club fighter

{{Original research|table|date=May 2022}}

A club fighter (or clubfighter) is a professional boxer who usually fights locally{{Cite web |title=What Is A Club Fighter? Definition & Meaning On SportsLingo.com |url=https://www.sportslingo.com/sports-glossary/c/club-fighter/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.sportslingo.com |language=en-us}} and has a mediocre record. Club fighters generally are not nationally recognized and have not won any fights that show the ability to win a championship. The term is often used as a pejorative for over-hyped fighters or for older boxers in decline. As an example, Floyd Mayweather Jr. called Arturo Gatti "a blown-up club fighter", despite Gatti being the WBC super lightweight champion at the time.{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=The New York Times |date=1981-09-07 |title=THE TRAGEDY OF A MIDDLEWEIGHT LOSER |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/07/sports/the-tragedy-of-a-middleweight-loser.html |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.nytimes.com}}

A club fighter typically earns less respect than a contender, who defeats gatekeepers, journeymen, and other club fighters in order to establish themselves as a challenger for a world title. A journeyman is more respected than a club fighter — often by way of having a superficially good record.{{fact|date=January 2025}}