A young guy that boxed with me for awhile in the mid 90s got himself into some trouble and had to do some time (at that privately run facility outside Baker, CA, for those familiar with the area). When he came home he was all fired up to know about Jesse James Leija- I'm sure most of you know who he is.
When I asked him why he told me about a guy he'd been locked up with. This guy was a black guy, small and slight built, but he got in a fight with three guys and lit them up like it was nothing, bobbing and weaving and throwing textbook punches. The kid I knew got to talking about him and learned that the guy used to box, and told the guy that he must have been great and could have been champ.
The guy said no, no way, he wasn't even an decent pro. He had been a real good amateur, great record, thought he was going to the top. Until he fought Jesse James and got knocked out. This was early on in their careers but he gave it up because he realized that there were other guys out there even better than Leija.