Anyone else think this guy was biggest waste of talent in the heavyweight division in the last few decades?
To be truthful, I think about this guy alot (and I mean that in a manly way ;) ), and when I compare him to other heavyweights from any era, he comes up with more pros (as opposed to cons) than any other fighter I can think of, even most of the all time greats. The only area where he was lacking was dedication to the sport.....training and conditioning. He's a huge guy with an iron chin, amazing speed, excellant accuracy, plenty of natural talent, devastating power, was great at making holes for that massive straight left, and to top it all of, he's a southpaw......
Again, I feel like the only thing he just didn't have was the drive to push himself to peak physical condition to compete at the highest levels of the sport.
Anyway, this came up on another thread, and I wanted some second opinions.
Having great petential is one thing, using it is the other. Yeah, he had potential but there is so much more that goes into the equation of being a great fighter. Being able to motivate your self for training and such would be the first thing that is needed. Stepping into the ring unprepared is the worst thing that a fighter can do to himself...........Rockin' :boxing:
....Yeah, but he was a scary heavy for anyone who got in the ring with him and could end it with one shot like no other, and the guy was never in any kind of shape. It's kind of like thinking about Babe Ruth and taking into consideration that the guy ate and drank in the dugout, sometimes played on zero sleep after partying like a rock star, and then vaulted dead balls out of the park like nobody else. A naturally gifted individual is something to behold and Sanders has a god given talent that is something to admire indeed.
we got ourselves a ahter or a rahman nut hugger here
Not at all, I like them both about the same, but Sanders was not that good. I also think Vitali ko's The Rock in about 4 rounds!
Corrie Sanders had great potential just considering his handspeed and power, but I would vote Max Baer as the all time biggest waste of physical potential. The guy had it all, and I mean everything. Power, reach, incredible strength, athleticism, an iron chin, and loads of stamina. In terms of raw ability and physicality, I think Baer beats out even the greats.
What was missing? One of the key components of a boxer's makeup: a fighter's brain. Baer was an entertainer at heart. The guy wanted to make people laugh, and to be loved by everyone. He didn't like to fight really. He was just so damn good at boxing that he went on doing it for the money, and especially the fame. If you could go back in time and somehow transplant Rocky Marciano or Jack Dempsey or Muhammad Ali's brain into Baer's body you would have the greatest heavyweight of all time.
But that's a big friggin if.
wladimir klitchko and and riddick bowe are the 2 that come to mind as the greatest potential........wlad was suppose to be the better of the brothers and bowe was suppose to be a heavyweight great but he lacked the motivation
Well, dont count Wlad out yet. I dont think his potential will be wasted. In fact he has already acheived champion status. Someone who wastes their potential is someone who does not have the desire to achieve all that they can. Indeed, Wlad does want to be champion again, so there is no way you could say his potential is wasted.
As far as Sanders goes, he also, has not wasted his potential. His record is full of KO victories, and he also achieved championship status by taking the belt from the afore mentioned Klitschko.
Sanders will retire, as he should. He is a business man, after all. And Wlad will go on to become champion again, and the recent losses will only serve to make him a wiser champion.
My two cents, anyway.
Alright fine but Frank Bruno, Razor Ruddock, Bruce Seldon, middle aged lary holmes, Michael Spinks, Alex Stewart, Henry Tillman, Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas Tyrell Briggs, Toney Tubbs, Bonecrusher Smith, are not bumbs, they are not Rocky Marciano but they are at least as good as Today's alphabet champions.
exactly......!!!! and don't get me strated on marciano!!!!
I never said Tyson was a bum, read the threads...... Tyson is an all time great. I am just saying he possibly fullfilled his potential. It is well established that aside from now the 80s heavyweights were the wrost ever. I never said Larry holmes was a bum!. He was well past his prime when he fought spinks the first time let alone tyson......
The reason that there were so many title holders in that era is because they were all equally bad and tyson ultimately beat them because he was at a different level to all of them.
Alright fine but Frank Bruno, Razor Ruddock, Bruce Seldon, middle aged lary holmes, Michael Spinks, Alex Stewart, Henry Tillman, Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas Tyrell Briggs, Toney Tubbs, Bonecrusher Smith, Tucker, are not bumbs, they are not Rocky Marciano but they are at least as good as Today's alphabet champions.
Sanders was (is?) ,indeed, a LOT better than most people give him credit for.
Infact, as a Wladimir Klitschko fan posting in the Boxingtalk.com forums at the time, I got a lot of heat for indicating that I was worried about Universum's choice of Sanders as Wlad's opponent back in 2003. The other regulars there were distainful of my concern & insisted that Sanders was a bum.
Well, we all saw what happened there! :rolleyes:
I'll always consider Universum's choice of Sanders as Wlad's opponent for that night one of the all time biggest blunders in boxing history.
Wlad was coming off of the biggest win of his career in a onesided fight in which he KO'd a highly regarded opponent to become the universal #1 heavyweight contender. He pretty much had the boxing world at his feet.
The Sanders fight was simply a "showcase" fight meant to keep Wlad busy while awaiting the inevitable showdown with Lennox Lewis for the World Title. They could have pretty much chosen anyone & HBO would have shown it & the live gate in Germany would have sold out.
I forget exactly who the other names were that were considered, but one fighter in particular ( Kirk Johnson? ) was close to signing, but wanted more money & Universum balked. So, they went with Sanders instead.
In a "brilliant" move, they saved a few bucks on a guy that Wlad would have KO'd inside of a couple of rounds & brought in a FAR more dangerous opponent in Corrie Sanders. A big, skilled, experienced, power punching southpaw with very quick hands. The very sort of fighter that competent promoters & managers avoid putting their charges in with unless there's ABSOLUTELY no choice.
Yet, Universum brought him in as a "tune up" opponent! :eek:
To be fair Bruno did give lewis a good go.......but he was not world class. This is a man that beat his wife for god's sake, there is nothing good to say about him........actually he was good at pantomime
I never said Tyson was a bum, read the threads...... Tyson is an all time great. I am just saying he possibly fullfilled his potential. It is well established that aside from now the 80s heavyweights were the wrost ever. I never said Larry holmes was a bum!. He was well past his prime when he fought spinks the first time let alone tyson......
The reason that there were so many title holders in that era is because they were all equally bad and tyson ultimately beat them because he was at a different level to all of them.
Bruno a good fighter!!! Please! he was a bum who should have quit boxing and stuck to beating his wife and thinking he's frankie dettori.
let me remind you guys that frank bruno was giving lennox lewis a hard time for 7 rounds, two of the judges had it a draw and the other had bruno up, the guy had skills, he just had a bad chin, and folded quickly under pressure, but he was no bum
He landed one punch against lewis and the fight was stopped prematurely (watch the hbo coverage). Who did he beat aside from lewis.......oh sorry larry holmes. Razor ruddock was knocked out by tommy morrison (for god's sake) and lennox lewis.
I have to ask who in your mind is not a bumb since to you Tyson is a bumb, Oliver McCall is bumb, Frank Bruno is a bumb, Razor Ruddock is a bumb, Holmes is a bumb. So you have to be undisputed champion and make 20 defences not to be a bumb in your mind. So the only non bumb who ever lived was Joe Louis.