SMW Division Review

[yesihavearm]

Having noticed a lot of people put down the Super-Middleweight division lately for its lack of PvP stars besdies division king Joe Calzaghe, I thought it was time to do an analysis on what I think is definatly a top3 weight division in boxing, here's why.

Current SMW stars.

1. Joe Calzaghe - The best SMW of all time. WBO and RING magazine champion, on verge of being an ATG and breaking all-time defences record.

2. Mikkel Kessler - WBC and WBA "Super" Champion. Highly regarded european seen as Calzaghe's biggest threat in the division. Often considerd in the top 15 PvP.

3. Anthony Mundine - Popular Australian, although it looks now as if his career's over due to injury.

4. Lucian Bute - High-rated prospect and future champion. Often thought to be the number3 fighter in the division.

5. Jeff Lacy - VERY GOOD FIGHTER, FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. People on this forum are quick to dismiss Lacy as a hype job, while yes he was over-hyped, he's still a world class fighter. Lacy is a bonefide knockout artist with tremdendous punching power and has beaten some class operators etc Reid. His lack of dimension was shown in his defeat to Joe Calzaghe but with time can improve what was limited skills and can be a force in the division. The yanks might deny it now that his reputation has been tarnished somewhat, but Jeff Lacy is still one of America's best fighters.

6. Carl Froch - British and Commonwealth champion, seen as a British successor to Calzaghe. In danger of become the next "Junior Witter" in that he constantly calls out Calzaghe whilst knowing that a fight between the 2 in current circumstances is impossible. Upcomming fight with former-WBC champ Robin Reid should lead to a world title shot against Berrio.

7. Robin Reid - Very experienced veteran, been there and done it. Some say he's past his best but has recently found good form and should be a fantastic fight against Froch to settle who's got domestic supremacy.

8. Alejandro Berrio - IBF champion, although many think not for long with a long list of possible and better candidates waiting to take the belt from him.

9. Allan Green - Highly rated prospect, knocked back with his loss to Edison Miranda. Claimed that he was unwell for the fight and has taken quite a lot of time off. Bounced back with a tremendous win a few weeks ago against Darrel Woods. Allan Green is most certainly a force to be reckoned with, dont base hime off the Miranda fight.

10. Peter Manfredo Jr - Contender star.


Not only does the SMW division posess these fighters, but will soon have the following.

Jermian Taylor
Kelly Pavlik
Edison Miranda

Taylor has said himself win or lose in the Pavlik fight he will be moving to SMW, and it says on his Offciail website. Exactly the same has been said by Pavlik and Miranda.

Calzaghe
Kessler
Taylor
Pavlik
Mundine
Lacy
Miranda
Green
Bute
Froch
Reid

Only the WW division has as much high-class compeititon. It's a good year to be a Super-Middleweight.

[Orang-Utan Jim]

Reid, Green and Manfredo are never ever Top10 SMW.

Where are Tsypko, Brahmer, Beyer, Inkin. They are a league above them.

But you´re right the SMW is a hell of a division.

[yesihavearm]

I wasnt listing them in ranking order, I was just talking about them as the current SMW crop. I'd definatly say that Green is top10 SMW, Reid is bordering. I didnt mention people like Inkin and Brahmer because they are not as known as the ones of mention. I was just bringing to light that the SMW is not as weak as people make out.

[djb2009]

Manfredo?????????

[ChuckYoungblood]

Things are looking good - lots of great potential match-up, Taylor-Pavlik vs Kessler-JC, first and foremost. Boxing is back :)

[BigEars]

Reid was a top fighter but is shot to pieces , he doesn't belong anywhere near the top 15 in the division and Froch will most likely knock him out .

Super Middleweight isn't seen as an interesting division in America mainly due to the lack of American fighters , which means they see the division less as a whole and then perceive it to be weak(it's quite understandable , it's the same way a lot of people underate the lower weight classes)

I think it's quite a strong division , but I don't think anyone can touch Calzaghe in it........if anyone is going to prove me wrong though it'll be Kessler .

[Odo]

Having noticed a lot of people put down the Super-Middleweight division lately for its lack of PvP stars besdies division king Joe Calzaghe, I thought it was time to do an analysis on what I think is definatly a top3 weight division in boxing, here's why.

Current SMW stars.

1. Joe Calzaghe - The best SMW of all time. WBO and RING magazine champion, on verge of being an ATG and breaking all-time defences record.

2. Mikkel Kessler - WBC and WBA "Super" Champion. Highly regarded european seen as Calzaghe's biggest threat in the division. Often considerd in the top 15 PvP.

3. Anthony Mundine - Popular Australian, although it looks now as if his career's over due to injury.

4. Lucian Bute - High-rated prospect and future champion. Often thought to be the number3 fighter in the division.

5. Jeff Lacy - VERY GOOD FIGHTER, FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. People on this forum are quick to dismiss Lacy as a hype job, while yes he was over-hyped, he's still a world class fighter. Lacy is a bonefide knockout artist with tremdendous punching power and has beaten some class operators etc Reid. His lack of dimension was shown in his defeat to Joe Calzaghe but with time can improve what was limited skills and can be a force in the division. The yanks might deny it now that his reputation has been tarnished somewhat, but Jeff Lacy is still one of America's best fighters.

6. Carl Froch - British and Commonwealth champion, seen as a British successor to Calzaghe. In danger of become the next "Junior Witter" in that he constantly calls out Calzaghe whilst knowing that a fight between the 2 in current circumstances is impossible. Upcomming fight with former-WBC champ Robin Reid should lead to a world title shot against Berrio.

7. Robin Reid - Very experienced veteran, been there and done it. Some say he's past his best but has recently found good form and should be a fantastic fight against Froch to settle who's got domestic supremacy.

8. Alejandro Berrio - IBF champion, although many think not for long with a long list of possible and better candidates waiting to take the belt from him.

9. Allan Green - Highly rated prospect, knocked back with his loss to Edison Miranda. Claimed that he was unwell for the fight and has taken quite a lot of time off. Bounced back with a tremendous win a few weeks ago against Darrel Woods. Allan Green is most certainly a force to be reckoned with, dont base hime off the Miranda fight.

10. Peter Manfredo Jr - Contender star.


Not only does the SMW division posess these fighters, but will soon have the following.

Jermian Taylor
Kelly Pavlik
Edison Miranda

Taylor has said himself win or lose in the Pavlik fight he will be moving to SMW, and it says on his Offciail website. Exactly the same has been said by Pavlik and Miranda.

Calzaghe
Kessler
Taylor
Pavlik
Mundine
Lacy
Miranda
Green
Bute
Froch
Reid

Only the WW division has as much high-class compeititon. It's a good year to be a Super-Middleweight.


You are surely right in saying that smw is a hot division,but I had a good laugh when reading that you called Manfredo a contender star.Haha!
I for my part wouldnt even rate him among the top 25 of this weight division.

Green a top 10 fighter? What has he done to deserve such a high ranking?

What about Inkin? Most fight fans and experts think that he is the present nr.3 behind Kessler and Calzaghe.

[teetop]

You are surely right in saying that smw is a hot division,but I had a good laugh when reading that you called Manfredo a contender star.Haha!
I for my part wouldnt even rate him among the top 25 of this weight division.

Green a top 10 fighter? What has he done to deserve such a high ranking?

What about Inkin? Most fight fans and experts think that he is the present nr.3 behind Kessler and Calzaghe.

Maybe top 5, but he isn't better than bute. His KO of veit was impressive enough. He's not as good as mundine either. Froch might even be better than the russian b/c of his power.

[Lampley]

I like 168 and think it clearly has much more going for it than 175 (which is thin and old), but I think you've got some pieces out of place.

Besides Manfredo, I think you also are overly optimistic about Jeff Lacy. I'm a Lacy fan, but who knows what he'll have left in the tank. He won a very disputed decision over Tsypko in a fight that saw him hurt badly by shots that wouldn't have troubled him pre-Calzaghe. So we know his chin is not what it once was.

Now, with a major surgery on his critically important left shoulder, there's another huge question mark.

I hope you're right, but it's for logical -- not emotional -- reasons that many Americans have turned a skeptical eye toward Jeff.

[Odo]

Maybe top 5, but he isn't better than bute. His KO of veit was impressive enough. He's not as good as mundine either. Froch might even be better than the russian b/c of his power.

Froch better than Inkin? I very much doubt it!

Tsypko beat Adamu quite convincingly dominating most rounds of their encounter.Just about 10 days after his loss to Tsypko Adamu travelled to England to square off against Froch.
The African gave him hell.I am not really sure anymore but as far as I can remember he even knocked the Brit down losing a very close fight to Froch.
I am not sold on the Brit.
Bute? Yep! He seems to be the real deal.

[Quik]

Dont forget Jean Pascal, he can destroy Lacy.

[BigEars]

Froch better than Inkin? I very much doubt it!

Tsypko beat Adamu quite convincingly dominating most rounds of their encounter.Just about 10 days after his loss to Tsypko Adamu travelled to England to square off against Froch.
The African gave him hell.I am not really sure anymore but as far as I can remember he even knocked the Brit down losing a very close fight to Froch.
I am not sold on the Brit.
Bute? Yep! He seems to be the real deal.

Froch has improved a lot , his last 3 wins(Magee , Dodson , Tatevosyan) saw vastly improved performances from Froch compared to the rest of his career .

Before those fights I thought Froch would be found out at European level , now I believe that Froch is a top 10 Super Middleweight and it would take another top 10 to beat him . When Inkin would do that I'm not sure but what I do know is I would love a fight between Inkin and Froch .

[Odo]

Froch has improved a lot , his last 3 wins(Magee , Dodson , Tatevosyan) saw vastly improved performances from Froch compared to the rest of his career .

Before those fights I thought Froch would be found out at European level , now I believe that Froch is a top 10 Super Middleweight and it would take another top 10 to beat him . When Inkin would do that I'm not sure but what I do know is I would love a fight between Inkin and Froch .


Sorry,but I am still not sold on him.Neither do I think that he truly belongs among the top 10 at supermiddle weight.

[Decebal]

Froch is ok, but below the top three (JC, MK and Mundine) - he's not as good a boxer as Bute, but he is damn effective. I don't think he's better than Lacy - and I think Lacy's better than Bute...

I'd say:

JC
MK
Mundine
Lacy
Bute

Froch would be in the top 15, but he's not fought a true world-class opponent yet. At least Bute fought someone who'd been in with two world champions - who's Carl beaten?

:-(

The only two SMW who are better than Lucian Bute (who would have a higher chance of beating him than of being beaten by him) are JC and MK. Everyone else, Bute would beat!:yep

[pijo]

Yea quilk, saw jean pascal fight on channel 5 earlier looked pretty good but he did slap a bit.

[ripcity]

Having noticed a lot of people put down the Super-Middleweight division lately for its lack of PvP stars besdies division king Joe Calzaghe, I thought it was time to do an analysis on what I think is definatly a top3 weight division in boxing, here's why.

Current SMW stars.

1. Joe Calzaghe - The best SMW of all time. WBO and RING magazine champion, on verge of being an ATG and breaking all-time defences record.

2. Mikkel Kessler - WBC and WBA "Super" Champion. Highly regarded european seen as Calzaghe's biggest threat in the division. Often considerd in the top 15 PvP.

3. Anthony Mundine - Popular Australian, although it looks now as if his career's over due to injury.

4. Lucian Bute - High-rated prospect and future champion. Often thought to be the number3 fighter in the division.

5. Jeff Lacy - VERY GOOD FIGHTER, FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. People on this forum are quick to dismiss Lacy as a hype job, while yes he was over-hyped, he's still a world class fighter. Lacy is a bonefide knockout artist with tremdendous punching power and has beaten some class operators etc Reid. His lack of dimension was shown in his defeat to Joe Calzaghe but with time can improve what was limited skills and can be a force in the division. The yanks might deny it now that his reputation has been tarnished somewhat, but Jeff Lacy is still one of America's best fighters.

6. Carl Froch - British and Commonwealth champion, seen as a British successor to Calzaghe. In danger of become the next "Junior Witter" in that he constantly calls out Calzaghe whilst knowing that a fight between the 2 in current circumstances is impossible. Upcomming fight with former-WBC champ Robin Reid should lead to a world title shot against Berrio.

7. Robin Reid - Very experienced veteran, been there and done it. Some say he's past his best but has recently found good form and should be a fantastic fight against Froch to settle who's got domestic supremacy.

8. Alejandro Berrio - IBF champion, although many think not for long with a long list of possible and better candidates waiting to take the belt from him.

9. Allan Green - Highly rated prospect, knocked back with his loss to Edison Miranda. Claimed that he was unwell for the fight and has taken quite a lot of time off. Bounced back with a tremendous win a few weeks ago against Darrel Woods. Allan Green is most certainly a force to be reckoned with, dont base hime off the Miranda fight.

10. Peter Manfredo Jr - Contender star.


Not only does the SMW division posess these fighters, but will soon have the following.

Jermian Taylor
Kelly Pavlik
Edison Miranda

Taylor has said himself win or lose in the Pavlik fight he will be moving to SMW, and it says on his Offciail website. Exactly the same has been said by Pavlik and Miranda.

Calzaghe
Kessler
Taylor
Pavlik
Mundine
Lacy
Miranda
Green
Bute
Froch
Reid

Only the WW division has as much high-class compeititon. It's a good year to be a Super-Middleweight.
Good list. Not sure I agree with you that Joe Calzaghe is the best supermiddleweight of alltime. I would rank Roy Jones Jr and James Toney a head of him for sure, and posibily Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins.

[Brickhaus]

Super Middleweight isn't seen as an interesting division in America mainly due to the lack of American fighters , which means they see the division less as a whole and then perceive it to be weak(it's quite understandable , it's the same way a lot of people underate the lower weight classes)


It will be once Contender Season 3 is done. Also, Lacy and Green are name fighters. Plus, a lot of people have been duped into thinking that Manfredo is a top 10 fighter in the weight class; any weight class with Manstinko in the top 10 can't be that strong.

What about Inkin? Most fight fans and experts think that he is the present nr.3 behind Kessler and Calzaghe.

:rasta :hi:

Seriously, I've NEVER seen anyone rank Inkin in the top 5, much less at 3. Who exactly has Inkin beat? A shot Mario Veit? Other than his work as an amateur, what exactly has Inkin done to deserve a top 5 ranking? Froch's record as a pro far exceeds Inkin's, and people don't generally even have him in the top 5.

I realize you've taken it upon yourself to be the cheerleader for non-English speaking Euro fighters, but when you make claims like "Inkin is the top 3" it makes you just look uninformed.

[UndisputedUK]

Calzaghe will completely destroy Kessler in whatever way he chooses.

If you think Kessler has a chance watch both Mario Veit fights and the fight against Woodhall. Thats Kessler!

Calzaghe is much more reckless nowadays, will it be a slappy war or controlled destruction.

Only one winner for me.

You cannot rank Hatton, Taylor or Wright over Calzaghe.

[Smazz20]

Well it's pretty obvious at this stage that after Taylor and Pavlik fight, their both gonna move up to 168 regardless of who wins. I can't see either of them bothering to make a fight with Abraham unfortunately. So with the two of them up at SM the Americans will once again actually bother to recognise the SM division for more than 5 seconds.

It's also a dream fight in the making essentially. The two best American middles squaring off and the winner to face the winner of the two best European SM!! On top of that, Miranda is supposed to be moving up and I would kill to see him and Froch fight. Then again, it would be nice to see Froch fight anyone with a pulse.

Bute, Mundine (if he recovers) Green, Lacy, Andrade, Inkin, Berrio etc etc!! Quite good methinks

[English Nutter]

Calzaghe will completely destroy Kessler in whatever way he chooses.

If you think Kessler has a chance watch both Mario Veit fights and the fight against Woodhall. Thats Kessler!

Calzaghe is much more reckless nowadays, will it be a slappy war or controlled destruction.

Only one winner for me.

You cannot rank Hatton, Taylor or Wright over Calzaghe.Totally agree with you mate,although Hatton is a good fighter and taylor has fought winky and bhop,and winky well he couldn't even beat a 42 year popkins,how can you rank any of these people above calzaghe,maybe theres a case for taylor,but i think joe would beat him with one hand behind his back

[dumdane]

If you think Kessler has a chance watch both Mario Veit fights and the fight against Woodhall. Thats Kessler!


Common. You cant seriously believe Woodhall is ANY kind of indication of what a Kessler fight would be like? Woodhall had already lost to Beyer on home turf before Calzaghe got to him. And need i remind you how easy Kessler took out Beyer?

Same goes for Veit - just not the same kinda quality. Veit has struggled to MD's and SD's against levels of opposition Kessler would at worst blow out UD 120-108.

There may be style similarities - but Kessler is on a totally different level.

[English Nutter]

Thats kessler lol stupid uk faggots
veit wouldnt of had won a round against beyer stfu He's no Veit,but he's no Calzaghe either!!

[PH|LLA]

SMW is 100x more talented than MW right now

[PrideOfWales]

Good list. Not sure I agree with you that Joe Calzaghe is the best supermiddleweight of alltime. I would rank Roy Jones Jr and James Toney a head of him for sure, and posibily Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins.

Fascinating stuff

[dwilson]

Larsen could not even beat himself.