Biggest wasted talent in boxing

Jose Luis Lopez Panchito Bojado

Winky Wright...turned down several high profile fights, big money fights. Mayweather Jr, DLH, Taylor II. He was labeled as “avoided” but really he just priced himself out of those fights. I think those were all winnable fights. Especially a Floyd going from 140 to 154lbs. He got into the HOF but he could have done more. He got too big for his own good, started appearing in Hip Hop and R & B videos and felt he was the biggest name in boxing.

Mike Tyson David Haye

berlanga for keep fighting bums.. no doubt his career will go to waste in time.. i hope he faced a bum that will give him a lesson.

Greg Page Bernard Taylor Alex Ramos Michael Dokes Gato Gonzales Milton McCrory.

Frankie Gomez for sure! Watched that kid during the Amatures, both him and Jose Benavidez came up around the same time and while Jose Benavidez got more hype, I always liked Frankie style more! He struggled to make weight a few times, beat Mauricio Herrera on the Canelo vs Khan undercard and I haven't seen him since :nonono: Allegedly he just wanted a Regular Life and wanted to "Kick It With The Homies" instead of training for boxing (which explains the weight issues he had) so he quit boxing

Not really that far away but not exactly from the area. I am moroccan but born and raised in Norway. Naseem Hamed is my 3rd favourite fighter after Muhammad Ali and Badr Hari. There are many good moroccan kickboxers and mma fighters but no boxers. Hopefully Mohammed Rabii will be the first moroccan boxing star. Hope he can make boxing popular in Morocco like Hari did with kickboxing. There is huge boxing talent in North Africa. I am Mexican-American living in Brooklyn, New York and I have both Yemeni and Moroccan friends. I must say that there are big physical differences between Yemenis and Moroccans. Most Yemeni guys are often short. Moroccans meanwhile are on average much taller than Yemenis. Look at most Yemeni fighters Naseem Hamed, Kid Galahad, Sadam Ali, Kal Yafai, Gamal Yafai and Galal Yafai. Morocco has immense boxing talent. Look at how good moroccan fighters are doing in kickboxing. If boxing can have the same status as kickboxing in Morocco and the Morrocan diaspora it wont be long till we start seeing moroccan world champs. People always ask me why there arent more Mexican heavyweights. The answer is simple most Mexican dudes are not that big on average. The same applies to Yemenis. There are many tall and big Moroccans compared to Mexicans and Yemenis. Moroccans can do well in the heavyweight division and generally bigger weight classes in boxing.

Rocky Marciano! I feel he could’ve been even greater if the mob would’ve trusted his ability to win! He was in one of the weakest eras of heavyweight too!

Anyone here thinks Hatton had talent? If yes, he wasted it going up against manny and floyd. Ricky wasn't the most talented but he had the biggest bollox I've seen.. He didn't give a monkeys... He had major problems, between fights he looked like a sumo wrestler, but come camp day, graft and ready... V tzsu it was prob my best night in terms of fun, excitement and banter in a live bout.. the fight weren't great but everything that surrounded it was electric...

Not really that far away but not exactly from the area. I am moroccan but born and raised in Norway. Naseem Hamed is my 3rd favourite fighter after Muhammad Ali and Badr Hari. There are many good moroccan kickboxers and mma fighters but no boxers. Hopefully Mohammed Rabii will be the first moroccan boxing star. Hope he can make boxing popular in Morocco like Hari did with kickboxing. There is huge boxing talent in North Africa. Nice one, as I've said, Naz was the one that kept me glued to the fight. Live it was electric at times.. a few stories of Naz with kickboxers in 'wicker camp' at Sheffield but that's only what I've been told and for another time... Cheers for heads up on names. I'll keep an eye out for Rabii..good luck.

Anyone here thinks Hatton had talent? If yes, he wasted it going up against manny and floyd.

Yes he did. At the top end of his popularity.. It was some sort of peace thing but exactly what I couldn't say because I'm not 100% and I don't want to feed anyone any false information. Not my style... As for sources I'm guessing it would take some searching seen as it was a time away and not that relevent in terms of world news... Now it's at the forefront of my mind, I'm going to have a little investigate when I've time and see what I can find.. Are you from the area or there abouts?? Not really that far away but not exactly from the area. I am moroccan but born and raised in Norway. Naseem Hamed is my 3rd favourite fighter after Muhammad Ali and Badr Hari. There are many good moroccan kickboxers and mma fighters but no boxers. Hopefully Mohammed Rabii will be the first moroccan boxing star. Hope he can make boxing popular in Morocco like Hari did with kickboxing. There is huge boxing talent in North Africa.

Did he try to get involved in politics in Yemen? I have never heard that before. Do you have any sources or know exactly what he was trying to do? Thanks. Yes he did. At the top end of his popularity.. It was some sort of peace thing but exactly what I couldn't say because I'm not 100% and I don't want to feed anyone any false information. Not my style... As for sources I'm guessing it would take some searching seen as it was a time away and not that relevent in terms of world news... Now it's at the forefront of my mind, I'm going to have a little investigate when I've time and see what I can find.. Are you from the area or there abouts??

Another one coming to mind is Ike "Bazooka" Quartey. Robbed against De La Hoya, close decision lost against Fernando Vargas, then four years without fighting before resuming too late his career, which ended with two more defeats. Had they given him the DLH win as he deserved, the story would have been different. Probably.

Ye, I'm not doubting/playing down what he achieved as many boxers can only dream of doing half of what he's done but watching him and seeing him unfold within the ring and the community, you could see it wasn't going to end that great.. he started getting involved in things which weren't his business which he could have done when he retires but he wanted to do it all "now".. Wasted could be harsh but he could have ruled the lot for as long as he wanted to imo.. I'd guess he wouldn't change it for the world but I think if he sat down and was honest he would admit he took his eye off the ball... Did he try to get involved in politics in Yemen? I have never heard that before. Do you have any sources or know exactly what he was trying to do? Thanks.

A lot of the 80’s heavyweights didn’t live up to their fullest potential. Namely Michael Dokes. I think Dokes’s career got derailed by an addiction to crack iirc I think James Toney would have been a 5 division world champ instead of a 3 division world champ if he just had more discipline and less Burger King

Did Naz live 8 miles from you in Sheffield? Well I agree with you but can we really call Naseem Hamed "wasted" talent?. Hamed was the youngest British world champion ever. The man was the undisputed FW champ, became the lineal champ, beat over 10 world title holders, headlined Madison Square Garden and at one point in 2001 Hamed had a reported net worth of roughly $75 million. He was also one of the biggest P4P punchers in history. Hamed seemed to possess the power of a man twice his size. Yes he could have achieved even more. He was the most talented fighter from the UK ever. He had speed, power, stamina, reflexes and an granite chin. Ye, I'm not doubting/playing down what he achieved as many boxers can only dream of doing half of what he's done but watching him and seeing him unfold within the ring and the community, you could see it wasn't going to end that great.. he started getting involved in things which weren't his business which he could have done when he retires but he wanted to do it all "now".. Wasted could be harsh but he could have ruled the lot for as long as he wanted to imo.. I'd guess he wouldn't change it for the world but I think if he sat down and was honest he would admit he took his eye off the ball...

Mike Tyson in his prime was the best heavyweight ever in my opinion. Nobody could even touch him. It was scary to see a 109 kg man move so quick.

I've been and watched a fair few fights live from Eubank, Hatton, calzaghe etc but Naz was the fighter I travelled and saw most of. Not only because hes about 8 mile from me but his whole fighting persona. Hatton and Tszu was about the best atmosphere fight but Naz was the only one kept me glued.. You could see his love wavering and him sticking his nose in other things (Yemen) which he had no business doing.. his focus was going long before and once he had the loss he may aswell have walked away... Did Naz live 8 miles from you in Sheffield? Well I agree with you but can we really call Naseem Hamed "wasted" talent?. Hamed was the youngest British world champion ever. The man was the undisputed FW champ, became the lineal champ, beat over 10 world title holders, headlined Madison Square Garden and at one point in 2001 Hamed had a reported net worth of roughly $75 million. He was also one of the biggest P4P punchers in history. Hamed seemed to possess the power of a man twice his size. Yes he could have achieved even more. He was the most talented fighter from the UK ever. He had speed, power, stamina, reflexes and an granite chin.

skipped to the end so just noticed someone else mentioned valero. Top shout