In your opinion, what is the biggest "What if?" in boxing?

Not fantasy match ups or anything like that, I mean things that you could actually say 'what if?...' or 'can you imagine if..' etc...For example off the top of my head the questions that inspired this thread... What if Cus D'Amato wasn't so old when he took on Mike Tyson and therefore lived longer/throughout Mike's career? What if Muhammad Ali wasn't forced into exile during what seemed to be the start of his absolute prime? What if Sonny Liston was never openly controlled by the mob in a lot of fights? Etc...(Please no 'what if Floyd never ducked Manny' or vice versa, I have no interest debating that here)

Comments (20)

Cuban_Linx

I don't see what would've changed. Taylor still would have suffered the same injuries he has to deal with today and would never be the same person again either way. Exactly. Sure he would have had the glory of beating Chavez, but so what? is that more important than his health and longevity? His career would have ended up the same way. He was absolutely destroyed in that ring. What if the Pacquiao Marquez 1 fight was stopped in the first round? Would Marquez be anywhere near as big as he is now? Would he be retired? How about Pacquiao?

12y ago

FrankieClutch

What if Buster Douglas vs Mike Tyson fight was stopped when Tyson put Douglas down for 10 seconds (should've been a KO for Iron Mike). What if Kelly Pavlik didn't become an alcoholic after the Hopkins loss?

12y ago

uncle_ray

WHAT IF Liston didnt throw both fights to Ali?

12y ago

Dr_Rumack

What if Tyson had never met Desiree Washington?

12y ago

TheUglyness

What if Salvador Sanchez didn't die so young That's one I think about a lot. Pretty amazing what he accomplished at such a young age.

12y ago

VG_Addict

What if Ali didn't return to boxing?

12y ago

Dr_Rumack

What if Castillo had taken Floyd's '0'?

12y ago

AVDB

What if the ref had stopped the fight after the third knockdown in Pacquiao-Marquez I?

12y ago

z28ss6706

What if Boxing was a UIL sport in high school like football, baseball, Basketball, wrestling etc... with a boxing trainer and weekly completion and tournaments. Awesome... Guys would have realized a lot sooner that they were not good enough for the nfl and started boxing at 15 instead of 25!!:boxing::boxing:

12y ago

z28ss6706

What if Barrera would have Ko'd Pacquiao or won decisively in their first fight? What if Roy jones had a good manager and promoter like Hopkins has had since he had his career defining win against Trinidad?

12y ago

Dinamita_03

What if Meldrick Taylor wasn't robbed in the Chavez sr fight. I don't see what would've changed. Taylor still would have suffered the same injuries he has to deal with today and would never be the same person again either way.

12y ago

DondiNeverLeft

What if Meldrick Taylor wasn't robbed in the Chavez sr fight.

12y ago

SNPER

What if Teofilo Stevenson would've defected and turned pro ? and Felix Savon

12y ago

SthPaw

2 obvious ones are what if Cubans had been allowed to fight pro / What if black men had been allowed to fight whites when they couldn't Yeah thats a good one I wouldn't have thought of that. A lot could/would have been very different way back in the day if the chance to turn down a challenger based on his ethnicity was never an option.

12y ago

0uthpaw

What if Teofilo Stevenson would've defected and turned pro ?

12y ago

ModernTalking

What if Ali was in good health. Floyd would probably have fought Manny Pacquiao because he would have said my health come first, just look at Ali.

12y ago

NearHypnos

If Golota wasnt a total nutjob. If Martinez started boxing as a kid. If Wlad had Vitalis chin. If Pac got busted for roids. If Floyd got busted for roids. If Chavez Jr was dedicated to the sport since he was a kid. If Bute had a chin :} If Maligaggi had Baileys power. If Trinidad and Oscar weren't idiots and tried to move up one too many and lose their souls in the proccess... This is all just recent I can go on forever if I go into the 90s or 80s..etc.

12y ago

SthPaw

valero diidnt die !!!!! Yeah I agree, it would have been nice to see how his career would/should have played out. The Valero story was a sad one in the end.

12y ago

SthPaw

What if Gerald Mcclellan never left Emanuel Steward, or Benn was counted out in the 1st round? Yeah that is a pretty cool one, I watched the documentary on that fight just yesterday actually. Worth a watch if you havent already seen it... If Benn had been counted out, we would have not had to witness what followed for Mclellan thereafter.

12y ago

DondiNeverLeft

what if Oscar fought Cotto instead of Manny What if Whitaker didn't use cocaine how much more would he have accomplished Cotto would be a bigger start today.

12y ago