Biggest Wasted Potential?

[MalevolentBite]

Who out of these fighters had the greatest potential but due to outside or internal influences stopped their career from being better than it was?

I am not going to including fighters that did a crime and got sentence to a long prison sentence or someone who got into a freak accident / situation ( illness, murdered, serious bodily injuries outside of the ring, or acts of God).

If the situation was out of the boxers control dont add them here.

1. Zab Judah
2. Jeff Lacy
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Leon Spinks
5. Adrian Broner
6. Andy Ruiz
7. Allen Green
8. Jermall Charlo
9. Kelly pavlik
10. Ray Mercer
11. James DeGale
12. Victor Ortiz
13. Gary Russell Jr.
14. Andre Berto
15. Abner Mares

If you think none of these names fit the bill. Submit your boxer.

Update 3/10/2025. After reading comments. I have added these boxers to the list.

Andrew Golota
Demetrius Andrade
Mikey Garcia
Vernon Forrest

Update 7/11/25

Gervonte Davis - I think he's going to prison this time.

[Hustle]

Demetrius Andrade

[MalevolentBite]

Demetrius Andrade

That's a fair assessment. He had a high ceiling and I do believe he was avoided but he also didn't help his case either back in those days. That's a good pick.

[Willie Pep 229]

"Wasted Potential"

No, what you meant to say was "failed our expectations."

By claiming it as 'lost potential' we try to shift our failure in judgement to the fighter's failure of character.

Just because we thought we saw, at one moment "potential," but then the guy didn't reach our expectations, doesn't mean he didn't reach his potential. The only FACT at play here, is that we were wrong.

Take the biggest disappointment from your list above, one with our consensus agreeing, and we still won't know if he, did or did not, reach his potential.

It only means, we were all really wrong.

I think you need to use a different word. Judging potential is just an opinion that is too obtuse for a criteria.

It should be about our failed expectations (our claimed expertise) and not the fighter's perceived failure.

[DeeMoney]

This list is primarily fighters of a more recent vintage, and as such I have a couple names that I think were the biggest wasted potential of recent years: Kell Brook & Keith Thurman. These two shouldve fought each other sometime in 2015 or so with the winner being catapulted to superstardom in the welterweight division. Instead, Brook saw a slowing down GGG and tried to move up to pick him off; looked good for a few rounds then got his face broken. Was never the same, then got the same treatment from Spence.
Thurman's 'One Time' moniker was jokingly derided as how often he would fight each year; but even that proved wishful thinking. From 2016-2022 injuries led to Keith fighting only five times, most notably his lone defeat, a SD loss to an aged Manny Pacquiao. One of these two should've amounted to more.

Regarding some of the names listed. I think Wilder did basically as much as he could've done, save for getting a KO of Anthony Joshua. He didn't really start boxing until he was relatively older than most, so odds are he wasn't going to develop great technique to begin with. His one fight where he actually tried to outbox someone, Stiverne I, saw him get a victory, but he later proved that he could just knock him out. Had Wilder developed into a better boxer (skill wise), he still ends up doing what he did. He just wasn't built to beat Fury. Unless he develops a completely different skillset, that of a faster infighter (like Usyk), but that is so far outside his actual displayed potential.

I feel like Judah, Pavlik, and Broner pretty much maxed out at what they were. Pavlik was a fav of mine and he did some good stuff, his only two losses were to HOF middleweights. Degale is interesting, what exactly happened to him? He just disaappeared

[JeBron Lamez]

Kell Brook & Keith Thurman. These two shouldve fought each other sometime in 2015 or so

The ignorance!

In 2015, Ezekiel Brookß was recovering from having half his leg hacked off by some dumb cünt in Tenerife. That he came back at all, let alone to perform at the levels he managed afterwards, is almost miraculous (NOT a word I use lightly).

As for the list, yeah none of those names really fit the bill in terms of talent vs achievement but imho (despite all the titles) it's Broner because his potential for both in-ring achievement & general superstardom was YUUUUGE & he fücked it up himself with very little help.

[DeeMoney]

The ignorance!

In 2015, Ezekiel Brookß was recovering from having half his leg hacked off by some dumb cünt in Tenerife. That he came back at all, let alone to perform at the levels he managed afterwards, is almost miraculous (NOT a word I use lightly).

As for the list, yeah none of those names really fit the bill in terms of talent vs achievement but imho (despite all the titles) it's Broner because his potential for both in-ring achievement & general superstardom was YUUUUGE & he fücked it up himself with very little help.

Ehhh, kinda right.

Brook did suffer a stabbing in Aug of 2014, after he beat Porter, and if you felt that really limited his potential then so be it. To be honest, at that point I thought dude was destined for more. But no, he was not recovering in 2015. He was back in the ring in March of 2015, and looked fine against Jo-Jo Dan. It was a less than spectacular opponent but no stress, it was his mandatory, he was coming off the leg injury, and it was his first title defense. I am down with a soft touch. Problem is what happened after that. He was lined up to have a good career, mentioned to be a possible Mayweather opponent, was looking to maybe have a massive fight against Kell Brook, and of course shouldve had a big fight with Keith Thurman.

Sadly, the big fights didn't materialize, so he took on another relatively easy fight in Frankie Gavin, but that fight was in May of 2015- so its not like he was in any way spending 2015 recovering. Spent another long stretch trying to get big fights but couldn't, so defended against another lower level mandatory. After that, whether through frustration, over confidence, or wanting money, he challenged a starting to slow down GGG.....

Yes, the stabbing happened, but to argue that he was recovering for 2015, is wrong.

[famicommander]

Zab Judah?

The former undisputed and lineal welterweight champion of the world and 3X super lightweight world titlist?

The hell else did you expect him to do?

[billeau2]

Who out of these fighters had the greatest potential but due to outside or interal influences stopped their career from being better than it was?

I am not going to including fighters that did a crime and got sentence to a long prison sentence or someone who got into a freak accident.

1. Zab Judah
2. Jeff Lacy
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Leon Spinks
5. Adrian Broner
6. Andy Ruiz
7. Allen Green
8. Jermall Charlo
9. Kelly pavlik
10. Ray Mercer
11. James DeGale
12. Victor Ortiz
13. Gary Russell Jr.
14. Andre Berto
15. Abner Mares

If you think none of these names fit the bill. Submit your boxer.

anyone who can look at an issue like tis multidimensionally and construct such a list has my compliments. Generally one has to consider the environment. If every talented fighter was great it would be less competative. As it is, a fighter losses any advantage they are coming into the ring against others who are trying to gain every advantage. That means things like age, timing, and factors beyond control affect every fighter and one must ask if any of these factors automatically make someone subject to waster potential.

Zab Judah actually had a great career. he managed to fight for the championship, win it, as many times as fighters like Chisora, who while not having the natural gifts of Judah was in an easier division, so even though both men may not have ascended, Chisora looks like a real Gatti type fighter! while Judah is percieved as lacking. Zab had his weaknesses but also had his chances and gave a good account. I would not say his potential was wasted... Potential has to have a catalyst and fighting in the hardest divisions brings one up against guys who are really able.

Lacy definitely!

Wilder? again, hard to say. Fighting a trilogy against an equally great opponent is an opportunity seldom afforded to heavyweights. Wilder fought a real battle with Fury, as opposed to a lot of great fighters who never got the opportunity. Thing is Wilder being a puncher could be said to be in the fight for all the fights.

Ray Mercer? Had a great career given his relative abilities. Many think he beat Lewis.

The other guys I agree on.

[MalevolentBite]

This list is primarily fighters of a more recent vintage, and as such I have a couple names that I think were the biggest wasted potential of recent years: Kell Brook & Keith Thurman. These two shouldve fought each other sometime in 2015 or so with the winner being catapulted to superstardom in the welterweight division. Instead, Brook saw a slowing down GGG and tried to move up to pick him off; looked good for a few rounds then got his face broken. Was never the same, then got the same treatment from Spence.
Thurman's 'One Time' moniker was jokingly derided as how often he would fight each year; but even that proved wishful thinking. From 2016-2022 injuries led to Keith fighting only five times, most notably his lone defeat, a SD loss to an aged Manny Pacquiao. One of these two should've amounted to more.

Regarding some of the names listed. I think Wilder did basically as much as he could've done, save for getting a KO of Anthony Joshua. He didn't really start boxing until he was relatively older than most, so odds are he wasn't going to develop great technique to begin with. His one fight where he actually tried to outbox someone, Stiverne I, saw him get a victory, but he later proved that he could just knock him out. Had Wilder developed into a better boxer (skill wise), he still ends up doing what he did. He just wasn't built to beat Fury. Unless he develops a completely different skillset, that of a faster infighter (like Usyk), but that is so far outside his actual displayed potential.

I feel like Judah, Pavlik, and Broner pretty much maxed out at what they were. Pavlik was a fav of mine and he did some good stuff, his only two losses were to HOF middleweights. Degale is interesting, what exactly happened to him? He just disaappeared

Thanks for the comment. I think broner would had been more focus he could been an all time great. He had the skillset and talent at the lighter weight. I think his outside lifestyle and living in Floyd's little brother shadow doomed him. He needed a strong handler.

Zab was too hot and cold for me during most of his career. He had flashes of greatness.

Kelly had a decent career but i think he had alot of outside demons.

Crazy thing was. I was going to put Keith Thurman and Kell Brook on this list. Still til this day, i cant believe Eddie sent an undefeated welterweight champion to fight GGG. Down hill from that fight for Kell.