Biggest "could've beens" in this era?

some good mentions. I'm throwing out Guillermo Jones as one, dude started as a WW at his size if I remember correctly... but just got progressively fatter over time and became inconsistent...i just imagine if he could have stayed at WW or thereabouts at his size and skills..he still has a great feel for the game. Basically came off the couch to win a CW championship Great Mention! Jones really is/was a superb fighter but too lazy/inconsistent always saw him as a poor-mans Toney not in style. If he had more dedication and rose up the weights properly there's no footage of his WW/l.Middle days but he was probably sickly thin, he easily could of won titles at 68-75 before CW. Still remember when he torched Braithwaite nobody wanted a piece after that but the WBA let him hold the belt w/o any repercussions.

David Haye - had he actually wanted to engage in a fight with Klitschko it would have been much more interesting.

some good mentions. I'm throwing out Guillermo Jones as one, dude started as a WW at his size if I remember correctly... but just got progressively fatter over time and became inconsistent...i just imagine if he could have stayed at WW or thereabouts at his size and skills..he still has a great feel for the game. Basically came off the couch to win a CW championship

I'd make a distinction between "If's" @ "could've beens". If's would be more like guys who were missing parts of their game physical/mental Could've beens were guys that had it all but out of the ring situations hampered them or one bad night ruined them

Meldrick Taylor

Yuriorkis Gamboa OWNS this thread X 10.

What happened to Andre Dirrell you guys ask? Obviously, he left Al Haymon and went with 50 cent. Killed his career right there. He now has 14 months without fighting, and before his fight against Gbenga, he had 14 months without fighting, and before that fight(Daryl Cunningham) he had nearly 2 years off after the Abraham fight. Apparently, the Abraham foul did something to him. Why would any fighter deprive himself of his main source of income, just to "sell" an injury? Andre Dirrell has around 4 total years of inactivity, and his style consists of having excellent reflexes, which we know deteriorate with age.

Joanne Guzman

no one agrees with the guys i posted? Rigo only has 2 fights (exaggerating lol) I think it's a bit too soon to label him a could've been. I think there can be a case made for Donaire, but I think he's had a very good career

]I hate when people say mental midgets could have been great. No, mentality is a huge part of the game. If Maidana had Pacquio speed he would be an ATG, but he doesnt. Ortiz & Judah don't have the mental part of the game, so they never panned out. Linares never had a defense. Valero is a great example of a could have been. You can't pick someone with an obvious fault and say well if they had this they would be great. That's the point. We don't know they are mental midgets right away. We see their physical ability as a boxer then BOOM, they quit in the 6th round and say they're too pretty to be a boxer

I hate when people say mental midgets could have been great. No, mentality is a huge part of the game. If Maidana had Pacquio speed he would be an ATG, but he doesnt. Ortiz & Judah don't have the mental part of the game, so they never panned out. Linares never had a defense. Valero is a great example of a could have been. You can't pick someone with an obvious fault and say well if they had this they would be great.

I always wondered what could have been if Roy didn't drop back down to 175 for a Tarver fight, and instead stayed at Heavyweight to fight Evander. Would he have beaten Evander? How would his career have turned out different if he did beat Evander? As far as the other divisions I think most have mentioned them. Andre Dirrell Jorge Linares Valero. yeah never understood why roy went back down.... He literally had an old holyfield and tyson, ripe for the picking, and should have fought them and probably beaten them,, plus they would have done huge blockbuster type numbers.. Tyson-jones would have easily broken the record at the time...

I always wondered what could have been if Roy didn't drop back down to 175 for a Tarver fight, and instead stayed at Heavyweight to fight Evander. Would he have beaten Evander? How would his career have turned out different if he did beat Evander? As far as the other divisions I think most have mentioned them. Andre Dirrell Jorge Linares Valero.

Valero (would have been a top fighter today) Dirrell (if mentally turned on) Linares (great talent, mentally ****ed now and can't take punishment) Khan (if he had good coach from day he turned pro) That's about it. Ortiz is and always was average.

Do you think Jermain Taylor fits this category? Yeah i think jermain Taylor kinda a hard one to judge,, I thought he beat hopkins clearly in the 2nd fight, had the first as a draw, but then i thought he got gifts with winky and spinks.. Taylor had alot of promise early in his career, but was too sloppy at times and thats what cost him vs top level fighters, plus i never liked how he would go straight back with hands down instead of stepping off, he always got tagged and never figured it out... I think taylor didnt over or under achieve... He basically reached the level he was suppose to Joel Julio was a press release/media (Dan Rafael) creation. Joel Julio i saw fight 3 or 4 times, and the kid had real talent, but he was very green when he fought Quintana and got outboxed, and his career was never really the same... Another fighter around that era was Americo Santos and he looked to be the next great action fighter, but he got destroyed when stepping up..... I just look back and remember the potential that both seemed to have when they were on SHOBOX and how it just fizzled away...

Dirrell was definitely off the charts talented. Hard to believe it's been so long already since the Abraham fight. The Froch fight too! It feels like both of them happened yesterday (figuratively speaking)

How about Salvador Sanchez?

andre dirrell hands down. one of the two or three most talented fighters in the last decade and he really hasnt done jack ****. 1-1 in meaningful fights, losing in his only title fight. dude had p4p king type talent imo. i'd put linares second and mike jones third. ortiz' potential is severely overrated imo, he had talent for sure but i dont see how he can even be compared to someone like dirrell or linares in that regard. Dirrell was definitely off the charts talented. Hard to believe it's been so long already since the Abraham fight.

Shiiiiit forgot about him, but thing is, he still won title belts and is undefeated. If age hasn't eroded his natural speed and reflexes and he gets a good promoter, he could still do things. Dirrel, man I saw him live against Froch, the only live Froch fight I've been to and I felt he may have just got a win or a draw. He was very good that night, ran a bit too much for my liking and had a lot to work on but the talent was there. Quick, accurate punches and seemed to show a decent chin too but he just let it all go. What happened? Does anyone know? What does he do for money now? I'd love for someone to answer this. He just disappeared one day and I never heard about him again lol

Yep, Dirrell could have been p4p one of the best.