Zsolt Erdei - The Path of Least Resistance

In many ways, 35-year-old Zsolt Erdei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zsolt_Erdei), a Hungarian boxing champion, has accomplished a lot in the sport of boxing. Representing Hungary as a middleweight, Mr. Erdei won the bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics. He is the former WBO light heavyweight champion and the current holder of the WBC cruiserweight belt, in addition to possessing a perfect 31-0 record with 17 knockouts. Yet, in choosing opponents, Mr. Erdei and his team have made it a habit of following the path of least of resistance. A charlatan champion? Perhaps.

Mr. Erdei has talent. That much cannot be denied. He dominated Thomas Ulrich and has two victories over capable, if slightly ordinary, Hugo Garay; more recently, he beat Giacobbe Fragomeni, a top ten cruiserweight. However, when examining who Erdei has NOT fought, it becomes crystal clear that Mr. Erdei's CV is woefully inadequate.

Mr. Erdei shares the light heavyweight division with Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson, Jean Pascal, Adrian Diaconu, Tavoris Cloud, and Glen Johnson. Immediately it is apparent that all of these boxers are American or predominately fight in the United States. Conveniently, Erdei has fought only a handful of Americans. Actually, Julio Cesar Gonzalez is the only notable American on his CV.

Consider this: in 2008, Mr. Erdei fought untested DeAndrey Abron, an American fighter from Philadelphia, but Abron was chosen instead of many more capable fighters such as Yusaf Mack, Chris Henry, or Tavoris Cloud. The latter fighters surely would not have cost more than Abron, none held titles, none had fought on the big stage, and none had a major following.

Similarly, it is logical that the reason Mr. Erdei decided to fight G. Fragomenni is because it was getting to the point where eventually he would have been forced to fight a boxer with a pulse at light heavyweight.

Interestingly enough, as an amateur Mr. Erdei lost against perhaps the best opponent of his career, Sven Ottke.

One thing is certain: Erdei is/was a champion in a marquee division and is completely and utterly irrelevant to anyone not living in Budapest or Berlin.