Name some fighters who fell very short of their potential,
here are some off the top of my head ..
Kirkland Laing
Herol Graham
Donald Curry
Mark Breland
George Collins
Ryan Rhodes
Dean Francis
.. Who else?
Riddick Bowe
Ike Beabuchi
Mike Tyson
and i believe if Gatti had started to box like he did against ward in the 2nd fight earlier in his career he would of been different
Gatti did box early in his career. You can't win at featherweight unless you can box (Hamed learned that eventually when he got the balls to sign up for the lesson). Gatti's problem was that he threw the boxing out for the big Rocky Balboa paydays and became a bleeder with a left hook.
drh started a thread earlier today-- referencing MaxBoxing-- about an Australian fighter named Young Griffo, who, legend has it, was very tough to hit. He reportedly relied on his defensive genius so much that he trained only if prompted by women who took his fancy. He spent most of his time catering to his obsession with the fruits of the vine, and never won a title, it was said.
Didn't know about Griffo until I read the post. If half of the legend is true, he should be on the old timers' list.
Thanks drh.
Note: For those interested, the thread title is, "James 'Young Griffo' Toney," on Non-Stop Boxing.
Same old, same old names being mentioned...How about some old-timers who didn't nearly meet their potential, like 'The Harlem Thunderbolt' Harry Smith?
- undefeated in about 60 amateur fights.
- lost only one of his first 50+ pro fights, and that loss was by DQ...his wins included the likes of Jack McVey & Gorilla Jones.
- was so highly thought of in his day that a few HOF'ers refused to get in the ring with him, including Mickey Walker, who was offered a bundle to defend his title against him.
- moved out to the west coast and partaked in the life night that it offered WAY too much, and basically lost his ability to fight from that point.
- lost six of his last eight fights to end his once very promising boxing career, and died less than a year later because of a brain injury...he was scheduled to be married just a couple of days later.
For sure tyson is the biggest wate of talent and also buster douglas. butterfly ali was not a waste.
ali didn't fight between 1967 and 1970, the best years of his boxing life. he would have been as fast as in 1967, and as strong as in 1971, which IMO is pretty friggin' scary! no one ever got to see muhammad ali's true boxing potential.
1) mike tyson is by far the worse waste of talent ever. he would not listen to anyone and it always for his own good. he self-destructed himself.
2) also muhammad ali would have blazed a trail in boxing from 1967-1970 that the world has never seen, had the u.s. not him of the best three years of his life!
3) marvis frazier had potential, but the style that he was taught (his father joe's) was not fit for him. if he'd stick and move, he would have raised hell in at least the cruiserweight division.
Milton McCrory
Howard Davis
Gerry Cooney
I thought McCrory was the man, even over Curry, till the Colin Jones fights.Afterwards, he fell off in my eyes.Davis didn't truly want to be a professional fighter, and if he was managed right, still should've been champ.Cooney, same thing, should've taken the shot vs Weaver.
kirk johnson
dominik guinn...i would have bet money he would have had a piece of the title by now.
wlad
rico hoye, kinda early but...
kid diamond, i sware hbo was trying to build this guy up and casamayor started it and cambell finished him.
Breland is an unfortunate situation for boxing. He had the skills and ability, desite his very unusual frame. You'd almost expect him to be snapped-in-half every time he stepped into the ring. Early on, he was a pleasure to watch. His total destruction of Honeyghan (Curry's nemesis) was awesome and gave him a strap, but he was promptly KO'd in his next outing. Shitty.
Name some fighters who fell very short of their potential,
here are some off the top of my head ..
Kirkland Laing
Herol Graham
Donald Curry
Mark Breland
George Collins
Ryan Rhodes
Dean Francis
.. Who else?
Milton McCrory
Howard Davis
Gerry Cooney
Alex Ramos,yep,he was one of best prospects in New York along with Breland
I honestly thought Alex was headed for world champion until the Ted Sanders affair.I feel him and Tony Ayala Jr could have made a nice matchup.