Biggest Prospect Bust

[BuddyChacon]

Alex Ramos
Bobby Czyz
Mitch Green
Carl Williams

Bobby Czyz won two world titles so he could hardly be called bust IMO.

[Dempseyistheman]

Francisco Bojado. Maybe a few others but he comes to mind first.

[BuddyChacon]

Francisco Bojado. Maybe a few others but he comes to mind first.

He is one of the most recent him and Ricardo Williams. I still think Andrew Maynard is the biggest bust in history since so much hype was behind him.

[BuddyChacon]

Old school Prospect Failures most should look into. Billy Graham, Ruby Goldstein and Jack kid Berg. All three were pegged as future all time greats and Graham had numerous things written about him as an amatuer. Though Graham got jobbed against Kid Gavilan. Goldstein was supposed to be the next Benny Leonard and Berg had a lot of hype coming to America from England.

[Verstyle]

I, for one, don't believe you, as I would say the signs were definately there before the Tyson fight in regards to Biggs falling off, as you called it...

Some unimpressive pre-Tyson performances against some former contenders who had seen better days, like against Renaldo Snipes and especially, David Bey (who beat up & bloodied Biggs in that one), suggests that Biggs was not nearly as good as advertised when he recieved all that hype coming out of the Olympics...Also Biggs' very well publicized problems with drugs & alcohol (inluding an extended stint in rehab previous to facing Tyson) suggest that Biggs had some other issues that didn't allow him to reach what some may have envisioned for him in the pro ranks.

What was that David Bey quote again after his fight with Briggs?

"Ready for Tyson? Hell, he wasn't even ready for me."

Something like that anyways, and a more accurate statement there's never been.

wasnt bey the one that busted up his eye the first time? if that was him,hell he still fought threw it to get the win didnt he?
and maybe an overhyped prosject but an over hyped prospect that hasnt lost yet.thats the answer

[Verstyle]

Alex Ramos
Bobby Czyz
Mitch Green
Carl Williams

i thought about mitch green but he really wasnt a prospect to begin with.although h he took like 7years off after tyson beat him

[Yogi]

wasnt bey the one that busted up his eye the first time? if that was him,hell he still fought threw it to get the win didnt he?
and maybe an overhyped prosject but an over hyped prospect that hasnt lost yet.thats the answer

Yes, Bey cut Biggs really good over one of his eyes, as well as as beat him up for the majority of the fight. And yes, Biggs won the fight, sure, but very often a simple fight result doesn't tell the whole story of a fight, and this would be one such occasion...

I may have been wrong in interpretating your previous post as to mean Tyson ruined Biggs or something like that, my friend, and all I was saying is that Biggs' stock had dropped a significant amount in the fights leading up to the Tyson fight...At one time when both were still in the early stages of their respective careers (well before even Tyson won his first belt), that fight was looked at as a potential megafight for the heavyweight division down the road, but because of some performances by Biggs, once that fight came off it was not nearly as anticipated as many had thought it would be.


Here's just a couple of quotes;

"BIGGS TITLE SHOT LOST IN BEY BOUT" article heading from the NY Times, Mar 12th, 1987, with the lead in to the story asking "What has happened to Tyrell Biggs?"


Here's a more expansive article on how Biggs' prospects were viewed to have fallen off a whole bunch, which is from the May 15th, 1987 edition of the NY Times;

"The excitement that the thought of this fight (Tyson/Biggs) once created, however, has been greatly undercut because Biggs, though undefeated in 14 fights, seems to have fallen far short of his potential.

While there have been individual bouts, against James (Quick) Tillis and against Jeff Sims, in which Biggs combined the lateral movement and punching effectiveness that hinted at the complete fighter he may be, he has regressed lately.

In his last fight, in March against David Bey, the 26 year-old Biggs stood flat-footed against the relatively immobile Bey and traded punches - a tactic that negated the hit-and-run he was given beforehand.

Bey took advantage, repeatedly landing big punches and opening a cut over Bigg's left eye that would require 32 stitches to close. At times, Bey appeared a punch or two away from forcing the referee, Richard Steele, to halt the bout. Only a courageous rally by Biggs - he stopped Bey in the sixth round - kept him from blowing a fight that was supposed to have been a snap."


That's how I actually remember Biggs' situation at that particluar time, and that memory was of a fighter who was on the downslide and struggling even before he faced Tyson. If my memory from the boxing mags is accurate, and I believe it is, those same exact thoughts were also expressed in abundance in their writings...Biggs no longer came with much hype (and certainly no overhype) when he entered the ring for theTyson bout, or at least not nearly the amount that he had in the earliest portions of his career.

*Note...The May 15th article also says that Biggs had planned to see a psychiatrist by the name of Dr. Joseph Pursch, and it's interesting to read that that is the same exact doctor who had worked with Biggs earlier in his pro career when Biggs had that bad drug problem...Hmm?

[Yogi]

i thought about mitch green but he really wasnt a prospect to begin with.although h he took like 7years off after tyson beat him

Green did have a little bit of a name as a prospect when he first started out, as I believe he was one of only two or three heavyweights that were part of the "Tomorrow's Champions" that were so often featured on NBC.

Then again, that heavyweight group also included Chris McDonald, so...

[Yogi]

Bobby Czyz won two world titles so he could hardly be called bust IMO.

And in truth, I'd call him a bit of an overachiever if anything, as he was not even close to being the most touted of that "Tomorrow's Champions" group (Ayala was the most hyped, Ramos & Bumphus were up there too in hype). Yet, I believe he accomplished more (or "much more" in some cases) than any single one of them.

I could pick a few uncomplimentary names to use in describing Czyz, but a "bust" would not be one of them.

[Piggu]

Audley Harrison had a lot of potential with his Gold Medal win, let's see if he can get back on track.