Fighters/Champions that could have been great!

[Master]

Ortiz? GTFOH

I thought the thread was about fighters that were exceptional but not called greats like McCallum, Benitez, Martinez or Vargas.

[ykdadamaja]

Ortiz? GTFOH

I thought the thread was about fighters that were exceptional but not called greats like McCallum, Benitez, Martinez or Vargas.

lololol....

[Bill Paxtom]

Mark Breland

Trained as hard as anyone. He just didn't have the strength to deal with some guys.

He had both Heart and Spirit, but the chin was always suspect.
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David Tua

Tremendous puncher with untold power. But, his opponents had to be 'selected', as he
worked from both a Height and Reach disadvantage.

If all of his bouts were held in a Telephone Booth, he goes undefeated in his career.

[No Contest]

Gerald McClellan

Salvador Sanchez. He was great, but imagine how great he could have been...died at 23.
Harry Simon...maybe.

Edwin Valero...yeah I know I'm on a tragic role...

The President...
Naseem Hamed...

[Dark Lord Al]

Yes Ike had a strong chin , speed , work rate , power , I would have loved him to have a shot at the title.
But he was also a basket case.

[Beanflicker]

Lenny "Mean Machine" McLean could have been the heavyweight champion of the world, but he was too far into crime.

[C.J.Rock]

Yes Ike had a strong chin , speed , work rate , power , I would have loved him to have a shot at the title.
But he was also a basket case.

Ike Ibeabuchi would have been the natural successor to Lennox Lewis. The Klitschko's would be forgotten by now. You say Ike was "a basket case" but just put yourself in his place. His biggest mistake was ever calling that hooker in Vegas. He claimed he never touched her. She wasn't harmed not a mark on her. The police claimed they had to use pepper spray to restrain Ike. Neither of them were touched either. He claimed his innocence for 14 months while they badgered him to take a plea. He was kept under heavy sedation because they were "scared of what he might do" I know 14 months of being heavily sedated would affect my mentality yours too probably. Most of Ike's mental problems were caused during his time under that sedation in my estimation
He finally pleaded no contest as they promised him he'd be back boxing in 6 months but instead the woman judge threw the book at him gave him the maximum sentence 5-30 years. I knew Ike from the day he walked into Curtis Cokes Home of Champions gym in Dallas Tx & proclaimed he was going to be World Champ & no one could beat him. He was no angel admittedly but neither was he the monster some claimed him to be.
He was right about one thing No one did beat him in the ring it took a Vegas hooker to derail his career

[TitoFan]

Ortiz? GTFOH

I thought the thread was about fighters that were exceptional but not called greats like McCallum, Benitez, Martinez or Vargas.

Benitez WAS great and thus does not belong on this thread.

[X]

Tony Ayala jar could have been a great fighter, I think Johnny Tapia could have been greater and so could Mike Tyson!

[mikeeod]

Great call on Breland, and I think you can add Howard Davis for many of the same reasons. Tua is that guy who either looks like a monster vs a chin you guy with no defense, or a passive guy who is afraid to let his hands go vs slick guys or tall boxers. The exception was Tuas war with Ibeabuchi. I would've loved to have seen Ike vs Lennox but part of me feels that Lennox would unnerve Ike like he did other guys who were unstable (Golota, Tyson and Oliver McCall in the rematch).

The one guy I was POSITIVE would be great was Gabe Ruelas. Killing Garcia in the ring ruined him mentally and he could never recover. I felt he had all the tools to win when he was in his prime. Always thought Oscar and Kostya would have ended their careers a little higher/better than they did.

Oba Carr, Angel Manfredy, Ed Hopson and Gerald McLellan were all guys who I thought would do great things. GMan was on his way before the injury, but the others just never really fulfilled the potential I saw in them.

Ricardo Williams, Francisco Bojado, Broner and Ortiz were all fighters that I never understood the hype for. Each fizzled out as I expected, pretty much right on schedule that I expected them to.

[TitoFan]

Cintron had the physical tools. Unfortunately the mental part wasn't there consistently.
We did see flashes of brilliance like when he brutally KTFO'ed Walter Matthysse.
He had power, athleticism... but lacked the mental fortitude to put it all together.

[bzkfn]

I say this all the time when threads come up about who never fulfilled their potential but Joan Guzman is the ultimate choice in the modern era. He could have been a 4 or 5 weight world champion if he'd dedicated himself to actually making weight for a fight. Having a promoter with better connections would have helped his cause too.

[Master]

I say this all the time when threads come up about who never fulfilled their potential but Joan Guzman is the ultimate choice in the modern era. He could have been a 4 or 5 weight world champion if he'd dedicated himself to actually making weight for a fight. Having a promoter with better connections would have helped his cause too.

Is Guzman still fighting?