By Louise Clarke: The Light middleweight division is currently packed with big names and big fights that people want to see. However switch the clock back three or four years and it wasn’t even a shadow of the division it once was. But there was a few stand-out fighters.

One of these stand-out fighters is a Ukrainian southpaw. He is appropriately nicknamed Razor mainly due to his sharp jab. He is a typical East European fighter with a very upright style and a good jab. An added bonus is that he does have an ability to knock people out with 23 of his 37 wins coming by knockout however he has only won two fights by knockout since he has entered the world title scene. Any idea who this is yet?

No? Don’t be surprised you’re in the majority! You want some more clues? Well he is a highly decorated amateur with a world silver medal and has a record of 195-25. Impressive! A few years ago Antonio Margarito said he didn’t know who he was!

No? Well I’ve ran out of clues. His name is Sergiy Dzinziruk! He is the current WBO light-middleweight world champion. He is only rated 24th in the world by Boxrec. But he is unbeaten and a very skilled fighter who uses his jab and lateral movement well. He has never been put in trouble. The closest he has been to a defeat was a majority decision where the other two judges had him winning by margins of 2 and 8. So why isn’t he rated higher?

Lack of quality fighters on his resume? I suppose it’s a fair argument to make but when he beat Daniel Santos in 2005, Santos was coming off the back of a win over Antonio Margarito. A Joel Julio who looked for a while like he was back to his old form. It could also be the lack of exposure to American TV. The one fight he has had on American TV was his most recent fight, against Daniel Dawson a over-matched American and despite Dzinziruk putting on a typical good performance I hardly expect it captured the imagination of many Americans?

But is the future bright for Dzinziruk? Unfortunately time is against him at 34. This should mean he will be packing in the big fights in his career. However for the Cotto’s and Martinez’s of the division it is too high risk- low gain. His fight in 2 months against Ricardo Mayorga is a major fight. Mayorga is a big name and a draw. The exposure he deserved 4 years ago is arriving but probably too late to have much of an impact on the career of Sergiy Dzindiruk. So he will remain as the forgotten man of the Light-Middleweight Division.

louiseclarke87@yahoo.co.uk