bradley24 By Gav Duthie: Some fighters are loved, some are hated as the saying goes the only thing worse is indifference.

There are many boxers today that no matter what they do they seem to fail to get the credit their exploits deserve. Their are many underrated, under appreciated boxers but in my opinion there are 3 in particular fighting today. All 3 are good boxers, near the top of their division, have all been world champions and always face difficult opponents.

(1) Alexander Povetkin 27-1 (19)

The heavyweight division today is drowning with boxers with padded undefeated records, overweight journeyman and fighters unwilling to take risks. Dennis Boytsov was 33-0 (26) when he finally faced his first top 20 opponent and lost to Alex Leapei. Deontay Wilder has fought 32 fairly easy opponents yet some talk about him like he is the mixed lovechild of Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.

Russian Alexander Povetkin has only fought 28 times yet on his resume he boasts wins over ex heavyweight champions Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Hasim Rahman as well as top contenders Eddie Chambers, Cruiserweight champion Marco Huck and most recently Manuel Charr. Wladimir Klitschko undoubtedly respected his power hence the reason he held, pushed and pulled the Russian all night. After losing to Klitschko many retire or drop into boxing oblivion but Povetkin got straight back in the ring and fought the tough Manuel Charr rather than taking any warm ups knocking him out in the 7th round. Povetkin next faces dangerous Cameroonian Carlos Takam fresh off the back of an impressive performance against Mike Perez and a win over veteran Tony Thompson.

After Klitschko retires I have no doubt that Povetkin will be a world champion once again. He is an all action fighter, he never shirks a challenge and surely if he keeps winning he will eventually get the credit he deserves.

(2) Tim Bradley 31-1 (12)

Normally an American who can throw a straight jab is heralded as the next big thing but no matter what Bradley achieves he is never fully taken seriously. Mayweather doesn’t mention him by name and he is rarely talked about in comparison to other American welterweights like Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman who have achieved far less. After defeating Manny Pacquaio in 2012 he should have been on top of the world but he conversely suffered from depression after receiving death threats on social media for the controversial decision against the Filipino. Even without the Pacquaio victory he has achieved so much in only 32 fights. He came over to the UK as a novice to knock down and outpoint Junior Witter who at the time was looking for a big showdown with Ricky Hatton. He has also beaten Kendall Holt, Miguel Vasquez, Lamont Peterson, Devon Alexander, Joel Casamayor, and Juan Manuel Marquez. Even his barnstorming fight with Ruslan Provodnikov failed to drastically increase his fan base.

Perhaps it his his lack of knockouts with only 12 from his 31 victories but with his work rate and skill level he should be considered a top fighter. He has a normal down to earth personality and when he does return to the ring I know he will be chasing the big fights again.

(3) Miguel Vasquez 34-3 (13)

Despite fighting in the wrong division for half his career and being managed by little known Zanfer Promotions Vasquez is currently the best lightweight in the world. Perhaps his lack of popularity is due to the fact he is not your typical Mexican fighter. At 5″10 and with a 72″ reach he doesn’t have the typical build of a Mexican fighter nor does he box like one. He uses his jab and has good footwork, his defense is tight and he looks predominantly to outbox his opponents. He has three losses but as aforementioned he was fighting at a higher weight division and his defeats were to Saul Alvarez x2 and Tim Bradley. He has been the IBF Lightweight champion for sometime now and has made 5 successful defenses the latest defeating the previously unbeaten Denis Shafikov.

Probably for the first time Vasquez has the chance to prove himself on the big stage as he defends his title on the Mayweather-Maidana undercard. He is to fight Mayweather Promotions Mickey Bey 20-1-1 (10) and is fully expected to successfully defend his title again. The big name making waves in the division at present is Terence Crawford and I think it would take a unification bout between the two for Vasquez to get any decent limelight. I have the feeling that Crawford may move up a division before this fight happens.

Perhaps it is a lack of punching power, poor management or a lack of personality that makes a fighter more underrated but in the case of these 3 I genuinely don’t understand what more they could do for recognition. Yes all 3 fighters have had relative success but in my opinion nowhere near what there talents deserve.

These are my 3 most underrated fighters and I am sure readers have a good few more that they can add to the list. Lets try and give them the recognition they deserve.