Top 10 most wasted careers in boxing history

[MulaKO]

Jeff Lacy imo
A highly touted prospect only to lose the first time he stepped up

[anonymous2.0]

From mismanagement, to lack of dedication, to just plain ducking did I miss anyone?

1 Mike Tyson
2 Guillermo Rigondeaux
3 Ike Ibeabuchi
4 Gary Russell Jr
5 Keith Thurman
6 Tommy Morrison
7 Kell Brook
8 Demetrius Andrade
9 Edwin Valero
10 Frankie Gomez

Wasted careers? I wouldn't call them wasted, maybe they didn't live up to their utmost potential, but not wasted. Frankie Gomez though, if iirc wasn't he a Wild Card guy years ago that always came in overweight? That was a wasted career.

[IronDanHamza]

Ketih Thurman?

He overachieved in his career with limited talent, ability and skills.

[The D3vil]

Notoriety, yes
Quality wise.....pure fabrication.
He has maybe 2 Ws over legitimate opps.
Holmes being one of them (coming off a 2 year hiatus, though)

The "champs" he beat were not built to be champs -
Berbick
Smith
Tucker
Spinks and his bullshlt tile
Bruno
Seldon


Maybe they had a combined total of 5 successful defenses ?

And prior to fighting Tyson, who was Tucker's best W ?

My list -
Tony "The Tiger" Ayala
Donald "The Cobra" Curry
Edwin "El Chapo" Rosario
Andrew "The Putz" Golota
Adrien "The Problem" Broner
Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy
Tommy "The Duke" Morrison
Keef "Sometime" Hurtman
Kell Broke
Terrible Terry Norris

Mike literally cleaned out most of the Ring Top 10 HW list from when he became champion.

Who else was he supposed to beat???

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Witherspoon's the only guy he didn't fight.

He beat 8 out of the 9 he fought.

[The D3vil]

My List:

1. Bernard "Superbad" Mays
2. Jimmy Young
3. Tony Ayala Jr.
4. Ike Ibeabuchi
5. Edwin Valero
6. Yuriorkis Gamboa
7. Paul Spadafora
8. Andrew Golota
9. Teofilo Stevenson
10. Harry Simon

[Toffee]

Surprised Rid**** Bowe doesn't make this list.

Yes I know he's in the HoF... but he really shouldn't be. And based on talent, he should have earned a spot in the HoF. He fought in a good area and had a real case for being up with the very best of them. If he could stop eating.

Bowe v Lewis wouldn't have been a forgone conclusion. Nor Bowe v Tyson (I'd back Bowe, if fit).

[CubanGuyNYC]

Yuriorkis Gamboa

Good call. Gamboa had so much potential — a hyper-talented guy, an electrifying fighter. He was like a mini-Mike Tyson/Roy Jones hybrid. Athletes like that come up only rarely. Totally wasted ability.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Mike Tyson had a great career . What are you talking about?

And yet he did have a wasted career. Tyson could’ve been so much more. Almost scary to think what Mike could’ve been if he had maintained discipline. As it was, he was king of the world for a minute — and his legacy has endured beyond all prediction.

[TheProudLunatic]

Mike literally cleaned out most of the Ring Top 10 HW list from when he became champion.

Who else was he supposed to beat???

tMDGvrD.png

Witherspoon's the only guy he didn't fight.

He beat 8 out of the 9 he fought.

My statement remains true

His best W was Holmes who was sitting on a couch for 2 years.
On the rare occasions he faced a quality opp, he lost.
Superbum Botha hit him back and Mike tried to break his arm.
Couldn't handle it.

I'll say it again
Mike could not survive John Ruiz' resume.

[TheProudLunatic]

He never beat anyone close to as good as them.

Name "them"