10, Pavlik's claim to fame was his wins over Taylor but at the end of the day he was a 1 trick pony, Abraham was much better back then but also had hard time vs. top 10 SMW... Miranda? Miranda lost every time he stepped up.
Now i agree that the line up above is stronger then current line up of middleweights... you take out Hopkins who's name will be remembered for years to come and you don't have a whole lot left... just like you do with current division.
Anyways i think we can go about this all day. My point is that the division is decent, there is 1/2 potential ATG (Canelo and GGG) and then there are the rest... no different then any/most other eras.
most considered that a close fight and Abraham is a top 10 smw... faded now but still top 10. The mora flash knonckdown was a just that a flash knockdown... DJ got aggressive right after he put Mora down and got caught... now his Quilin win wasn't that big for me but he is a good fighter and... we will see how good he is with time. honestly except maybe 1-2 fighters no division has any strong fighters who would dominate the division above. can the WW move up and take over the SWW? can the SWW move up and take over the MW? no... there is maybe a few guys who would be competitive but no one who would completely transcend like Paquio or Mayweather did... and even they had to be a little careful against who they faced
Abraham hasn't beaten anybody in years, he's had close competitive fights with the likes of Paul Smith and Stieglitz. Ramirez showed just how done he was, schooled him badly.
DJ was rocked, he was still unsteady on his feet after getting up, even the commentators noticed it.
Quillin is a terrible fighter, no defense, no chin, basic predictable offense like DJ, that's why he couldn't finish Lee or N'dam after those knock downs and why they were able to box their way back into the fight. N'dam nearly came back against both Lemieux and Quillin despite their multiple knock downs of him.
We saw what Cotto did at 160, we've seen Murray fail at 168, we've seen Lee beaten vs Chavez Jr., Lee vs Quillin, Lemieux beaten by Alcine/Rubio, BJS in a close fight vs Lee, BJS vs Eubank Jr. etc. this is not a quality division, it's one of the worst in boxing.
Compare it to just a few years back with Hopkins, Taylor, Pavlik, Abraham, Miranda etc. that was quality.
Id love to see it. Lemule would come out swinging I reckon.There would be some dicey moments for Canelo but Id pick Canelo as of now. I do think Lemule is probably the hardest puncher in the division he just isnt the best technically but he isnt terrible. All it takes is one shot and Canelo has never been touched by someone like Lemule but as I say, you have to have the skills to land them bombs. I dont know if he can. Good scrap though.
That's a really good fight IMO... Canelo really hasn't faced any big punchers in their prime.
If canelo doesn't fight GGG in the fall, then him fighting lemuiex makes sense and would be a good simulation of a ggg fight for canelo..
Mora's KO rate is just 26%, that's a top 4 MW getting dropped hard by that type of power, he's also been ko'd by Pirog. Jacobs has no defense, just aggression with no chin, bad combo he's like Kirkland.
Martinez has always been overrated, he edged the fight by just a bit over a faded version of Pavlik. Pavlik was never the same after all those wars and Hopkins absolutely schooling him which S.M couldn't do.
None of the fighters you listed could compete at 168 and that division isn't exactly strong either. Look at Murray, arguably ggg's career win, got a beating from old Abraham.
most considered that a close fight and Abraham is a top 10 smw... faded now but still top 10. The mora flash knonckdown was a just that a flash knockdown... DJ got aggressive right after he put Mora down and got caught... now his Quilin win wasn't that big for me but he is a good fighter and... we will see how good he is with time. honestly except maybe 1-2 fighters no division has any strong fighters who would dominate the division above. can the WW move up and take over the SWW? can the SWW move up and take over the MW? no... there is maybe a few guys who would be competitive but no one who would completely transcend like Paquio or Mayweather did... and even they had to be a little careful against who they faced
so what if he got dropped by Mora, not everyone is a defensive genious like Floyd who can avoid every punch. DJ is an aggressive fighter with power in both hands his KO ratio speaks volumes. Many fighters have been dropped by weaker oposition, its the nature of the sport even great fighters lost to someone they shouldn't have lost before.
If you feel that Cotto destroyed the good versions of Geale and Martinez that's your thing but in my opinion Geale was drained and complained a lot before the fight that he really struggled to make the weight. Martinez... well martinez i dont think i need to say much more about him... he was fading fast you can see that right around the Chavez jr fight and after.
The division has GGG... then the rest... if GGG was out of the picture you would have competitive fights between, Canelo, BJS, Lemiux, JD, Eubank jr etc
Mora's KO rate is just 26%, that's a top 4 MW getting dropped hard by that type of power, he's also been ko'd by Pirog. Jacobs has no defense, just aggression with no chin, bad combo he's like Kirkland.
Martinez has always been overrated, he edged the fight by just a bit over a faded version of Pavlik. Pavlik was never the same after all those wars and Hopkins absolutely schooling him which S.M couldn't do.
None of the fighters you listed could compete at 168 and that division isn't exactly strong either. Look at Murray, arguably ggg's career win, got a beating from old Abraham.
I've done a breakdown of the division before, it's horrific. ggg's next potential opponent is a guy who got dropped by Mora, that's ridiculous.
It's also obvious if you've seen guys like Quillin, 0 boxing ability, he's like a 1 dimensional version of Stevenson lol. Drew with another top 5 mw, Lee who gets dropped by practically everybody.
You also had Cotto destroying Geale and Martinez, Soliman beating Sturm, etc.
Once you see the big pic. you'll see how bad it really is.
so what if he got dropped by Mora, not everyone is a defensive genious like Floyd who can avoid every punch. DJ is an aggressive fighter with power in both hands his KO ratio speaks volumes. Many fighters have been dropped by weaker oposition, its the nature of the sport even great fighters lost to someone they shouldn't have lost before.
If you feel that Cotto destroyed the good versions of Geale and Martinez that's your thing but in my opinion Geale was drained and complained a lot before the fight that he really struggled to make the weight. Martinez... well martinez i dont think i need to say much more about him... he was fading fast you can see that right around the Chavez jr fight and after.
The division has GGG... then the rest... if GGG was out of the picture you would have competitive fights between, Canelo, BJS, Lemiux, JD, Eubank jr etc
Canelo by KO, Lemieux is extremely easy to hit, Tapia was making his head snap back with each punch he threw, imagine what Canelo would do. Lemeiux has no defense.