A club fighter (or clubfighter) is a professional boxer who usually fights locally 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 A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

for over-hyped fighters or for older boxers in decline. As an example,

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

called Arturo Gatti "a blown-up club fighter", despite Gatti being the WBC super lightweight champion at the time. 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.

References

Boxing terminology Pejorative terms for people {{boxing-stub