Any fighters come to mind when you hear the term "unfulfilled potential"?

I was watching a bunch of boxing matches today, among them Maidana vs. Soto Karass and I remembered Soto Karass fighting a young undefeated fighter from Philadelphia on the Pacquiao vs. Clottey undercard. His name was Mike Jones and he was steadily being brought up by HBO. He almost had Soto Karass out of there in the early going but then Soto Karass survived and made the fight a lot harder and grinding than Jones bargained for. They had a rematch later on and Jones beat him fairly convincingly and stayed very active throughout 2011 before running into what they probably expected to be their stepping stone in Randall Bailey. One giant uppercut from hell separated Mike Jones from his senses, and he suffered the first loss of his career. He remained inactive for 2 YEARS before fighting again and ended up retiring on his stool halfway through the fight in his comeback appearance in 2014. I'm guessing he's joining these ranks. Seriously, whatever happened to him? Was he just mentally affected after his first loss or did he have personal demons outside the ring? I'm not implying he could've been an all time great but I remember some posters on this board saying that this would be Andre Berto's nemesis way back in 2008-2009. Dude, people know who Mike Jones and Joan Guzman are. I never thought Mike Jones was that good, I remember he was meant to fight Kell Brook (who was an unknown at the time) if he beat Bailey. Kell would have wrecked him.

Victor Ortiz Jermain Taylor Disagree about Taylor, I think he found his ceiling and capitalised. Ibeaubuchi, never know how good he really way.

I was watching a bunch of boxing matches today, among them Maidana vs. Soto Karass and I remembered Soto Karass fighting a young undefeated fighter from Philadelphia on the Pacquiao vs. Clottey undercard. His name was Mike Jones and he was steadily being brought up by HBO. He almost had Soto Karass out of there in the early going but then Soto Karass survived and made the fight a lot harder and grinding than Jones bargained for. They had a rematch later on and Jones beat him fairly convincingly and stayed very active throughout 2011 before running into what they probably expected to be their stepping stone in Randall Bailey. One giant uppercut from hell separated Mike Jones from his senses, and he suffered the first loss of his career. He remained inactive for 2 YEARS before fighting again and ended up retiring on his stool halfway through the fight in his comeback appearance in 2014. I'm guessing he's joining these ranks. Seriously, whatever happened to him? Was he just mentally affected after his first loss or did he have personal demons outside the ring? I'm not implying he could've been an all time great but I remember some posters on this board saying that this would be Andre Berto's nemesis way back in 2008-2009.

My favourite fighter.. Michael Nunn, could have went on to become a great The president too

Guzman vs Pacquiao would have been sick. I was hyped to see this fight back then. It would've been great.

You got it, :boxing: I think he had the goods, until he went to prison. I wonder who KOd him in sparring and if it is even true? I believe it was Kirk Johnson who was rumoured to have flattened him. Johnson was a pretty decent fighter until he ballooned into a fat whale before fighting Vitaly.

Very disappointed in Ibeabuchi. Showed great versatility in the different ways he fought Tua and Byrd. Looked like the real deal; although I do remember hearing a story of how he was KO'ed cold in the gym during sparring once. I've given up on Garcia. Always thought he was kinda overrated anyway TBH. You got it, :boxing: I think he had the goods, until he went to prison. I wonder who KOd him in sparring and if it is even true? That TR fallout still has him on the shelf, huh? Has it been two years yet? Last I seen him he was prepping MM for Floyd. It feels like it's been longer, either way I don't think there is even a fight in the horizon for him.

Guzman vs Pacquiao would have been sick.

I don't even know. I kinda feel like he has a suspect chin. Can't imagine it'll be better with a layoff and a move up in weight. Yea. I agree. Liked his skill set, but that time off hasn't helped him at all. Then when he does get back in there, it'll be a while before he's fighting the top tier guys.

That TR fallout still has him on the shelf, huh? Has it been two years yet? Last I seen him he was prepping MM for Floyd. I don't even know. I kinda feel like he has a suspect chin. Can't imagine it'll be better with a layoff and a move up in weight.

Very disappointed in Ibeabuchi. Showed great versatility in the different ways he fought Tua and Byrd. Looked like the real deal; although I do remember hearing a story of how he was KO'ed cold in the gym during sparring once. I've given up on Garcia. Always thought he was kinda overrated anyway TBH. That TR fallout still has him on the shelf, huh? Has it been two years yet? Last I seen him he was prepping MM for Floyd.

What about "The President"? Does anyone remember? He went to prison and beat tua... Mickey Garcia is running out of time, he is also going straight to super-lightweight, that is big boy territory. Very disappointed in Ibeabuchi. Showed great versatility in the different ways he fought Tua and Byrd. Looked like the real deal; although I do remember hearing a story of how he was KO'ed cold in the gym during sparring once. I've given up on Garcia. Always thought he was kinda overrated anyway TBH.

What about "The President"? Does anyone remember? He went to prison and beat tua... Mickey Garcia is running out of time, he is also going straight to super-lightweight, that is big boy territory.

Odlanier Solis - you idle fat cunt. I agree, I thought this guy was going to make it big, he is running out of time it might be over for him Prince Naseem Hamed. Sure, he's being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Sure, over here in Britain at least he's considered to be great but then again people like to hype up one of their own. He was certainly good. He could have been great. I think he did alright for himself. Let's not forget about the money he made. After all, this is a job CHavez Jr. Has the Chin, the power, and the fanbase to be to be great for the sport....he also could care less. Andrew Golota could have been good but his mental demons were the worst I've seen. I agree that Broner could be on that path, his management (and lack of defense) might be his doom though. Marvis Frazi.....hahahahahahaha Panchito Bojado Ricardo Williams Frankie Gomez might be going that path Chavez Jr. Still has time, but it's running out

Riddick Bowe Ricardo Williams Panchito Bojado Joan Guzman Kelly Pavlik

Victor Ortiz Jermain Taylor I wouldn't exactly categorize them as "unfulfilled potential". Yes, they could've been better, but they did WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more career-wise than Joan Guzman did. Taylor became the UNDISPUTED middleweight champion, drew with Winky Wright, beat Cory Spinks, fought Kelly Pavlik twice, fougt Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham. He crashed spectacularly towards the end of his career with those really bad back to back KO losses to Froch and Abraham but he had a REALLY good run at it. Victor Ortiz falls enormously short to Taylor's accomplishments, but he fought some big names and was always in the fight regardless who he fought. With names like Marcos Maidana, Lamont Peterson, Josesito López, Floyd Mayweather, Luis Collazo, he merits some kudos. With perhaps the exception of Floyd and Collazo (only because of how early it ended), he was competitive in those fights. Franky Gomez Andre Berto Victor Ortiz Both dirrell brothers haven't lived up to their talent James Krkland Francisco Bojado Ricardo Williams Joel Julio Rocky Juarez I remember Joel Julio...the love child. Unfortunately, all I remember him is for his losses to Quintana and Kirkland. Odlanier Solis - you idle fat cunt. ROFL!!! Joan Guzman and Chad Dawson Kinda ironic that both was with Mayweather Sr and became world champions with him. After they left him it went all down hill after that. Guzman couldn't make wait and Dawson got to the Top and was one of the best P4P Fighters and just stopped working hard I agree that Dawson could've been a lot better, but at least he had some names in there, though. Tarver and Glen Johnson twice each, Tomasz Adamek, fought Jean Pascal, and beat Bernard Hopkins convincingly before making the mistake of going down in weight to chase Andre Ward. His subsequent implosion against Stevenson pretty much took all the momentum off of his career. David Reid. Why match making and a willingness to throw in the towel is required. Wow, yes. David Reid. An Olympian whose stubbornness would not allow him to yield against a young juggernaut in Tito Trinidad. What a beating that poor bastard took. :( I'm not sure Ortiz was ever that good. He had his moments in fights but he faded badly in lots of them. He's a bit like Zab, except Zab was much more talented. Agree on James Toney. He could have been whatever he wanted. Depending on how deep you want to dig, I think you could look at a guy like Amir Khan as not having fulfilled his potential too. In his amateur years his handspeed was so exceptional several other aspects of his game got ignored. Imagine how good he could be/have been if he was technically sounder. Apart from the ones who didn't seem to have it upstairs, those guys who have a severe imbalance in their skillset are the ones you look at and think they could have been incredible with the right development. Broner is a guy who's development went wrong. Fights in the wrong style given the things he's good at. A sharp, accurate combination puncher with fast hands waddling around the ring in a shell posture. He's an offensive fighter who tries to fight as a counter-puncher. It just doesn't work. Matthysse is another one. If he had Golovkin's technical schooling he could have been immense. Unlike Golovkin he's too uncertain in initiating offence and doesn't have the same quality of foot placement. He boxes too much for the natural bruiser he is. If he was more creative in setting up attacks he'd be twice the fighter he is. Excellent post. He was a real talent at HW, I'm still baffled at his behaviour in the bowe fights. Totally dominating and then threw it away. I don't understand that either. Golota was right there in the trenches with Bowe giving him all he could handle...and then he threw--not one--but both fights away. His next fight will tell us everything. He wasted a lot of time. We'll see if he is what he was. I don't think so though. I agree. Andre Dirrell was one of my favorites during the Super Six...I remember the boards going hard on him when they aired one of the Super Six episodes and they asked Dirrell what was the name of the doctor that gave him the results (about his head injury from the Abraham disqualification), and he went, "Uhhhhh...Dr. Shaw...hi." :rofl: Gamboa has all the tools and the skill set to be great. He always comes to mind when I think about wasted potential His fighting style and abilities remind me of a young Roy Jones, Jr. Unfortunately, jumping ship to 50 cent slowed down his activity immensely. He sat on the shelf for way too long.

Gamboa has all the tools and the skill set to be great. He always comes to mind when I think about wasted potential

I think Zab Judah and Golota are two of the best shouts on here.

tokumbo olijidae, or however you spell it....... Whoa!!! Forgot about him completely.

Andre 'The Matrix ' Dirrell has all the physical tools to be an all time great but the head on his shoulders His brother has a lot of talent too.