For example Kubrat Pulev, one of the top Heavyweight contenders on the planet, has got an 0 whilst beating recognisable opponents. His 0 is a proven one. On the other hand the unbeaten record of Vaitele Soi (21-0, 15) is unbeaten but completely unproven.
Today we say 3 unbeaten fighters in Germany putting their "0" to the test, and for all 3 men they'll have discovered something about themselves, just as we did watching them.
For teenage prospect Tom Schwarz (3-0, 2) we discovered he didn't his as hard as we thought. His first two bouts lasted less than a round each, on that logic we expected him to slice right through Edgars Kalnars (24-27, 15) who had already been stopped 18 times. Instead however Schwarz was forced to go 4 rounds against Kalnars. Sure Schwarz won all 4 but there will no be some doubts about just how hard he really hits.
At 19 years old and stood at around 6'5" we do expect Schwarz to continue to develop as a man, though the fact he's been adding notable weight since his debut is actually a worry. He's added around 14lbs in lessthan 6 months, we'd suggest he needs to get back down into the 220's until his body naturally gorws into a 230 or even 240 frame.
The second unbeaten man in action was Michael Wallisch (11-0, 7). Wallisch successfully defended his German Heavyweight title with a 10 round decision over the tough and durable Lars Buchholz (24-6, 17). Although Wallisch had been 10 rounds before he'll likely have had a much better test in this one than his previous one, a 10 round victory over the then 27-0 Yakup Saglam.
Aged 28 Wallisch has got time to spend on the German domestic scene, especially considering he had a very short amateur career. Unfortunately this was just his second bout this year. We'd rather see him in action 3 or 4 times than just twice at this stage. Hopefully we'll see him busier in 2014 as he looks to devlop on what is already there and already showin signs of real promises.
The thing going for both Schwarz and Wallisch tonight was that they passed their tests. Unfortunately for Robert Teuber (8-1, 7) the same could not be said for him. Teuber, who's unbeaten record had genuine come against poor opponents, took a leap of faith as he moved from fighting novices and journeymen to fighting former world title challenger Francesco Pianeta (29-1-1, 16). Unfortunately for Teuber this was a painful learning experience as the unbeaten man was stopped in 2 rounds with his nose burst and his pride badly battered.
Pianeta, whilst never a genuine "world class" fighter is a solid enough fighter. There's maybe 20-30 Heavyweights better than Pianeta but it was clear that Teuber wasn't one of those. Then again this bout wasn't about the unbeaten man, but instead it was about Pianeta getting a win following his stoppage loss to Wladimir Klitschko back in May.
As well as the bouts in Germany there was also a notable bout stateside involving an unbeaten man as Lateef Kayode (19-0-0-1, 15) stopped Travis Fulton (21-34-1, 20) in 2 rounds. For some reason this is being widely referred to as Kayode's Heavyweight debut which is actually a lie as Kayode fought his first 10 bouts above the Cruiserweight limit.