Thread: Zsolt Erdei - Charlatan Champion?

Charlaton. Noun. A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.

Today, it was reported (Denis Inkin Likely To Face Karoly Balzsay in February - Boxing News) that Zsolt Erdei may face Hugo Garay for the 3rd time on November 29th (he's beat him twice!) and if that fight doesn't occur, Erdei will fight Dean Francis from Great Britian. Are you kidding me? What a fraud!

Erdei has held the WBO light heavyweight belt since January of 2004 and has not fought anyone who is the least bit noteworthy. Can you name another champion who posseses as poor of a resume as Erdei? The shame of it really is that Erdei is a decent fighter.

I am incensed. Someone - Diaconu, Dawson, Tarver, Johnson - should go to Hungary, beat him down, and take his strap.

If big fights don't happen its not automatically the boxers fault...the fact that if the money ain't right none of the big names will fight Erdei shouldn't be overlooked...There was talk some time ago that RJJ may fight Erdei...didn't happen cause of Jones rediculous purse demands...then Erdei should have fought Danny Green,but Green retired surprisingly...Before his last fight Erdei let off some steam and talked about how pissed he was that his management doesn't get him any names he later apologized for it,but put a poor lackluster performance up,which was enough to win easily,but he was booed by the audience...

I think Erdei is an exceptional boxer with amazing skill and incredible speed...seriously IMO Erdei is after RJJ the fastes LHW the stepped into the ring...and hopefully he will get his big fight...

Originally Posted by JohnnyKickAss

If big fights don't happen its not automatically the boxers fault...the fact that if the money ain't right none of the big names will fight Erdei shouldn't be overlooked...There was talk some time ago that RJJ may fight Erdei...didn't happen cause of Jones rediculous purse demands...then Erdei should have fought Danny Green,but Green retired surprisingly...Before his last fight Erdei let off some steam and talked about how pissed he was that his management doesn't get him any names he later apologized for it,but put a poor lackluster performance up,which was enough to win easily,but he was booed by the audience...

I think Erdei is an exceptional boxer with amazing skill and incredible speed...seriously IMO Erdei is after RJJ the fastes LHW the stepped into the ring...and hopefully he will get his big fight...

You are right to the extent that management often controls a boxer's choice of opponent, but at some point the boxer should bear some of the responsibility. To be sure, a boxer can always get different management.

Erdei has not fought ONE brand name in almost five years as Champion. There simply is no excuse.

If Erdei fights Garay AGAIN (this will be the third time) or Francis, as a fan you should be dismayed at the contempible inadequacy of his championship reign.

Erdei I feel is an underestimated fighter. He's a very quick fighter with a solid jab. One of the best in the sport IMO. Sure he hasn't fought stellar opposition as of late but I'd blame his management more than him. He's fought World level guys like Julio Gonzalez,Mehdi Sahnoune,Thomas Ulrich and Hugo Garay and with the exception of the Garay fights(Close fights but I thought he won them) outclassed them. I'd like to see him and Glen Johnson if neither guy can get any big fights. Call me crazy but I think he's clever enough to beat Glen Johnson.

Originally Posted by TigerFan

Erdei I feel is an underestimated fighter. He's a very quick fighter with a solid jab. One of the best in the sport IMO. Sure he hasn't fought stellar opposition as of late but I'd blame his management more than him. He's fought World level guys like Julio Gonzalez,Mehdi Sahnoune,Thomas Ulrich and Hugo Garay and with the exception of the Garay fights(Close fights but I thought he won them) outclassed them. I'd like to see him and Glen Johnson if neither guy can get any big fights. Call me crazy but I think he's clever enough to beat Glen Johnson.

Don't get me wrong: Erdei is a very good boxer. And I agree, he would pose significant problems for Glen Johnson; it is a shame he doesn't fight anyone meaningful.

To put it in perspective, Chad Dawson fought Glen Johnson after being champion for less than one year. Erdei is going on four years without one competitor at that level (Glen Johnson Knocked Ulrich out if I'm not mistaken).

Blaming management only goes so far. If management is the problem: FIRE them. Or settle for being a paper champion.

Fighting Garay or Francis is a joke. Agreed?

Yes I agree fighting Francis would be a joke. I don't think he needs to fight a Garay a third time even if he is the WBA champ this time.

Originally Posted by Rantcatrat

You are right to the extent that management often controls a boxer's choice of opponent, but at some point the boxer should bear some of the responsibility. To be sure, a boxer can always get different management.

I don't think its so easy...first Erdei has a contract with Universum Boxpromotion and I don't think he would get out of it easily...and secondly where would he go from there ?!?Erdei has a very low profile I doubt that any management will get Erdei a big fight unless he would settle with way less money then he is actually worth for...

Originally Posted by Rantcatrat

Erdei has not fought ONE brand name in almost five years as Champion. There simply is no excuse.

If Erdei fights Garay AGAIN (this will be the third time) or Francis, as a fan you should be dismayed at the contempible inadequacy of his championship reign.

Of course I would like Erdei against one of the big names at LHW(the few there are...),but again the money thing...I wouldn't be surprised if Tarver makes more money with the Dawson fight then Erdei made in those almost five years...

I don't think you can fully blame the fighter BUT he is at fault regardless.
After all it is HIS career and he should def. have a say.

Fighters need to stand up for themselves and if 1 promoter won't do something for them guess what, there's another promoter lined up behind him that will.

Let's be honest here it's not like Erdei's this big draw or anything....
He needs to grow some balls and do something. The guy can and will stay in obscurity as long as he continues down this path.

The bad thing is he's actually a very entertaining fighter when he's on and hes commited. He'll come forward and try to impose himself on his opponents.

Originally Posted by Rantcatrat

Originally Posted by JohnnyKickAss

If big fights don't happen its not automatically the boxers fault...the fact that if the money ain't right none of the big names will fight Erdei shouldn't be overlooked...There was talk some time ago that RJJ may fight Erdei...didn't happen cause of Jones rediculous purse demands...then Erdei should have fought Danny Green,but Green retired surprisingly...Before his last fight Erdei let off some steam and talked about how pissed he was that his management doesn't get him any names he later apologized for it,but put a poor lackluster performance up,which was enough to win easily,but he was booed by the audience...

I think Erdei is an exceptional boxer with amazing skill and incredible speed...seriously IMO Erdei is after RJJ the fastes LHW the stepped into the ring...and hopefully he will get his big fight...

You are right to the extent that management often controls a boxer's choice of opponent, but at some point the boxer should bear some of the responsibility. To be sure, a boxer can always get different management.

Erdei has not fought ONE brand name in almost five years as Champion. There simply is no excuse.

If Erdei fights Garay AGAIN (this will be the third time) or Francis, as a fan you should be dismayed at the contempible inadequacy of his championship reign.

Yeah, but it doesn't matter if no one will fight you. We often forget that boxing is first and foremost a business that on operates on risk/reward. Potential opponents know that Erdei is dangerous. They also know that he has almost no earning power. So, what is the incentive to take a fight with him? You face a guy who has the potential to beat anyone in the division and for that risk you get a paltry sum of money. This is why you don't see him in bigger fights. His promoters need to try and get him on undercards of major PPVs in the states so that he gets some exposure, thus upping the demand for bigger names to fight him.

Originally Posted by ClubberLang

Originally Posted by Rantcatrat

Originally Posted by JohnnyKickAss

If big fights don't happen its not automatically the boxers fault...the fact that if the money ain't right none of the big names will fight Erdei shouldn't be overlooked...There was talk some time ago that RJJ may fight Erdei...didn't happen cause of Jones rediculous purse demands...then Erdei should have fought Danny Green,but Green retired surprisingly...Before his last fight Erdei let off some steam and talked about how pissed he was that his management doesn't get him any names he later apologized for it,but put a poor lackluster performance up,which was enough to win easily,but he was booed by the audience...

I think Erdei is an exceptional boxer with amazing skill and incredible speed...seriously IMO Erdei is after RJJ the fastes LHW the stepped into the ring...and hopefully he will get his big fight...

You are right to the extent that management often controls a boxer's choice of opponent, but at some point the boxer should bear some of the responsibility. To be sure, a boxer can always get different management.

Erdei has not fought ONE brand name in almost five years as Champion. There simply is no excuse.

If Erdei fights Garay AGAIN (this will be the third time) or Francis, as a fan you should be dismayed at the contempible inadequacy of his championship reign.

Yeah, but it doesn't matter if no one will fight you. We often forget that boxing is first and foremost a business that on operates on risk/reward. Potential opponents know that Erdei is dangerous. They also know that he has almost no earning power. So, what is the incentive to take a fight with him? You face a guy who has the potential to beat anyone in the division and for that risk you get a paltry sum of money. This is why you don't see him in bigger fights. His promoters need to try and get him on undercards of major PPVs in the states so that he gets some exposure, thus upping the demand for bigger names to fight him.

Right. The formula is not new. Have your fighter fight on the undercard of big fights. See Raul Marquez v. Lorenzo (?) on the undercard of the Abraham v. Miranda fight. Erdei is in Germany. From what I gather, boxing his huge in Germany. Why doesn't he get on a Klitschko undercard or a Sturm undercard etc?

Risk/Reward. Sometimes to get bigger fights, the risk in one fight has to outweight the monetary reward. Maybe he needs to make less money in one fight to get a bigger name the next fight.

I'm not completely blaming Erdei, but the guy is a joke if he fights Garay or Francis. Come on.

Erdei took the Francis bout Zsolt Erdei-Dean Francis, Inkin vs. Balzsay on January 10 - Boxing News

Yea, I saw that. I'm done even considering Erdei at the top of the light heavyweight pack because even if he is a good fighter we'll never see him fight anyone competitive. Here's hoping Francis pulls the upset.