Dead on, Bilbo. Before I even read your post, Duddy came to mind, and all of the fighters you mentioned are in that catagory, except maybe Sam Peter. You can debate that he's overrated, but for the other guys, I don't know of anybody credible who overrates them. I forgot who said it, but somebody responded to a "Is Duddy Overrated" thread with, "no he's just over-popular."

People seem to get on any fighter who is popular but not a future Champ or top contender. A lot of people don't seem to like fighters who have well managed careers, perhaps because they feel other fighters are more talented and more deserving. Fair enough, but that doesn't make a guy overrated.

Arturo Gatti is one of the most popular fighter out there, but you could name dozens of better fighters in his weight divisions who had more talent and less popularity. To me, the "contender" level fighters - Duddy, Mora, Manfredo, Gomez, Feliciano, McCrary, Augustus etc. play an important roll as gatekeepers and high level opponents. They deserve good careers and fanbases, even if they are never world champs and sometimes, one of these guys surprises everyone and manages to rise to a near-elite level by maximizing the things they do well.