Fighters who didn't come close to living up to their potential....

Some examples:

Salvador Sanchez
Jose Luis Lopez
Meldrick Taylor
Ike Quartey
James Toney
Tyrone Everett


Any others?

I dont think its fair to put Sanchez on this list. Considering he is regared as one of the 3 greatest featherweight of all time by pretty much everyone.

Same with Meldrick Taylor. Who was a spectaular fighter who had it beaten out fo him. His only crime was fighting his heart out.

both these guys had other circumstances play into why they did not do what they were supposed to do.

Niether guy wasted anything

You cant say they "wasted" there potential now they may not have "realized" it and those are two very very different things.

By saying 'wasted talents', I wasn't saying that those fighters WASTED their talent.....only that their talent went to waste, no matter who or what was responsible.

Corrie Sanders
Kirk Johnson

mayorga no doubt...he hits hard as hell never throw jabs or straights (its all hooks and power punches) and doesnt fade like dlh (who throw mostl weak shots)..mayorga has hella stamina and one of the best chins in boxing now if not the best...

BUT HE CANT BOX FOR SH*T..its sucks..if he only knew how to box he would be unstoppable..but he wont ever learn..i dont know why they dont teach him...but then again he beat vernon forrest and six head lewis with no boxing skills...hmm makes u think...

dammit now i am confused..i'll be right back i need cake..

5 minutes later..ok i am back..anyway..someone teach mayorga to box and block more

"Ferocious" Fernando Vargas. Was rushed into 'superstardom' too early.

Peace.

Two words...David Reid. Hes was definitely talented. Quartey was due to lack of activity and Toney is not a waste of talent. He's a great fighter. I mean sure he comes in overweight sometimes but who doesn't...I think the biggest waste of talent was Bowe.

Two words...David Reid. Hes was definitely talented. Quartey was due to lack of activity and Toney is not a waste of talent. He's a great fighter. I mean sure he comes in overweight sometimes but who doesn't...I think the biggest waste of talent was Bowe.

Poor David Reid, if it were not for that god damn eye he would have had one hell of a career! He put up one heck of a showing against Tito only seventeen fights into his career, I am not sure if this is also part of the reason he faded- but man, was he ever a phenom!

Mike Tyson, who had the potential to stand heads and shoulders alongside Rocky Marciano in history books in terms of ring accomplishments. He was great, but I think he could have been greater still, had he the heart and mind of an Evander.

John Mugabi
Micheal Dokes
Riddick Bowe
Tommy Morrison

I actually think that Michael Grant could have been a solid heavyweight if he had ANY type of a chin... Sadly, if he even thinks about getting punched he hits the canvas.

I actually think that Michael Grant could have been a solid heavyweight if he had ANY type of a chin... Sadly, if he even thinks about getting punched he hits the canvas.

i don't see how anyone could say Toney, he has won 3 world titles, and now is very close to becoming the HW champ. I would have to say Kirk Johnson and Corrie Sanders. Kirk is a great boxer and fouled out against Ruiz he was much better than, and would have been winning if weren't for the points he lost. And than came in over 20 lbs overweight against VK, who i know he could have beaten. Sanders could beat anyone if he would just train, he just depends on raw talent. I can't say Bowe because he did alot in the time he was fighting.

i think Naz,he decided to fight the superstars too late in his career..had he had the likes of morales and barerra when he was three years younger he would have blown them away.

Donald Curry = Between '84-'85, he was the best fighter I've ever seen. Then, poof !....he slid downhill.

Aaron Pryor = Acheived quite a bit, but cocaine cut his potential in half.

Ike Quartey = The Ike of '96 was a true force. He quickly became complacent, & became almost ordinary

Ike Ibeabuchi = Would have ruled the heavyweights with an iron fist. Would have sat above this trash-heap of current heavies, & brought respect & interest to the division. But....we know his deal.

Poor David Reid, if it were not for that god damn eye he would have had one hell of a career! He put up one heck of a showing against Tito only seventeen fights into his career, I am not sure if this is also part of the reason he faded- but man, was he ever a phenom!


good point about david reid

my opinion is naz is a massive waste fo talent, maybe he just needed some more heart to come back from the barrera loss, however he and we have missed out on a few superfights due to the little jumped up ***** ****

The 2 that come to mind for me are Ike Ibeabuchi and Tommy Morrison!!! We all know about Ike with the rape thing. Tommy had so much talent and power!!! If yoy ever watched any of his fights you would see that in every one he would be gasping for air after the first round!!! Look what he did to Foreman too!!! That was the one fight where he looked to be in really good shape for him but he was still just gasping for air after the first round in the corner!!! Later on after it came out he had hiv he was on a talk show telling his story. He said that he basically partied all the time and had different women every night. Even during training!!! It was really sad!!!

Buster Douglas has to be up there with a watse of talent.

Fighters who didn't come close to living up to their potential....

Some examples:

Salvador Sanchez
Jose Luis Lopez
Meldrick Taylor
Ike Quartey
James Toney
Tyrone Everett


Any others?

judah max weight shoudl be 140
mosley max weight shoudl be 147

Cleary....

Good one.

I think Douglas showed how awesome he could have been if he were focused.
To see a 6'4", 231 lb guy fighting like he did against Tyson....wow, what coulda/shoulda been.

i don't see how anyone could say Toney, he has won 3 world titles, and now is very close to becoming the HW champ. I would have to say Kirk Johnson and Corrie Sanders. Kirk is a great boxer and fouled out against Ruiz he was much better than, and would have been winning if weren't for the points he lost. And than came in over 20 lbs overweight against VK, who i know he could have beaten. Sanders could beat anyone if he would just train, he just depends on raw talent. I can't say Bowe because he did alot in the time he was fighting.






Hey man I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but how can you say that Kirk Johnson could have beaten Vitali, it was not even close and believe me, being 25 pounds lighter would not have made that big a difference. Kirk himself said that he fights better when he is heavier (whatever that means).

Wasted talents?


Andrew Golota
Tommy Morrison
Razor Ruddock

aaron pryor is probably the biggest wasted talent. he was amazing in the ring but he got into drugs and never came back to boxing. i really wish we could have seen how far pryor could have taken his career.

I'm gonna throw one out there that I might get blasted for.......Tito Trinidad.

In his only loss, he moved up in weight and lost to the best fighter in the world (as proven on Sat). Then he retires and doesn't fight for 2 years, when in my opinion he was still in the prime of his career. If Trinidad stays in the lower weight classes and doesn't retire, I think he is undefeated still and likely mentioned in the top 20 P4P all time. Just a theory.

only one name comes to mind and thats .... and i'm shocked that no one has mentioned him .... ricardo williams jr. i think hes the epitome of wasted talent. silver medallist in the 2000 olympics, sick hand speed, really good power, really nice technique and foot work and can't deal w/ it cuz of too much responsibility, or atleast thats my own opinion. to think, w/ all of his talent, had he more responsibility we'd be debating today as to who is the better youngster in the 140's, he or cotto.

daniel santos, one time i read while he was giving an interview said that he felt horrible about what he did to david reids eye in the amateurs, this after the tito loss. santos was a real accomplished boxer-puncher early in his career and he met up w/ reid in competition, a perfectly placed right hand from santos killed lots of nerve endings in reids eye. just an FYI for those of you who didn't know why his eye was like that.

Boxing is a sport where it's not all that uncommon for someone's career to be wasted because of incarceration, unlike the NBA, where if Kobe had been convicted, would have been huge headlines and some would have called it an irreparable damage done to the sport.

So I nominate Ike Ibeabuchi.

And Johnny Tapia, who's been clinically dead a handful of times. If he spent more time alive training than doing drugs, he might have accomplished more. I'm respectful of his terrible traumatic childhood; I just think that once he overcame it through boxing, he should have kept boxing as his focus and left all the hard drugs alone.

aaron pryor is probably the biggest wasted talent. he was amazing in the ring but he got into drugs and never came back to boxing. i really wish we could have seen how far pryor could have taken his career.

The fact that he was avoided by Leonard and Hearns didn't help his
career either. Fortunately, Arguello had the balls to step up to the plate and made a classic out of it.

My list also includes:

David Reid
Gerald McClellan
Ike Ibeabuchi
Meldrick Taylor

There are so many. Most have been named, but i thought i'd throw out Wilfred Benitez.

Possibly the most naturally gifted boxer of all-time. Everything he did in the ring was so intuitive and smooth. He made it look easy. But he didn't like to train. If he had the dedication of a Bernard Hopkins, he could've gone much further.

The 2 that come to mind for me are Ike Ibeabuchi and Tommy Morrison!!! We all know about Ike with the rape thing. Tommy had so much talent and power!!! If yoy ever watched any of his fights you would see that in every one he would be gasping for air after the first round!!! Look what he did to Foreman too!!! That was the one fight where he looked to be in really good shape for him but he was still just gasping for air after the first round in the corner!!! Later on after it came out he had hiv he was on a talk show telling his story. He said that he basically partied all the time and had different women every night. Even during training!!! It was really sad!!!


Damn, it's too bad Morrison's career was cut short. This guy had power. We could only wonder how he would've fared against the likes of Holyfield, Tyson, Bowe, etc. I still remember his fight with Mercer. When Morrison got brutally KO'd I thought that was it for him. But he just kept knocking guys out after that.

Hey man I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but how can you say that Kirk Johnson could have beaten Vitali, it was not even close and believe me, being 25 pounds lighter would not have made that big a difference. Kirk himself said that he fights better when he is heavier (whatever that means).

Kirk was slower than he thought, When in shape Kirk would have avoided most of thse punches, and out boxed VK. but he just couldn't move like 230 lbs Kirk.

Ike Ibeabuchi and Zab Judah. I think Judah could have beat Spinks but Judah always screws around like hes bored when he fight. He needs to focus.

Kirk was slower than he thought, When in shape Kirk would have avoided most of thse punches, and out boxed VK. but he just couldn't move like 230 lbs Kirk.

Either way Kirk should have beaten Ruiz, and he easily would have had he just kept his cool. I guess we agree on something that Johnson is wasted talent.

I don't think anyone has done more harm to the heavyweight division (from a fan's point of view) than the unholy trinity of Fres Oquendo, John Ruiz and Kirk Johnson.

Greg Page.Could have been a dominant force in the heavyweight division if not for appetite and failure to stand up for himself.Also Bernard Taylor and Bobby Joe Young can qualify to varying degrees

The fact that he was avoided by Leonard and Hearns didn't help his
career either. Fortunately, Arguello had the balls to step up to the plate and made a classic out of it.

My list also includes:

David Reid
Gerald McClellan
Ike Ibeabuchi
Meldrick Taylor

this is an old thread, but i caught the "Leonard and Hearns ducked Pryor" comment. That is absolutely ridiculous. Leonard and Hearns would have destroyed Pryor. Not becuase I think Pryor was bad. In fact, I have a great deal of respect for him. Leonard and Hearns would have been too big for Pryor. Arguello was a guy coming up in weight..so that is a bad comparison. Great fights with Arguello, but those fights did nothing to support a theory that Pryor could compete with SRL and The Hit Man.

Pryor used to show up at Leonard press conferences and beg for a fight..the truth is that Leonard had bigger fish to fry.

buster douglas ate himself into oblivion

Maybe not wasted talent but certaintly a waste, Ali being stripped of his belt and not being allowed to fight. Definatly his best years were taken away from him.

Maybe we never saw The Greatest at his greatest.

I'm gonna throw one out there that I might get blasted for.......Tito Trinidad.

In his only loss, he moved up in weight and lost to the best fighter in the world (as proven on Sat). Then he retires and doesn't fight for 2 years, when in my opinion he was still in the prime of his career. If Trinidad stays in the lower weight classes and doesn't retire, I think he is undefeated still and likely mentioned in the top 20 P4P all time. Just a theory.


Damn right you're getting blasted for this one... :D

Come on, Tito started fighting pro at 18 and won the title by 20. He'd been fighting at a high championship level for nearly 10 years, taking a 'retirement' isn't a huge wasting of his talent. He's accomplished enough in his career to excuse a layoff like that, if that's what he chose to do.

It may have been a waste in your eyes Stevie, but it was obviously necessary in Tito's eyes.

A waste of talent is a guy like Jose Luis Lopez, who spent more time drinking and surfing than training for his fights. Even so, he nearly kayoed a prime Ike Quartey in getting a draw, and in a decision loss he physically destroyed James Page to the point where he was never the same fighter. If he had taken things a little more seriously, lord knows what he could have done.

Wow, this thread is advertised on the homepage. I am honored.

Wow, this thread is advertised on the homepage. I am honored.

:D They must think it's a good topical thread.

"Ferocious" Fernando Vargas. Was rushed into 'superstardom' too early.

Peace.

:) I agree completely. I was just browsing the thread to see if anyone else had said Fernando. He was rushed into too many big fights too soon at such a young age. If you look at the names on his record it tells you how far he went in such little time. You have names like:

Oscar De Le Hoya
Ike Quartey
Felix Trinidad
Winky Wright

Some people only fight one of those class fighters in a entire career. Fernando had alot of potential. The only thing he needed to change was his attitude and temper as it was doing him no favors in the public eye. I wonder if he will box again?

The biggest waisted tallent has to be Kirkland ( The Gifted One) Lang.
He beat Duran on points, he had a strange style with the fastest hands id ever seen, he is now living on the streets of Sheffield i think and is a crak addict.

man, take sanchez off this list. he doesn't belong even close to this list. he was a great and died at the age of 23!!! imagine how great he could have been. he was awesome. take sanchez of this list. dumb to put him on there in the first place.

no doubt it was mike tyson he could have been the greatest i think, he was so dominating.

The following fighters had some great wins, some many. But .....


- Mark Breland (Just simply gave up)
- Razor Ruddock (Big guy with all the right skills, but would not commit himself to the game)
- Prince Hamed (I really despise this guy. He got caught-up in his own marketing hype, instead of building his skills and learning to take a punch, he preferred to flop around like a clown)
- Lennox Lewis (Always be remembered as the guy who didn't / couldn't give Klitchko the rematch that all boxing fans wanted)

Mike Tyson, who had the potential to stand heads and shoulders alongside Rocky Marciano in history books in terms of ring accomplishments. He was great, but I think he could have been greater still, had he the heart and mind of an Evander.

i agree with you mike tyson was a wasted talent! well, no one is to blame but him, he made some crucial errors in his life! when his boxing career was booming, he tried to rape one stewardest (or attendant i don't quite remember). he was convicted for a rape case and imprisoned! after that, he was never the same again. he was unstoppable during his prime, he was the youngest heavyweight at age 20 (or 19). yes he lacks the heart to be a great champion, his attitude can't handle pressure brought about by by stardom!

i am thinking andrew golota (wasn't he the one who fought riddick bowe and got disqualified for repeatedly hitting below the belt)? if he was it then i want to mention his name as a wasted talent, too! he was a good boxer i remember him during the fight with bowe, he's ahead on points before that disqualification occured! he's got talent, but he became a dumb boxer!

Donald Curry, because he could have gone to heights very few ever had or will
Michael Dokes, though not having the talent of a Page, snorted his best years away
Bernard Taylor, should have been featherweight champ
Howard Davis Junior, should have been lightweight champ
Greg Page, ate his way out of contention and was not strong enough personally to handle the demons.

I completely agree with you regarding Dokes, he had good hand speed and was one of the few heavyweights that threw multi punch combos. Then the drugs did the rest. In a time when the heavyweight division is almost as weak as it is today he had the chance of becoming a dominant force.

I also have to say that Tyrell Biggs rates up here somewhere. He was an excellent boxer who walked into a prime Tyson (I think that Tyson's style and speed was the deciding factor) but he was never the same again.

Finally I have to say that I don't think that Naz Hamed wasted his talents, I think he made the best of them and then found out that maybe he wasn't the fighter he thought he was.

man, take sanchez off this list. he doesn't belong even close to this list. he was a great and died at the age of 23!!! imagine how great he could have been. he was awesome. take sanchez of this list. dumb to put him on there in the first place.

amen brother he is sitll one of the top five feathers of all time, disgusting to have him on this list.

The biggest waisted tallent has to be Kirkland ( The Gifted One) Lang.
He beat Duran on points, he had a strange style with the fastest hands id ever seen, he is now living on the streets of Sheffield i think and is a crak addict.

he was on the streets of Harringey / Dalston mate not sheffield, however he has sorted himslef out, he had a bad fall from a balcony while off his tits not so long ago and this prompted him to "clean up" while hospitalised I believe.
He is living with family in Nottingham a very reliable source tells me, but refuses to do any interviews although he was recently on Trisha apparently, (not that i watch it) an ex boxer and talking bout alcoholism etc etc.

hope this sheds some light for you and yeah what a talent, he never did get a meaningful title shot, amazing really. :cool:

This is why Rocky Marciano is my favorite sports figure. Did anyone else make the most of themselves the way he did?

judah did best spinks they just gave it to spinks cause of his name...but your right if he didnt clown around i bet hed be the champ right now

Jose Louis Lopez, the 147 WBO champ from a few years ago. Man he could crack, he sat Ike down nicely.

meldrick taylor fastest hands i've ever seen n best skill
riddick bowe
aaron pryor
fernando vargas
sonny liston
mike tyso
naseem hamed
zab judah

Some of you may remember Shannon Taylor, who fought Shane Mosely a few years back. He had talent, but was set up with so many dud fighters by Bill Mordey, his development stopped.

Mitch Green-drugs and management ruined him
Tony Tucker-drugs took away his talent.
Milton McCory-never quite came back after McCallum.

andrew freaking golota

Mike Tyson, Mark Breland, Tommy Morrison, Razor Ruddock, Howard Davis Jr., Kelcey Banks.

I'm a little hazy on this one but what about John Conteh? Gave up his world title to fight the non-,mandatory cvhallenger in the belief he would get another crack at the title and he never did.

Lol

Bernard Mays. Too bad he couldn't lay off of the beer. It sounds like he would have been the best ever.

morad hakkar could have been a great fighter , he only he wasnt morrad hakkar.

sorry if someone has mentioned this guy before (i did'nt read the whole thread) but kirkland laing comes to mind. got to be one of the best fighters i've ever seen, but just pissed it all away. beat duran in 82 and then disappeared for 18 month smoking weed while duran went on to beat davey moore at the garden. he lives in an alchoholic daze in london now, what a waste.

panchito bojado :mad:

Mitch Green-drugs and management ruined him
Tony Tucker-drugs took away his talent.
Milton McCory-never quite came back after McCallum.

Toney Tucker was a damn good fighter no doubt about that, and Green was ****ing tough as ****...

When you talk about Milt aren't you referring to the drubbing that Donald Curry put on him...sure the body snatcher got too him too but once Curry outclassed him it was pretty much over for Milt.

i just remembered another big ****ing waste
ricardo williams what the hell was he thinking,he had been charged with distribution and trafficking of illegal substance :mad:

I dont think its fair to put Sanchez on this list. Considering he is regared as one of the 3 greatest featherweight of all time by pretty much everyone.

Same with Meldrick Taylor. Who was a spectaular fighter who had it beaten out fo him. His only crime was fighting his heart out.

both these guys had other circumstances play into why they did not do what they were supposed to do.

Niether guy wasted anything

You cant say they "wasted" there potential now they may not have "realized" it and those are two very very different things.

I couldn't agree more:D

Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor!

tony ayala, and i'll add zab judah if he don't win tonight.

I did have to say:
Ricardo Williams
Panchito Bojado ( He can turn it around if he dedicates himself)
Spadafora

Toney Tucker was a damn good fighter no doubt about that, and Green was ****ing tough as ****...

When you talk about Milt aren't you referring to the drubbing that Donald Curry put on him...sure the body snatcher got too him too but once Curry outclassed him it was pretty much over for Milt.


You made a great point,Scap,about Milt's beating from Curry.In some truth,though, Milt's end may have began with the two Colin Jones fights. Before that, I thought Milt was better than Donald but afterwards, Curry was the man. And then there was the knockdown against Breland in a sparring session.... :(

The following fighters had some great wins, some many. But .....


- Mark Breland (Just simply gave up)
- Razor Ruddock (Big guy with all the right skills, but would not commit himself to the game)
- Prince Hamed (I really despise this guy. He got caught-up in his own marketing hype, instead of building his skills and learning to take a punch, he preferred to flop around like a clown)
- Lennox Lewis (Always be remembered as the guy who didn't / couldn't give Klitchko the rematch that all boxing fans wanted)

Regarding Lennox - for Christ sake doesnt the guy deserve to go out when HE wants to? - rather than end up a punch drunk has been?

He took on and beat the best during his time - please stop beating up on the guy, as he always acted in a decent way out of the ring.

But then Lennox beating aint nothin new on here unfortunatly(much as i love the forums/site).

I think the biggest waste of talent was Corrie Sanders.

Corrie Sanders is at the top of the list

1. tyson i wish cus had been with him a little longer and he had ali´s heart.
2. bowe he had all but was to lazy and bad discipline.
3. corrie sanders,ike golota

Without a doubt tyson is the biggest waste of talent in boxing history , if tyson stayed with rooney he could of gone 100-0 without ever being in a competitive fight . Tyson if he stayed with rooney would of become even more dominant as he got older, bear in mind that rooney said tyson only fullfilled 50 % of his boxing potential by that I mean boxing skills .

Without a doubt tyson is the biggest waste of talent in boxing history , if tyson stayed with rooney he could of gone 100-0 without ever being in a competitive fight . Tyson if he stayed with rooney would of become even more dominant as he got older, bear in mind that rooney said tyson only fullfilled 50 % of his boxing potential by that I mean boxing skills .

its true but sad. after he fired rooney(why did he fired him anyway?) he didnt have the speed(head movement) power left and if that isnt enough he took drugs and no training at all.what a waste of talent.

I think that Naseem was a wasted talent!... Just because he lost one fight he retired! What a waste!... He was a great fighter that could have gone on to be A GREAT... Shame.

Does Joe Mesi count as wasted talent?