Just missed Greatness

[THE THIRD MAN]

Ken Norton
Esteben De Jesus
Rodrigo Valdez
Michael Nunn
Donald Curry
Naseem Hamed
Zab Judah
Riddick Bowe
Meldrick Taylor
Jesus 'Chucho' Castillo

[Violent Demise]

Im sorry i cant agree James Smith would have been great in any era.
Terry Norris was a top fighter with only his chin as a weakness.

Walker Smith would have been great ( if he hadnt changed his name lol )

Have to disagree back,Bonecrusher was in an era dominated by fighters he just wasnt suited to fight,but you drop him in to the late 50's,he'd have been murder

ERA DOMINATED BY FIGHTERS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN
IF YOU MEAN AN ERA OF FIGHTERS AS OPOSED TO BOXERS , THEN YOU DONT CONSIDER LARRY HOLMES A BOXER ??
AND EVEN MORE STRANGE DO YOU MEAN JAMES SMITH WAS A BOXER NOT A CRUDE BRAWLER
PLEASE EXPLAIN ??

Fukking Al. Just might have the shortest fuse out of anybody here.

[AdamGB]

Naseem Hamed

Don't think so... all of his big wins came when he met fighters who were either over hyped or on the slide... he met them all at just the right time.

Very well marketed and managed.

[THE THIRD MAN]

Naseem Hamed

Don't think so... all of his big wins came when he met fighters who were either over hyped or on the slide... he met them all at just the right time.

Very well marketed and managed.

I put Hamed on my list as he failed in his one mega fight with Barrera, all of his other wins were against good opposition but not great as Barrera was. He didn't fight Morales or rematch Barrera so true greatness eludes him and affects his legacy.

[AdamGB]

I don't think he missed greatness though... I just don't think that he had it in him to ever make it that far.

[motorcityhitman]

Rodrigo Valdez- bad timing of being alongside Carlos Monzon

Michael Nunn- his own fault.

Cant argue with either of thse, Nunn couldve been an absolute superstar but wasted it.

[motorcityhitman]

I think Buddy McGirt could have been great if he didnt have so much trouble with his shoulder, was a very good fighter who just missed out on the top echelon.

Brian Mitchell the south african fighter from the late 80's should be regarded as a great fighter but didnt really have enough big opposition match ups.

Tim Witherspoon could have been great but he wasted his prime years and got too out of shame. The same could be said of Michael Dokes.

[motorcityhitman]

sorry meant shape!

[motorcityhitman]

sorry 1 more

Randolph Turpin. He beat SR Robinson fair and square and although he lost the rematch it was very close on the scorecards at the time of the debatable stoppage. His career and life went into ruin after this fight but what a talent!

[Trainer Monkey]

I think Buddy McGirt could have been great if he didnt have so much trouble with his shoulder, was a very good fighter who just missed out on the top echelon.

Brian Mitchell the south african fighter from the late 80's should be regarded as a great fighter but didnt really have enough big opposition match ups.

Tim Witherspoon could have been great but he wasted his prime years and got too out of shame. The same could be said of Michael Dokes.

Spoon to a very a large degree got hosed by King,Dokes on the other hand blew his his career up his nose

[CutMeMick]

Esteben De Jesus
Rodrigo Valdez

Brilliant call on these 2.
"El Vita" & "Rocky" 2 fighters that would def. be great if not for the opposition that was around at their respective times.

It really is sad how "Vitas" life ended def. one of the more tragic ones.

[Dark Lord Al]

Ken Norton
Esteben De Jesus
Rodrigo Valdez
Michael Nunn
Donald Curry
Naseem Hamed
Zab Judah
Riddick Bowe
Meldrick Taylor
Jesus 'Chucho' Castillo

A VERY GOOD LIST SIR

[Thread Stealer]

Wrong place,wrong time fighters,guys who maybe in a different era would have been greats,but it just didnt happen
Some of mine
Chuvallo
Quarry
Norton
Witherspoon
Bonecrusher Smith
Mercer

Your list contains fighters that DID fight in extremely week era's.

Witherspoon did have a lot of bad luck though, the whole shady situations with King.

Some of it was Spoon's fault (laziness, lack of focus), although it's understandable since he knew he wasn't getting paid much and was basically King's slave.

In an ideal world, Witherspoon wins the title from Holmes in 1983 by decision (I had it 115-114 for Tim). Who knows what would happen in a rematch? Let's just say he wins both fights. He doesn't lose focus or desire because he's not getting robbed out of 90% of his purse when he beats Bruno.

Maybe he reaches the double-digits in title defenses and loses the title in 1987 to Mike Tyson.

[Taeth]

Guillermo Rigondeaux, if he had been able to leave Cuba or had not gotten caught its easy to see how good he would have been as a pro...

athleticism of RJJ
skill set of Pernell Whitaker.

[luvfightgame]

I would add Charlie Z to the list, but he just had a mental loss, and will probably still reach greatness just like Bhop did. It could happen to anyone.