GGG might fight Andy Lee in April.. is he the new Erdei?

[Ron Swanson]

I get where your head is now but I still don't agree. The notion is he's not taking a big fight because he's cleaning out 160, well then why has he fought so many 154 fighters? Is he cleaning out 160 or 154?

And since when do you clean out a division by fighting guys outside the top 10?

If a Sergio fight was lined up, Quillen, Sturm I'd say do your thing even though I don't think particularly highly of any of them.(I used to think highly of Sergio but I don't know what he has left, I hope he returns to form) But these guys have shown no interest in fighting him.

If HBO continues to get good ratings for GGG vs guys ranked outside the top 10 and Jr.Middles they're smart to keep lining them up. And if GGGs pay keeps increasing he's smart to keep taking these useless fights. But I don't understand boxing fans supporting this false notion he's "cleaning" out middleweight. "Cleaning" implies it's in process. It's talked about but it's not in process. A Geale fight could qualify but a Lee fight does not, a Kirkland fight does not.

[Rantcatrat]

I get where your head is now but I still don't agree. The notion is he's not taking a big fight because he's cleaning out 160, well then why has he fought so many 154 fighters? Is he cleaning out 160 or 154?

And since when do you clean out a division by fighting guys outside the top 10?

If a Sergio fight was lined up, Quillen, Sturm I'd say do your thing even though I don't think particularly highly of any of them.(I used to think highly of Sergio but I don't know what he has left, I hope he returns to form) But these guys have shown no interest in fighting him.

If HBO continues to get good ratings for GGG vs guys ranked outside the top 10 and Jr.Middles they're smart to keep lining them up. And if GGGs pay keeps increasing he's smart to keep taking these useless fights. But I don't understand boxing fans supporting this false notion he's "cleaning" out middleweight. "Cleaning" implies it's in process. It's talked about but it's not in process. A Geale fight could qualify but a Lee fight does not, a Kirkland fight does not.

I'm glad we're slowly understanding each other. I too understand your points. Adama wasn't in the top ten, but he was a legitimate middleweight that gave Geale a rough night's work and had never been stopped. However, most importantly, the fight wasn't on HBO. He also fought Ishida off American networks. So, two of the fights you complain about were not on HBO in order to keep active. I see the point in that at least for a certain period of time.

Rosado is a 154/160 guy. He gave Quillin problems. He beat J'Leon Love. I'm not saying he's a world beater but he's decent. GGG sliced him up. This was also on HBO After Dark, which doesn't pay as much, or get the same treatment as a regular HBO show.

Proksa, Macklin and Stevens were top ten middleweights when GGG fought them. Frankly, I put Quillin, Geale, Sturm and Murray on the level of or right above these guys. Quillin won't face GGG because he is on Showtime. Murray and Sturm have avoided GGG and are set to face each other.

Martinez won't fight him before he fights Cotto. If he gets by Cotto, he has to fight GGG or he loses face. I also think a fight with Martinez is worth waiting for because Martinez holds the lineal middleweight belt and is on everyone's list of current best fighters. It would be a good fight for GGG's career.

So, this is how I see things playing out. GGG faces Lee or Geale (who are in the top ten or right outside it) in April and the other one at the end of the summer. He then tries to make a fight with Martinez at the end of the year. If by the end of 2014, we have seen no improvement in challenges, I'm with you, he should move up.

Now also understand that I don't rank GGG in my top ten p4p or anything like that. It's premature to do so when he hasn't faced too much top competition (I felt the same about Broner and Canelo).

Ward is number two on most people's list. He deserves more scrutiny than someone unranked. He needs to find a capable dance partner sooner than later, which probably means he needs to move up.