Boxing most tragic figures.

I'd go with Riddick Bowe as someone who reflects the dark side of our collective passion. Certainly, boxing has left him in bad mental shape though he does seem to have some money left over. Bowe is tragic for many different reasons not the least of which is that he never fulfilled his great potential. Hell, no big man could ever fight as well as he could on the inside. He had it all, but then, after the two Golata DQ 's, it went south fast. Maybe his grueling trilogy with Holyfield ruined him. Whatever the case, Bowe was never all that he could have been.

Can you name some others?

Johnny Tapia. A great HOF fighter that had a lot of demons. He will always be 1 of my top ten fighters. But he's struggling outside of the ring because of the demons he's got in his life.

2 words..... Salvador Sanchez!!

Edwin Valero. A recent tradegy.

paul ingle?

Jack Johnson - 1st Black heavyweight champion, he was Ali before there ever was one, had his title ripped from him by legal mumbo jumbo that kept him from boxing and out of boxing shape and he got martyred in the ring late in his career....died in my home state (NC) after speeding away from a diner that wouldn't serve him because of his color.

Sam Langford - Never got credit when he deserved it...died penniless and blind

Joe Louis - THE GREATEST Heavyweight Champion IMO, did a lot for the sport, did a lot for this country and all he got for it was the fucking IRS breathing down his neck when he could no longer earn a living and when he should have just been taking it easy.

Joe Frazier - Went toe to toe with all comers, took 1 of 3 from Ali in 3 great fights. He should have earned Ali's respect, but was mocked, called an Uncle Tom and a Gorill, and now he litterally lives in a boxing gym. It's a shame.

Battiling Siki - Tough warrior in the ring and out, died after a bender...a cop shot him in the back of the head.

Billy Collins Jr - Destroyed from the Resto fight, died in a car wreck while driving drunk not too long after.

Alexis Arguello - The Sandinistas took everything from him, then when they needed his help, he naively offered it, they gave him hope and then threw him in the gutter, he took his own life out of nothing more than humiliation and dispair.

George Chuvalo - nobody's had a tougher go of it than Georgie....he lost 3 sons (2 to heroine and 1 to suicide) and his wife to suicide after their second son had died.

I think Audley Harrison is pretty tragic.

Vernon Forrestt

I actually find Jones Jr quite tragic now, Tyson is a train wreck.

Filipino Rolando Navarette

meldrick taylor comes to mind.

They found Mickey Walker lying in a gutter once believing he was an alcoholic mess, he suffered Parkinson's disease and died a lonely death in 1981. Walker was one of the toughest and hardest hitting middleweights of all time and to put him into context with the modern era, he would have have given both Monzon and Hagler very tough fights!

When i saw Joe Frazier as a guest on Friday night fights a few years ago i nearly cried as the once great Smokin Joe was barely able to string two words together.


Johnson, Louis, Tyson, Gatti, Valero, Arguello, boxing has a history of letting it's heroes down! Some let themselves down by fighting way past their used by date : Roy Jones jr?

Watching Paul Briggs a couple of weeks ago highlighted the lengths some old fighters go, just to survive when their career is over.

Saad Muhammed , Rocky Lockridge, Wilfred benitez, Bobby chacon, Jerry Quarry, Joichiro tatsuyoshi, Frankie Randall, Kid Akeem ,Serqui Kobazov, Frank Fletcher, Masao Ohba......Tony Ayala not tragic,just a fawking fool !

Daz Suttherland

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

Doo Koo Kim, died from injuries caused in his fight with Mancini, his mother killed herself, as did the ref who didn't stop the fight in time

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

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I'm not so sure he did not commit the crime to be honest though. Fair enough if you watch the film he didn't but he was never proven innocent and even after reading 2 different books (one of which he wrote himself, another which was written on his behalf) I'm not sold.

In fact there were so many lies in the film, I think that is what has made me so dubious as to whether or not he really is innocent.

maseo ohba

Johnny Owen, if he was fighting today he would have failed medical checks and his life saved

There is tragic and then there is self-destruct. Vernon Forest is an example of a tragedy. Where as James Kirkland was on self-destruct mode. And speaking about Kirkland http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...ory?id=5438472

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Originally Posted by holmcall

Daz Suttherland

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yeah man that was real tragic... I watched a documentry on him called Saviors(his amature club) well worth a watch!

Ike Ibeabuchi is another tragic case...

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

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I'm not so sure he did not commit the crime to be honest though. Fair enough if you watch the film he didn't but he was never proven innocent and even after reading 2 different books (one of which he wrote himself, another which was written on his behalf) I'm not sold.

In fact there were so many lies in the film, I think that is what has made me so dubious as to whether or not he really is innocent.

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yeah man, I read up alot on it as well, I'd be pretty sure he had something to do with it...

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

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Carter has never been exonerated by the courts, he was released due to procedural errors only. His story is like swiss cheese, there are a lot of holes in it. Dylan hasn't played the song live for decades, he now believes Carter did it! Carter's credibilty is very dubious.

Gerald McClellan

Tragic in the Greek sense

James Butler. At first glance, he just seems like the scum of the earth, but obviously there’s a lot more to it than that.

Kirklaind Laing was a tragic waist of talent. He used to drink and smoke hash in the dressing room before fights! He ended up as a wino on the streets of London and almost died falling from a balcony.

The Klits for having to fight the likes of Briggs and Rahman. :o

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

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I'm not so sure he did not commit the crime to be honest though. Fair enough if you watch the film he didn't but he was never proven innocent and even after reading 2 different books (one of which he wrote himself, another which was written on his behalf) I'm not sold.

In fact there were so many lies in the film, I think that is what has made me so dubious as to whether or not he really is innocent.

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Back in the day, I remember writing to one of the boxing magazines to give my reasons why RUBIN "Hurricane" CARTER WAS INNOCENT. Well my friend it was
very clear to me based on some of the original evidence concerning the description of
the shooter. It was based on size, little Rubin did not match the description and that
is all I have to say about that. :confused:

Sonny Liston, Leon Spinks, Arturo Gatti, Gerry Cooney, Aaron Pryor.

Not so much a tragic figure, but tragic what happened - Michael Watson

Tragic figure of boxing - Mike Tyson, had it all and lost it all as dramatically !

This thread says something about the sport. The list is genuinely endless, Beau Jack, Joe Jeanette, King Levinsky etc etc.

A harder thread would be to name great fighters who are the least tragic, or who had a fulfilled and happy life after boxing ......

Max Schmeling
Ray Leonard
George Foreman
Oscar de la Hoya (so far)
Lennox Lewis (so far)

Often, that piece of their character or personality that made them a great fighter ends up making them unhappy humans afterwards. For the classical Greek scholars amongst you, thats called hamartia. :cool:

Davie Moore, the fighter Duran beat died in a tragic accident.

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Originally Posted by El Kabong

George Chuvalo - nobody's had a tougher go of it than Georgie....he lost 3 sons (2 to heroine and 1 to suicide) and his wife to suicide after their second son had died.

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I didnt know that. That's fucked up!! :( :(

Diego Corrales and Carlos Monzon

Clifford Etienne, kidnapping car jacking and tried to shoot the cops. Kid Akeem, Johnny Owen, Leavander Johnson, Oscar Diaz....just some off the top of my head. Theres over 600 guys that have died from injuries in the ring.

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Originally Posted by ElTerribleMorales

Doo Koo Kim, died from injuries caused in his fight with Mancini, his mother killed herself, as did the ref who didn't stop the fight in time

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That just about takes it :eek: .

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Rubin Hurricane Carter. Getting robbed of a life and career for a crime he did not commit.

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I'm not so sure he did not commit the crime to be honest though. Fair enough if you watch the film he didn't but he was never proven innocent and even after reading 2 different books (one of which he wrote himself, another which was written on his behalf) I'm not sold.

In fact there were so many lies in the film, I think that is what has made me so dubious as to whether or not he really is innocent.

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A chat with someone he knew at the time has always had me wondering too.

Valero

Scott Harrison. The guy could of/should of been undisputed champ. Instead he's languishing in a Spanish prison

I think Lyle did made the best selection and in the whole, Chuvalo and Collins JR will be the most 2 tragic for me, one being a ring legend "punished" by life and the other one being ruined by the greed.

As for Hurricaine, mordern evidences seem to demonstrate that he was, in fact, very guilty of the crime. Carter wasn't an angel and already had a thick criminal record behind, he wasn't ranked #1 but considered on his downfall (being classed #9 by the ring magazine at the time). Also, during his second process, he's never been formally ACQUIT, not at all, he's been released because of vice of procedure, which means that the proofs against him were solid but that the police didn't follow the protocol correctly therefore the proof couldn't not be considered. I've read a lot about that case and I felt quit gutted when I realized that I got fooled by Bob Dylan's song all my life long. The movie is very un-accurate on a lot of issues too, painting the main detective as an "evil" man, which he was not, among other things.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter: The Other Side of the Story

Top Ten Myths About Rubin Hurricane Carter and the Lafayette Grill Murders

Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter - The Hurricane