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 sport focused on kicking and 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 practiced for self-defense, general ...

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, incor ...

, 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 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 * Edison Miranda *

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 * Earnie Shavers * Carlos Takam * Ross Puritty *

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 M ...

* Saul Montana * Dennis Bakhtov *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 s ...

* Danny García * 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 fro ...

Felix Verdejo Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

Notable MMA examples

* Gary Goodridge *

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 *

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 Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the ...

* Tecia Torres * Cat Zingano *

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 Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

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

References

{{Boxing Boxing terminology

Characteristics

Notable examples

Notable MMA examples

See also

References