Big John Tate

[K-DOGG]

Former Heavyweight Champion of the World Big John Tate.. Never mentioned on Boxing Forums. Yet i would rather put on a tape of a Big John Tate fight than many other Heavyweight Champions when i feel like watching boxing..

Have you watched Big John Tate?

What are your opinions on Big John Tate?

In the ring, he was like a machine. He had the tools needed to prevail. He was very meticulous, threw good combinations, etc.

He was very unemotional, which he was criticized for his lack of "passion"; but there's no arguing his talent.

He ran out of gas against Weaver, and then took too many shots and threw too many shots against Berbick, causing him to run out of gas faster.

It's like he didn't "think" in there.....he just did.

I don't mean that to be a slight; but ultimately, I think it was his downfall. He followed his corner's directions very, very well; but when confronted with an obstacle, he depended on them to tell him what to do, rather than straying from the game plan and calling an audible....which is what makes the good ones great, sometime. It can backfire; but, ultimately, while the corner has a ringside view of the big picture and what's going on and it is important for a fighter to listen to them, its also important to know where your body is in a fight and if you need to take a breather, or perhaps you see something up close that they can't see from beyond the ropes....and only you can act on it.

Tate doesn't get enough credit for what he did do in his short climb and time at the top. He was better than several who came after him.

I think it's a shame he never really recovered from the Berbick fight.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

This thread makes me wonder what some of these guys would do in todays era...

witherspoon
weaver
tate
dokes

The 70s and 90s always get the praise for the heavy division, but 80s had a lot of talent it was just that most got derailed by drugs, streets, don king....

[Ben Bolt]

What’s Tate remembered for? Mainly because of three KO losses. And the start of the alphabet ****heads muddle. Larry Holmes was everyone’s heavy champ at the start of the 1980’s. Except for the WBA, which recognized Tate, and gained some supporters for its call.

How about Tate, then? A brave guy and a good boxer. If he had withstand those last 45 seconds in the 15-rounder against Weaver, his career might have taken another turn.

Stevenson v Tate, July 29, 1976 (KO at 4:25)


Weaver v Tate, March 31, 1980 (KO at 59:40)


Berbick v Tate, June 20, 1980 (KO at 36:15; how wise was it, matching him again less than three months after a first, brutal pro defeat?)

[SaturdaysRadio]

Tate was thrown in with the wolves early on. Management either really believed in him & wanted to get him good experience or were idiots. I guess it worked out for him until Weaver, but he never recovered from the Weaver fight, something he admitted years later.

In his 4th fight Tate fought 6-0 Walter Santemore.
5th fight was against 10-0 Eddie 'Animal' Lopez.
12th fight was against tough Raul Gorisito, who'd gone the distance with several lower top-10 heavys. Tate got him in 2.
13th fight was against 20-0 Bernardo Mercado.
14th fight was against Santemore again.
15th fight was against former top-10 contender Johnny Boudreaux.

Even after Weaver he was put in with Trevor Berbick a mere 2 1/2 months later.

[K-DOGG]

Tate was thrown in with the wolves early on. Management either really believed in him & wanted to get him good experience or were idiots. I guess it worked out for him until Weaver, but he never recovered from the Weaver fight, something he admitted years later.

In his 4th fight Tate fought 6-0 Walter Santemore.
5th fight was against 10-0 Eddie 'Animal' Lopez.
12th fight was against tough Raul Gorisito, who'd gone the distance with several lower top-10 heavys. Tate got him in 2.
13th fight was against 20-0 Bernardo Mercado.
14th fight was against Santemore again.
15th fight was against former top-10 contender Johnny Boudreaux.

Even after Weaver he was put in with Trevor Berbick a mere 2 1/2 months later.

Great observation. They did really push him hard. I think that was a great confidence builder; but after the Weaver fight, if I had been managing him, I would have put him in with a couple of softer touches than Berbick, for sure. After a devastating knockout like he suffered to Weaver, that was asking for disaster, IMO. ....and they got it.

Shame too, cause he did have some talent. That fight ruined him, IMHO.