The Journeyman Distinction
Journeymen in boxing are much needed. They are the ones that promoters call up whenever they have a prospect that they think can proceed to the next level. A journeyman can provide rounds, competition, and even a few surprises for the sponsors to evaluate the fighters that they are endorsing. If you are a recognized journeyman, you can earn a decent payday. Almost every time they’re not expected to win. Some can push the predicted winning fighter to the limit but not much more is expected.
One such guy was Everett “Bigfoot” Martin. A heavyweight fighter from Tyler, Texas that fought a who’s who in the heavyweight division. Notable boxers that Martin faced were George Foreman, Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, and Wladimir Klitschko just to name a few. Martin fought a total of 15 past or future world champions and title holders. Bigfoot also engaged against four title challengers. Out of those 19 bouts, Martin picked up just one win against Tim Witherspoon. He also found moral success against Michael Moorer dropping Moorer early in the fight before losing a ten round unanimous decision. Everett Martin is the ideal definition of a journeyman fighter.
There are also journeymen that fall through the cracks and end up on the winning side on a few occasions. Those kind of scrappers are the ones that promoters hate to put their prospects up against but sometimes have no choice. Matchmakers want to know what the guys who are assumed to win are really made of. Emanuel Augustus is a promoter’s nightmare. The Louisiana native’s orthodox fighting style is highly unpredictable. Always known to give a good effort although at times involves himself in clowning tactics in the ring. Emanuel has beaten Terrell Finger and Danny Acevedo who both men had a combined record of 32 wins and no losses. He also went on to defeat David Toledo, Fred Ladd, Alex Trujillo, and Leavander Johnson whose records tallied at 124-6. Two draws were registered with Soran Sondergaard and David Aguilar who both men together had a record of 54 wins with only 1 defeat. Augustus has 34 setbacks. He wins as much as he loses. But one thing is for sure, Emanuel Augustus is a risky journeyman.
Last but not certainly not least you have what I like to call the Elite Journeyman. The best explanation for an elite journeyman is a boxer that has had a fair share of losses and finally ends up winning a world title. “Fearless” Freddie Pendleton was a trial horse from the brotherly city of Philadelphia who made it work for him. Pendleton in the beginning had a disappointing career. He suffered ten losses in his first twenty three bouts. Freddie slowly found success with wins over Tyrone Trice and Roger Mayweather but was still was a hot and cold fighter. Draws with Frankie Randall and Livingstone Bramble followed. Pendleton would later stop Livingstone Bramble. With 16 losses on his record Fearless finally got a crack at Pernell Whitaker for his lightweight titles and performed well although losing a unanimous decision. After that Pendleton put together an impressive eight fight winning streak setting up a fight with Tracy Spann for the vacant IBF lightweight title. In that fight he caught his moment when he won the title on a twelve round unanimous decision. He even went on to have a successful title defense against Jorge Paez. Freddie Pendleton is the perfect example of the elite journeyman.
In conclusion, the journeyman distinction has been completed. We have three different divisions of the journeyman. The classes are the traditional, risky, and elite journeyman. Other fighters fall in these three categories, but these are the fighters that we can closely identify with.
