By definition, a gatekeeper is a person in charge of a gate who controls who passes through it. As it relates to boxing, that gate might lead to a specific ranking, it might lead to a title shot, or it might lead to elite status. There are different levels of gatekeepers in the sport of boxing. At the lower levels, there are guys with records of 3-2 who determine who is good enough to be 5-0. There are mid-level gatekeepers with records of something along the lines of 23-16, such as Dhafir Smith, Dennis Sharpe, Sammy Sparkman or Jason Gavern, who protect the top twenty-five. Then there are those gatekeepers such as Alfonso Gomez and Marco Antonio Rubio, who, if you beat them, you either receive, or are very close to a world title shot. These are also the men who sometimes beat aging champions and send them into retirement. In the early 2000’s, there was a fighter by the name of Omar Weis who was a gatekeeper at about the 80% level. He beat an undefeated Hector Camacho, Jr. but lost a decision to Zab Judah. Gatekeepers are measuring sticks. They are reliable fighters, who, for better or worse, represent the perfect gauge as to where their opponents stand.
Being a gatekeeper means more than just defeating good fighters and losing to the best. There has to be a consistent pattern with little to no exception to the rule. There are fighters like ex-world welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga who have taken on the role of a gatekeeper over the years, but he doesn’t fit the profile because he holds two victories over Vernon Forrest. In my opinion, Mayorga is an underachiever who didn’t take his career very seriously. True gatekeepers are solid professionals who reach their potential. Shane Mosley is perceived as a gatekeeper in his upcoming fight with Saul Alvarez, but in actuality, he’s an aging legend who is now cashing out. That’s not the same thing as a gatekeeper. Gatekeepers in the purest form are generally tough but limited, and sometimes their toughness compensates for their limitations and they beat guys with more skills than they have. However, when gatekeepers face the best of the best, their limitations are usually exposed and they lose in convincing fashion.
Facing a gatekeeper is a pass-fail scenario. When an up-and-comer defeats a gatekeeper, he or she is looked at as someone with special qualities. When an up-and-comer loses to a gatekeeper, it’s back to the drawing board. In boxing, the word “gatekeeper” is sometimes used as a put down. For instance, someone might say that so-and-so is “merely a gatekeeper”. Personally, I have all the respect in the world for gatekeepers. They’re some of the toughest human beings on the planet and they carry the upper echelon of boxing on their back. The ten fighters on the list below are gatekeepers on the highest level and appear on this list as a form of praise, not criticism. They were ranked, not based on how good they are, but how distinct the line is that they draw between the fighters they defeat and the fighters who have defeated them.
10. BEN TACKIE – Ben Tackie’s rise to gatekeeper status was a gradual one. His first loss came in 1999 to a relatively unknown fighter named Gregorio Vargas. But in 2000, he went on to beat the likes of Golden Johnson, Roberto Garcia, and Freddie Pendelton. That same year, he lost via split decision to a past-his-prime John John Molina. It was in 2001 that Tackie really established himself as a gatekeeper when he blasted out Teddy Reid in the fifth round. After the Reid fight, Tackie went on to lose decisions to Kostya Tszyu, Sharmba Mitchell, and Ricky Hatton. Tackie was always considered a force at junior welterweight and he went the distance in every fight he was ever in, but he began to slip when he chose to campaign at welterweight from 2007-10, losing to the likes of Freddy Hernandez, Alfonso Gomez, and Matthew Hatton.
9. WILLIAM JOPPY – From the late 90’s to the early 2000’s, William Joppy was on the fringes of A-level status and held versions of the world middleweight title on multiple occasions. Before losing decisively to Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins, Joppy’s only loss came when he faced Julio Cesar Green, but the loss was controversial and was avenged twice, first by unanimous decision and later by seventh round TKO. From that point on, Joppy went on to convincingly beat every fighter he faced who was not considered elite, including a past-his-prime Roberto Duran who he TKO’d in the third round. The losses to Trinidad and Hopkins were brutal beatings and they slowed Joppy down considerably, but in 2004, he was viewed as a legitimate test for future middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, a fight where he was sent to the canvas at one point and lost all twelve rounds. In 2008, Joppy lost to Lucian Bute via tenth round TKO, but at that point, he was well past his best.
8. MICHAEL KATSIDIS – Michael Katsidis “The Great” is not great, but he is very good. From 2008-2011, he faced and was defeated by Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Robert Guerrero. The fight with Diaz was a split decision and he sent Marquez to the canvas. His most notable wins are against an undefeated fighter in Kevin Mitchell and a past-his-prime Jesus Chavez. Having lost to Ricky Burns in 2011, there is doubt that we will ever see Katsidis against an elite fighter again, but he is a tough-as-nails lightweight who will be able to tell his grandchildren that he fought the best of his time and represented himself well.
7. SAKIO BIKA – At super middleweight, Sakio Bika is a beast with the power of a light heavyweight. He’s not the most skillful guy in the world, but he’s dangerous and he’s never been stopped inside the distance. From 2006-2010, he lost to Joe Calzaghe, Lucian Bute, and Andre Ward, all among the sport's best, and he knocked out Jaidon Codrington and Peter Manfredo. If you want to know how good a super middleweight is, put him in with Sakio Bika. I’m surprised the networks don’t offer him up as an opponent to the Dirrell brothers and some of the other 168-pound fighters who are looking to establish themselves.
6. LIBRADO ANDRADE – From about 2007-2010, Librado Andrade was an excellent gatekeeper in the super middleweight division. He gave Lucian Bute a serious gut check the first time they fought. Some people feel that he deserved to win that fight via knockout, but that the referee dropped the ball by giving a long count just as the final bell rang (others feel Bute was up before even a legitimate ten count). Bute improved since their original encounter and stopped Andrade in their rematch. Andrade also lost to Mikkel Kessler via decision, but he TKO’d Yusaf Mack and Robert Stieglitz who are both good but not great fighters. Steiglitz is the current WBO champion. Most recently, Andrade lost a majority decision to Aaron Pryor, Jr., so you have to figure that his days of being a gatekeeper might be over. But when Andrade was at the top of his game, if his opponent wasn’t among the best of the best, he was in trouble.
5. MARCOS RENE MAIDANA – Just last year, Marcos Maidana was mentioned in the same sentence as Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, and Devon Alexander. But recently, he has started to fit the role of gatekeeper. He defeated a young, naïve Victor Ortiz by giving Ortiz a reality check and he defeated an aging DeMarcus Corley. However, Maidana came up short against Amir Khan, Devon Alexander, and Andriy Kotelnyk. With Khan and Alexander, Maidana was the test that they had to take to make it to the next level. Had Khan and Alexander lost to Maidana, they would have been dismissed as top guys. But since they won, they’ve been accepted by the majority of the public as borderline A-level talent. The same thing can be said for Erik Morales. Morales’ comeback is now being taken very seriously, because many believe that he deserved the victory over Maidana (even though Maidana won by decision). After a poor showing at welterweight against Devon Alexander, Maidana will likely move back down to junior welterweight where he will terrorize the young prospects.
4. YORI BOY CAMPAS – With a record of 99-16-1 and 78 KO’s, it must be defined at what point Luis Ramon Campas (better known as Yori Boy Campas) fit the role of gatekeeper. He has been a great ring warrior for years and now age 40, he has 99 pro wins and a fight scheduled in Mexico later this month! He turned pro in 1987 and remained undefeated until he faced Felix Trinidad in 1994, a fight he lost via fourth round TKO. Yori Boy spent years blowing away B-level talent and he holds a stoppage victory over then-undefeated ex-Olympian Raul Marquez, a fighter who has only lost to A-level opposition. In fact, Marquez would probably be on this list of gatekeepers if it weren’t for his loss to Yori Boy. That win got Campas an IBF junior middleweight title and he made three successful defenses before losing the title to a true A-lister, Fernando Vargas in 1998. Other notable losses include Daniel Santos in 2002. He also lost to Jose Luis Lopez in 1996 and Oba Carr in 2000, both who are considered very good, but not great fighters. Those two losses might bring his status as gatekeeper into question, but Lopez and Carr were pretty good in their prime, just not as fondly remebered today. Campas had so many fights that the black and white aspect of being a gatekeeper gets a bit blurred: he has fought both Hector Camachos, Sr. and Jr. But when he was at his best, Yori Boy was the ultimate gauge for a fighter who was moving up in the ranks.
3. ANGEL MANFREDY – Known as “El Diablo” then later known as “Got Jesus”, Angel Manfredy was on the verge of elite status from the mid 90’s to the early 2000’s, but he seemingly fit into the role of gatekeeper. He holds wins over Ivan Robinson, Arturo Gatti, and Julio Diaz, while he lost in convincing fashion to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Stevie Johnston, Diego Corrales, and Paul Spadafora. With Manfredy, it was pretty cut and dry. By 2003, Manfredy was no longer a factor at the top level, as he lost to Courtney Burton via eighth round TKO.
2. EDISON MIRANDA – When Edison Miranda first came onto the scene around 2006-07, it looked as if he might be the future of the middleweight division. Some believe he deserved a victory over Arthur Abraham the first time they fought (Miranda broke Abraham's jaw, and after a long debate, the fight continued and Abraham won by decision), but as his career unfolded, he became the ultimate gauge for up-and-coming fighters. He knocked out top ten middleweight Howard Eastman, who gave William Joppy a good fight and had never been stopped inside the distance before. But he came up short against Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham (in a rematch), Andre Ward, and Lucian Bute. A-level fighters would always beat Edison Miranda, but if a fighter is anything less than A-level, Miranda would blow him away. Having fought at middleweight and super middleweight, Miranda now campaigns at light heavyweight where he has lost twice to little-known opposition.
1. DAVID TUA – A 1992 Olympian, David Tua was the ultimate heavyweight gatekeeper in the late 90’s to the early 2000’s. With Tua, everything was black and white. You were either good enough or you weren’t. Lennox Lewis, “The Emperor” of the heavyweight division, defeated him via unanimous decision, though Tua was viewed as a legitimate test going into the fight. Today, a lot of fans refer to Ike Ibeabuchi as the man who could have been the best heavyweight of his time, had he not gone to prison. The reason is because of his victory over David Tua (as well as Chris Byrd). And speaking of Byrd, the boxing public finally began to regard him as one of the best heavyweights on the scene once he beat Tua. Fres Oquendo was considered a top contender in the early 2000’s, but his loss to Tua brought clarity to the situation. Hasim Rahman failed the “Tua Test” the first time around. And it was David Tua who brought Michael Moorer’s comeback to a screeching halt. John Ruiz's public image took years to recover from a first-round KO loss to Tua. In 2011, Tua’s loss to veteran Monte Barrett has sent him into retirement, at least for the time being. But in his day, with his devastating power and granite chin, Tua really separated the guys.
ADDITONAL GATEKEEPERS: DeMarcus Corley, Kassim Ouma, Antonio Diaz, Luis Collazo, Gbenga Olokun and Bronco McKart (Winky Wright’s personal gatekeeper who he had to face three times).
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