Thread: Fighters who should have had better careers than they did

Joshua Clottey maybe?

Originally Posted by Jimanuel Boogustus

Joshua Clottey maybe?

nah clottey did well with the skills he had

I had two, Colin McMillan, Terry Dunstan, one Bad Luck, the other Bad Living.

Originally Posted by Violent Demise

Zab Judah - He was undisputed welterweight champion. So it can't be said he never accomplished shit. But he never came close to meeting the unrealistic expectations placed on him

Julio Diaz - He'll end up with a decent career. But he was hyped the way Mickey Garcia is hyped now when he was coming up. Downfall started when he got the loss against Angel Manfredy in a fight he should of won

Juan Manuel Lopez - He's a 2 division champion. But way more was expected. They were looking for the next Felix Trinidad and instead got a smaller Kermit Cintron

Man, Julio Diaz wasn't even supposed to be a champion in my estimation. He clearly over achieved, I liked him alot.

Shannon Briggs, Ray Mercer and Michael Moorer come to mind- their respective losses really and truly knocked them out of the pocket. Briggs vs. Wilson and Lewis (Lewis being understandable), Mercer vs. Holmes and Jesse Ferguson (losses he really shouldn't have lost, he could have been a great champion) and Moorer when he lost to Foreman- so stupid of him in the latter rounds of that fight.

David Tua is always in the frame for these. Smashed his way to the front of the queue then drifted into obesity and the role of also ran.

Ricardo Mayorga had a better career than what was expected of him, he didn't become a big name until the Lewis fights, and it wasn't cause of his boxing skills, he wasn't expected to beat Forrest and did so twice so over achieved

Riddick Bowe is another example of an under achiever, was touted as being the next big long time king of the HW division and imploded

Juanma does fall into the category but in no way would I call him a small Kermit Cintron seeing how he accomplished more and has a better resume, his prime was just a very short one, and he lacked the discipline in and out of the ring to have a long career

Gamboa is making his way into this category with his inactivity and looking flat as of late, as does Guzman

Jaidon Codrington. He had a hell of a left hook.

Originally Posted by Hulk

Jaidon Codrington. He had a hell of a left hook.

but had an egg shell chin

Colin McMillan is a good shout I would add gerry cooney , herol graham and Kirkland Laing

Joan Guzman is a great call if you limit it to just wasted talent. He was an incredible fighter for a time and could have been very live in fights with Pacquiao or Marquez, but never did much of anything. Obviously he was a lazy idiot and screwed his own chances, and there are loads of talented guys who just don't dedicate themselves like that.

On the absolute other end of things, how about Mike McCallum? Obviously had an incredible career and beat all kinds of killers, but he was imo one of the greatest fighters ever and was unfortunate to never land a few huge name fights at his peak. He could have fought SRL, Hearns or Duran and beaten them imo, could have got a fight with Hagler etc. Was very unlucky to lose his 0 in the first fight to Kambalay, and was a bit older by the time he fought Toney although still won the first meeting there imo. Guess he didn't quite have the star potential of a Leonard, Hearns or Duran but he was every bit as deadly and is criminally unheralded.

Fernando Vargas could have went on longer with better management he was talented.

I loved Obar Carr and Campus but maybe they found their limit.

Originally Posted by Master

Fernando Vargas could have went on longer with better management he was talented.

I loved Obar Carr and Campus but maybe they found their limit.

I was just about to post Fernando Vargas. The guy was a beast, product of the garcia fam but badly manage. He became the youngest champ ever and then quickly threw him in with Trinidad. He held his own and even knock him down a few times before he got stopped but he made it a fight. The kid IMO was never the same. That and well he always got fat when he was not in camp and then cut down drastically so who knows if that played a factor as well idk. But the talent was there early in his career.

Originally Posted by outspoken

Originally Posted by Master

Fernando Vargas could have went on longer with better management he was talented.

I loved Obar Carr and Campus but maybe they found their limit.

I was just about to post Fernando Vargas. The guy was a beast, product of the garcia fam but badly manage. He became the youngest champ ever and then quickly threw him in with Trinidad. He held his own and even knock him down a few times before he got stopped but he made it a fight. The kid IMO was never the same. That and well he always got fat when he was not in camp and then cut down drastically so who knows if that played a factor as well idk. But the talent was there early in his career.

Your thread made me also now consider Riddick Bows and possibly Ricky Hatton, who achieved a lot but could he have done more if he stayed in shape?

Jose Luis Lopez, Bojado, Mark Johnson. I know he did damn well but he should have been massive. He and Tapia would have been absolutely epic!

Roy Jones Jr should of been up there with Robinson IMO...

A few more that come to mind:

Jemal Hinton

Ricky Womack

Ginger Tshabalala

Harry Simon

Spencer Oliver

Jawaid Khaliq