I know it's common to see guys with little to no amatuer experience go on to have successful professional careers. But have there been a lot of boxers who had great amatuer careers but bad/mediocre pro careers? I want some names.
Muhammad Abdullaev
Good one. Just looked him up. Looks like after Cotto, he lost to Kotelnik then disappeared for 4 years. He just fought on 10/28 though.
I'm pretty sure that Joe Lipsey was a very good, accomplished amateur boxer. Of course he went 25-0 as a pro before being absolutely destroyed by Bernard Hopkins. Probably the most vicious KO in 'Nard's career.
Vince Shomo had an Amateur Boxing Record of 651-4 with most of his wins coming by knockouts. He use to box every week and sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. As a Pro, he was only 12 (3 KO)-10 (3 KO)-2.
Vince Shomo won four New York (City) Golden Gloves Championships. Shomo won the 1956 featherweight Sub-Novice title, and the 1957, 1959 and the 1960 lightweight Open championships. Shomo trained at the City Youth Organization Gym in New York City. In 1957 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at lightweight, by decision over Billy Copeland, also in 1957 he was on the short end of a decision to Billy Braggs for the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight championship. In 1958 he won the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight alternate title over Billy Braggs. In 1959 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at lightweight, by first round ko over Darrell Powell, also in 1959 he won the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight championship by stopping Freddie Davis in the second round. In 1960 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, by first round ko over Leonard Thomas, also in 1960 he decisioned Brian O'Shea for the Intercity Golden Gloves championship at lightweight. Shomo was also the National AAU Light Welterweight champion in 1957, 1958, and 1960.
Off topic,but Calzaghe is playing as a striker for Rest of the world XI vs England legends,and nearly scored with an absolute belter!.......Carry on.
Is he any good?
Escobedo isn't that bad.
Hey isn't that good either!
He's failed to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he turned pro...
He hardly looks like the next De La Hoya that people were making him out to be.
He's a flop.
Juan McPherson
Devin Vargas
Dante Craig
Ron Siler
Rock Allen (He still has a chance but has not been active enough and is already 28)
Vincente Escobedo
Ricardo Williams Jr.
all those fought for world titles Bat
That's true, but none of them accomplished what could be expected of an olympic champion.
Never mind what I said about Ward. He's a solid prospect and could still have a fine career. Win or lose Nov. 21.
Howard Davis Jr.
Dennis Milton
Tracy Spann
Yoan Pablo Hernandez
Yan Barthelmy
The last two still have a ways to go in their careers
Hernandez was upset by Braithwaite, a bad loss especially with the way the referee was blatantly favouring him, but he has gone onto achieve some decent wins since then over Enad Licina and Aaron Williams. The CW division is wide open so I wouldn't count him out yet although it doesn't look too promising. Alexander Alexeev was quite a disappointment as well.
Jorge Luis Gonzales defeated Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Tyrell Biggs and supposedly the great Teofilo Stevenson in the amateurs. He was a lazy and incompetent professional who lost to most of the good fighters he faced. After scoring a huge money contract to start his pro career, he probably didn't have any motivation to actually perform in the ring.
Today he lives in Finland or atleast used to.
Hopson was a talent but all it shows is that you can't succeed without being able to take a punch. Tracy Harris Patterson came up from super bantamweight to super featherweight, knocked Hopson out in just two rounds and destroyed whatever confidence Hopson may have had.