Fighting A Tough Fighter W/ No Name vs Fighting A Fighter W/ A Name Who Is Not Tough.

[MPDKSAB]

(Sooo disappointed I couldn't fit the original title, but here it is)⬇⬇

"Is it More Important To Fight A Tough Oppenent With No "Name" Or An Opponent With A "Name" Who Is Not Tough?"

& this quote is in regards to credibility & fighting worthy opposition.


Been seeing uninteresting redundant topics & I wanted to bump some of my underrated threads & create others such as this to promote actual interesting discussions.

I was watching a video yesterday & I thought it was one of the most thought provoking things I had heard in boxing in a while. In so many words it was what I've been feeling but was worded & sumed up perfectly.

How do you judge if a person is fighting tough fighters but they have no "name"?


Should we accept fighters fighting people because they have a "name"? & should we knock them for fighting good fighters because they don't have a "name"?


Can you even recognize the difference between the two? Do you acknowledge that just cause a fighter has a "name", that they aren't the name they once were or maybe ever were?

I believe some of these phrases definitely cause you to look beneath the surface & picks the brain of the boxing public to see what they place value in.

Now obviously this is while being cognizant that boxing is a "business," things being subjective, Not giving a fighter too much too soon such as giving an 0-0 recently turned pro/standout amateur his 1st fight against let's say ESJ if they're at 147, picking & choosing, which fighters have opportunities/luxuries presented to them that others don't. All things considered. There's so many nuances & you can go deep with this topic. Not sure if the average member would be willing to go there on here...

[LoadedWraps]

I judge if a person is a tough fight / fighter based on the eye test if they have zero, to no significant record. It would be just a little crazy if I spent the last 15 years studying, learning, absorbing, and training in gyms, watching tape, and putting the ring work in, and didn't know wtf I was looking at, so I put quite a bit of stock in my eye test.

A name is just a fighter with popularity. Not necessarily a correlation between skill and popularity. Many popular fighters, fan favorites, have had flaws, not been the best in the divisions, etc.

What is more important? That largely depends on the situation. No right answer as a blanket statement to me. Names get you recognition and money, and its prizefighting, some would argue. A tough fight early on might be high risk low reward but you learn so much from it, and it may give you the confidence you need to then succeed in opportunities down the road. I didn't turn pro but if I had or ever did, do I really want to see what I'm made of in a life/death type fight, on the biggest stage and night of my career? Personally I'd rather have that war early on, carry that result and confidence through my career, and enter the biggest fight of my career believing my hardest fight is behind me.

Didn't vote for either poll option because career choices aren't so simple / binary, and "important" is subjective.

[boliodogs]

Damn near all boxers would fight the guy with the name who is not tough. He would get paid more and it would build his own name more. What does he gain by fighting the unknown tough fighter? He has a harder and more dangerous fight that does nothing to build his own name. Pretty ******. Let the tough fighter with no name get a good name and fight him then.

[Tails]

Everyone knows deep down inside who the tougher competition is. Including spectators who follow the sport.

Sometimes it is the guy with the name. Sometimes it is the new guy who has shown glimpses of talent but has not stepped in there with the names yet.

It is all circumstantial. What kind of momentum the fighter has coming into the match up and at what point of their career they are in.

[Mammoth]

Andrade must be fighting Williams then?

[champion4ever]

I would prefer the second. A fighter with a name but is not tough. Most of these fighters are considered gatekeepers or journeyman anyhow. They are called low risk high reward fighters.