HYPED prospects who failed to live up to the hype...

[Cloud]

ike ibeabuchi lost his marbles


does that count?

I reckon hed have won a world title but lost it pretty soon. IMO of course.

Michael Grant, Shannon Briggs....Audley Harrison.

Fraudley - 6 foot 5 inches, built like a brick ****house and icey water running through his veins. Scared to be hit and watching the first Sprott fight, its not suprising he didnt like getting hit.

Oh....Neon Leon Spinks.

EDIT - Does Neon Leon count?

[joseph5620]

I'll start...

Michael Olajide

Engels Pedroza

Francisco Bojado

Alex Ramos

Bobby Czyz

Johnny Bumphus

[jabsRstiff]

Alex Ramos

Bobby Czyz

Johnny Bumphus

"Tomorrow's Champions"

I think Bobby Czyz lived up to his potential, however.

[Dynamite76]

Greg Page
Tony Tucker
Howard Davis Jr.
Bernard Taylor.
Alex Ramos
Bobby Joe Young.

[fitefanSHO]

Bobby Czyz

Well, I actually think Czyz exceeded reasonable expectations of him.

He did well.

Jorge Luis Gonzales comes to mind for me, as does somebody like Alex Stewart.

Tho he did give Foreman hell..

[jabsRstiff]

Greg Page
Tony Tucker
Howard Davis Jr.
Bernard Taylor.
Alex Ramos
Bobby Joe Young.

Do you remember how cool it was to read the prospects sections of the Ring Magazine and World/International Boxing?

I was really hyped about Bobby Joe Young from what I read about him. 1st time I got to see him fight, he wound up losing to Kevin Howard.

[Jarlaxle]

Micahel Bennett. An Amateur gold and solid amateur career gave him a following. I saw a couple of his first four fights and his lack of defense a concern but I didnt expect him to get KOed in his fifth fight. He had a tendancy to raise his head and drop his gloves when hit. In other words his chin was a large easy soft target.

[TBear]

I'll start...

Michael Olajide

Engels Pedroza

Francisco Bojado

I remember I was at a fight and Jimmy Montoya was there. He pointed to a guy and said he was a hot prospect he had and he was 15-0 all by ko and most in the first round. So I paid extra attention to the fighter after that. Until he stepped up that is. He was Engels Pedroza.

I never was high on Olajide, his claim to fame was a resemblance to Micheal Jackson? Which I didn't see. He was flashy but it was no suprise to me when Frank Tate and Barkley humbled him.

For me the hyped prospects that stand out the most are the accomplished amateurs that just couldn't make the transaction to the pro game, Howard Davis Jr. and Mark Breland stand out.

[TheGreatA]

Ed Hopson. A super featherweight who had absurd speed and a chin of pure glass. Put on a few shows until a blown up bantamweight knocked him out.

Due to his association with Lou Duva and a similar look, he was drawing comparison to Pernell Whitaker. Sadly he did not have the defense or the durability.

This is basically the traditional case of an over-hyped prospect:



Win a vacant belt against a hand-picked opponent while looking impressive in the process.



Get knocked out in embarrassing fashion in a set-up against a former champion.

[TheGreatA]

In the earlier days, Len Matthews was hyped as another Sugar Ray Robinson. He was flashy and tough but did not possess the skills and as a result was merely a contender in a tough lightweight division.

He was arguably never the same after this:



Matthews fought 6 more times in the next 6 months which puts to perspective how tough these fighters were.