Next Generation of Hall of Shamers
by gboxrec
If you're a loyal fan of the #boxing Hall of Shame, you'll have noticed the Hall hasn't inducted a fighter in a while. Fear not, loyal boxing fans, while time has certainly gone by, there has been a plethora of men who have stepped up to take the places of men like Frankie Hines, Carlos Rocha Tomar and Imrich Parlagi. To nobody's surprise, European fighters dominate the list of future losing stars (as their records are easier to verify than most of the Mexican and South American journeymen out there).
Here are the profiles of twelve men that either have the credentials to be in the Hall or are damn near close to becoming a member. Remember kids, when you hear people like Lou DiBella call boxing a "dying sport", you have this evidence that shows journeymen are still in high demand to protect the records of unproven prospects:
Imrich Borka Heavyweight, 2-39 (1)--- Borka can first boast that he is the lowest active rated fighter in the heavyweight division on Boxrec. Somehow, as an 0-2 fighter, he managed to fight for the World Boxing Federation Light Heavyweight title against Lee Manuel Ossie. Borka was stopped in six rounds. Not surprisingly, he fights out of Slovakia and has been ko'd thirty times. He's only 33 years old as well, so he has plenty of time to pile up some more losses. His two wins are also interesting to note: he scored a stoppage on the road in 2003 against "Market Street's Tyson", Sami Tikkinen. Tikkinen also managed to lose another inept Slovakian heavyweight, Peter Simko. Borka also picked up a four round win over fellow Slovakian Peter Szabo (we'll talk about him later). (Big Names He's Lost To: Other than Ossie (who isn't really that big of a name), nobody surprisingly).
Peter Szabo Cruiserweight, 1-22 (0) --- As I previously mentioned, Szabo fights of Slovakia - Nove Zamky to be accurate, so you can count on this guy having some connection to the legendary promoter, Laszlo Paszterko. Szabo was actually 0-22 with 11 knockout losses until last September, until he managed to pick up a win over the Czech Republic's Milan Vorisek. While we at Undernet are excited to follow Vorisek's career (he's 0-4 and only 31), we're sad that Szabo managed to break his perfect record. Szabo's been inactive ever since, and being 44 years old, it's a good bet that his boxing career is finished. While he is terrible, file Szabo under the 'close but no cigar' list in the Hall of Shame.
Szabolcs Gergely Cruiserweight, 0-29 --- I am shocked this guy isn't the lowest rated cruiserweight on Boxrec. He's from Hungary, another country which has a laundry list of Hall of Shamers. Gergely is actually rated lower than the previously mentioned Peter Szabo (please keep in mind that Szabo is so bad, he lost to Imrich Borka). That's how awful Gergely is as a fighter! Unfortunately, Gergely hasn't lost to anybody worth mentioning, but a 0-29 record should speak for itself. Sadly, he's 39, so his career may be coming to an end.
Rudulfo Murko Cruiserweight, 2-40 (2) --- Murko rounds out the deep division of cruiserweight losers. He's the lowest rated cruiserweight on Boxrec, which is a bit surprising. None of his losses are as ugly as Szabo's, plus he's only been knocked out 16 times (granted he's taken an early exit in eight of his last nine losses, so maybe he doesn't care about lasting the distance anymore). Still, a 2-40 record is a 2-40 record. His only notable defeat was to Alexander Petkovic, who received a WBO cruiserweight title shot against Johnny Nelson thanks to the wonders of careful matchmaking.
Lourival Luiz Da Silva Light Heavyweight, 2-55 (1) --- "Cowboy" Da Silva is the absolute worst the Light Heavyweight division has to offer by a mile. The lowest rated fighter at 175 lbs boasts 31 knockout losses and one win in the last 17 years. He's been used to help pad the records of South American fighters since 1989, and at 41, he's still going strong.
Gabor Balogh Middleweight, 1-44-5 --- Gabor "Rocco" Balogh has quitely become one of the top losers in the middleweight division. He had a very strong 2008, going 0-17-2. We're barely into 2009, but Balogh has already added two more losses (including a first round DQ for headbutts). He started his career 1-0-1, but has gone on an amazing streak of 0-43-5. We hope it continues. At 33, Balogh no doubt has a good chance of becoming the next Csaba Olah (a fellow Hungarian who also fought around Balogh's weight earlier in his career and retired at 3-71-3).
Jose Claudio Da Silva Light Welterweight, 5-63 (1) --- I like to think that Jose is related to Lourival, and the two made a vow to try to be the lowest rated fighters in their respective divisions. Jose might be winless in the last 12 years and have 31 knockout losses, but it doesn't put him at the lowest spot in the 140 lbs list on Boxrec. Jose tends to serve the same role as Lourival, padding the records of South American fighters who go on to pad the records of American/European prospects. It's a beautiful system that's been intact for about twenty five years and let's hope it doesn't stop.
Ambroz Horvath Lightweight, 0-21-1 --- Hall of Shame followers know that the Horvath name comes with a great tradition of losing in boxing. This particular Horvath hails from Slovakia (I'll take a wild guess and say he's an L.P. fighter) and has 15 knockout losses. He's only 24, but his high percentage of knockout losses makes you wonder if the EBU is going to ban him outright someday. However, he was able to fight in France as recently as December 2008.
Constantin Stan Super Featherweight, 0-29-2 --- Stan's record is absolutely ugly but he's actually not even close to being rated the lowest at 130 lbs on Boxrec. In fact, he's the highest rated Romanian at 130! This is due to him scoring a mind-boggling majority draw against Sandor Koczak. Stan was 0-9 and Koczak was 24-2-1 entering the fight. How Koczak was able to record 24 wins is another story for another day. Since the draw, Stan has gone 0-20-1 over five years, doing most of his losing in France and Spain. He's only 26 and has a bright future ahead of him, as long as he keeps losing.
Peter Balaz Super Featherweight, 0-23 --- Peter Balaz sucks. He sucks more than the Seattle Pilots and the current Oklahoma NBA franchise combined. Mere words alone cannot express how bad Balaz is in the ring. He turned pro at 20 years old, losing by knockout, and proceeded to take an eleven year lay off. Since his return in 2004, he's been knocked out in 18 of his 22 losses. Not only is the pace of knockout losses unbelieveable, but the men he's been beaten by as well: Sandor Fekete (1-24-1 entering the fight) made short work of him in under two rounds. Ivan Godor (1-6-1 entering the fight and with little future as a boxer) took him apart in three. Balaz appears to still be able to get fights in places like France, so we should expect to see those knockout losses continue. Did I mention he's Slovakian?
Josef Holub 1-31-1 Super Featherweight --- Czech Republic's Josef Holub rounds out the super featherweights on this list. He actually has a decent win (by "decent" I mean he beat 9-13-1 Marcel Kemnitz in a four rounder) to go along with those 31 losses. His record is fairly dull, but he does have a loss to Zsolt Botos, who is currently 6-34. The good news is Holub is 26 and lost nine times in 2008.
Cristian Nicolae Super Bantamweight, 2-55 (1) --- Nicolae broke the hearts at #boxing to start off 2008. With a record of 1-44, he managed to somehow score a knockout over Samir Kasmi, who was 7-7 entering the fight. What makes Kasmi's loss more bizarre is that he almost managed to win the French featherweight title this past November against Osman Aktas, who is leagues better than Nicolae. Nicolae did go on to lose eleven times in 2008, but it's going to take many more losses to erase our memories of his fluke win. He's 27 and Romanian, so the odds are probably in his favor.