In
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
, a gatekeeper is a skillful and well-regarded fighter, but one who does not have the popularity or brilliance of a title contender. They are considered to be a cut above most
journeymen
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
. A gatekeeper will often have an impressive record in terms of wins versus losses but will have a difficult time getting people behind them and especially obtaining promotion. They are often seen as a "stepping-stone" for potential title contenders to prove their worth against.
Characteristics
Gatekeepers will frequently have the following characteristics:
* They're sometimes relegated to fight contenders to boost the contender's stock shortly before a title fight.
Notable examples
The following fighters have all been described as gatekeepers:
*
Monte Barrett
Monte Barrett (born May 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2006, and fought many top heavyweight champions and contenders during his career.
Am ...
*
Edison Miranda
Edison Miranda (born January 7, 1981) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2021. He challenged once each for the IBF middleweight and super middleweight world titles, and was considered to be one of the most danger ...
*
Jameel McCline
Jameel McCline (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged for the world heavyweight title on an unprecedented four occasions, losing all four attempts to Wladimir Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Nikolai Valuev and Samuel ...
*
Raymond Joval
Raymond "Hallelujah" Joval (born 15 September 1968) is a Dutch professional boxer who held the International Boxing Organization middleweight title from 2000 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2006.
Joval represented the Netherlands at the 19 ...
*
Earnie Shavers
Earnie Dee Shaver (August 31, 1944 – September 1, 2022), best known as Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995. A two-time world heavyweight championship challenger, he is known as one of the harde ...
*
Carlos Takam
Armand Carlos Netsing Takam (born 6 December 1980) is a Cameroonian-born French professional boxer. He has challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against in 2017. As an amateur, he represented Cameroon a ...
*
Ross Puritty
Ross Puritty (born December 18, 1966) is an American former professional boxer. A high-level journeyman and occasional heavyweight contender, Puritty is best remembered for his shocking upset of Wladimir Klitschko in 1998 that won him the WBC in ...
*
Bert Cooper
Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray ...
*
Saul Montana
*
Dennis Bakhtov
Denis Bakhtov (born December 7, 1979 in Kazakhstan) is a Russian professional boxer.
Professional career
On October 11 2014 Bakhtov fought future world champion Anthony Joshua, losing by technical knockout in the second round.
In 2015 Bakh ...
*Robert Hawkins
*
Friday Ahunanya
*
Vaughn Bean
Vaughn Bean (born September 3, 1974) is an American former professional boxer. Nicknamed "Shake & Bake", Bean challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1997 and 1998.
Professional career
Bean began his career with 27 victories over extre ...
*
Przemyslaw Saleta
*
Louis Monaco
Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco (born April 28, 1968) is a professional boxer in the heavyweight division and the former CAM (Canadian American Mexican) heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "The Facelifter," Monaco is a clubfighter who fought several ...
*
Danny García
Danny Óscar Garcia (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal light welterweight titles betwe ...
*
Tony Thompson
*
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight from ...
*
Felix Verdejo
Notable MMA examples
*
Gary Goodridge
Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked co ...
*
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kowalki ...
*
Raquel Pennington
Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight division. She has previously fought for Invicta Fighting Championships. As of May 23, 2022, ...
*
Marion Reneau
Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...
*
Jeremy Stephens
*
Tecia Torres
Tecia Lyn Torres Moncaio (born August 16, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's straww ...
*
Cat Zingano
Cathilee Deborah "Cat" Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...
*
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...
*
Michael Johnson
*
Diego Sanchez
*
Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Masvidal has been competing professionally since 2003; h ...
*
Clay Guida
Clayton Charles Guida (; born December 8, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to the UFC competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforc ...
See also
*
Journeyman (boxing)
In American English, a journeyman or journeywoman is an athlete who is technically competent but unable to excel. The term is used elsewhere (such as in British and Australian contexts) to refer to a professional sportsman who plays for numerous c ...
*
Tomato can (sports idiom)
In individual combat sports, a tomato can, or simply can, is a fighter with comparatively poor or diminished skills who may be considered an easy opponent to defeat, or a "guaranteed win." Fights with tomato cans can be arranged to inflate the wi ...
References
{{Boxing
Boxing terminology