Fighters who were never the same after losing once

[Rican]

Some highly-touted fighters who were hyped for a long while----sometimes the hype was so obviously ordered by the marketeers and promoters it was laughable---wound up, after being fed a string of tomato cans (at times with undefeated records to boot), in line for a title shot or atleast for a shot at moving into a #1 or #2 ranking in their divisions, ONLY TO SUDDENLY VAPORIZE AND DISAPPEAR FROM BOXING VIRTUALLY FOREVER, AFTER LOSING "UNEXPECTEDLY" AND IN A QUITE THOROUGH AND DISAPPOINTING WAY.

It's like that bully phenomenon, when the bully finally loses, or the Big Bad Guy finally gets an ass-kicking---HE IS NEVER THE SAME AND WILL NEVER COMMAND THE SAME TERROR HE ONCE ALLEGEDLY COMMANDED.

Fernando Vargas, after that humiliating loss to Oscar, in which the big bad Steroided-Up Fernando was roughing up the Golden Boy for most of the fight, virtually disappeared from boxing, and could not come to terms with his big macho image having dried up and withered in the sun.

David Reid, after being touted as the next Sugar Ray, was never ever the same after that sudden and "unexpected" loss to Tito Trinidad, and has he ever fought again since that day? I'll go to Boxing Records and check in a minute, but I would be surprised if he did put on the gloves again.

Big Bad Courage Tschabalala, whose overhand rights were being compared in their devastating effects to Earnie Shavers', turned out to be quite the pansy, after his ass-whipping by Darryl Wilson and Bryan Scott.

Iron Mike Tyson was saying "Owww!" on his stool with that big balloon on his eye, and was never the Big Bad Mike after that night in Tokyo when someone stood up to the bully and put on a stellar show.


How many fighters have we seen experience this? Many, indeed. They were considered big and bad and ugly, and fighters quivered in their boots just to imagine stepping into the ring with them.

But once that aura of invincibility has been shattered, they are never the same. Sometimes, they even disappear forever, or, at best, go on to fight a few more times against guys we never heard of with 20-15 records, and then retire. It's kind of sad.

It takes a true great like Ali to come back from big losses and hang in the boxing game as a real contender or champion. It is not just the doubts about one's physical abilities that could end the careers, but mentally the fighters aren't the same after having been so hyped and touted, though untested hitherto, and then losing utterly.

I do suspect that Miguel Cotto will never be the same after that "unexpected" loss to Margarito. I don't believe he will be back in the same contention as he once enjoyed. That loss was more of a psychological trouncing, one that he had never experienced before. The guy just took 2 knees, and showed he was spent. Couldnt even stand up to fight. He has to wonder about his stamina, his willingness to stand and fight to the end, like Norton and Holmes did, like Frazier and Ali did.

I believe that will be all for Miguel Cotto.

You clearly have something against Cotto that prevents you from being objective when it comes to analyzing him as a boxer. For example, Cotto looked very focus and in shape during his last fight, even though it was against a guy like Jennings. So how can you tell there are psychological effects from the Margarito fight? If you are predicting this, that's fine, but at this point Cotto has not given you reason to come to this conclusion.

[rjj tszyu]

David Haye has just got better and better since his loss to Thompson! So he has never been the same.

[Nameless]

Tito Trinidad after his lost to Hopkins, I really feel like the executioner broke something into his soul at this moment.

Jones Jr after Tarver: Perhaps he recovered in the meantime, I am not sure, but he's been gun shy for his next 3 fights and I really feel like something went away for good after that lost... at least, a small fraction of him.

Jermaine Taylor: I really feel that his lost against Pavlik did damage his innerself, I wouldn't say it'll be permanent but definitely, he wasn't the same after that lost.

[Mark TKO]

theres a big difference between losing by KO and a decisio - unless its a completely one sided affair where you get a battering eg Lacy

Hamed springs to mind and Jones (though maybe on the slide)

david reid was never as good as people perceived him to be.

And Riddick Bowe (although he did 'win' against Golota !)

if Haye is sparked by Wlad we won't see him again I reckon

[SweetPea]

theres a big difference between losing by KO and a decision -

Yes, and I'll add that there's also a difference between a quick KO and a sustained beat down KO.

Wlad against Sanders, MAB against Junior Jones, Lennox against McCall and Rahman, Pavlik-Taylor I... fights like that, a guy got caught with a big shot, and the fight was over shortly thereafter. There wasn't too much damage inflicted.

Whereas fights like Chavez-Taylor, Trinidad-Reid, Trinidad-Vargas, Margarito-Cotto, those were long grueling fights with tons of accumulated damage, and losses like that are tougher to recover from.

[Jody Lane]

Gerry "Looney" Cooney!!!!! Holmes really messed him all the hell up.

[Violent Demise]

David Reid, after being touted as the next Sugar Ray, was never ever the same after that sudden and "unexpected" loss to Tito Trinidad, and has he ever fought again since that day? I'll go to Boxing Records and check in a minute, but I would be surprised if he did put on the gloves again.

He fought 3 times after. And the loss was not unexpected. Reid was almost a one eye fighter. He was a loss waiting to happen. That's why he cashed out against Trinidad

Most notable one IMO is Meldrick Taylor after his lose to Julio Cesar Chavez.

That's cuz Chavez ruined him.

if Haye is sparked by Wlad we won't see him again I reckon

I'm sure the Wlad loss won't be his last

[:::PSL:::]

Rey "Bum Bum" Bautista

[TheChosenOne]

tito trinidad
Roy jones (not counting the dq loss)
Michael Grant
Mike Tyson
Shane Mosley (until recently)



just to name a few in the past few years

[Spicoli]

Tyrell Biggs...was he really all that good in the first place or did Tyson just make a mess of him for good?They seemed to throw him to the wolves after.

[Britkid]

Tyrell Biggs...was he really all that good in the first place or did Tyson just make a mess of him for good?They seemed to throw him to the wolves after.

Biggs got busted open a couple of times pre Tyson, indeed I think he was in danger of losing the Bey fight, because of a horrific cut.

That said, going in, this fight was given all the hype, with the American Magazines calling it the Ali/Frazier of the 80s.

As it turned out, Tyson was better than Frazier and Biggs was better than.... Lorenzo Boyd!

[Spicoli]

Tyrell Biggs...was he really all that good in the first place or did Tyson just make a mess of him for good?They seemed to throw him to the wolves after.

Biggs got busted open a couple of times pre Tyson, indeed I think he was in danger of losing the Bey fight, because of a horrific cut.

That said, going in, this fight was given all the hype, with the American Magazines calling it the Ali/Frazier of the 80s.

As it turned out, Tyson was better than Frazier and Biggs was better than.... Lorenzo Boyd!

I always got the feeling that they had so many fish in the kettle coming out of the 84' Olympics,they had to focus on the best of the best and sort of cut bait on Biggs.Saw he was not up to par.He tried the jabbing off bit but Tyson just put it on him harshly.Great Team that was with Holyfield,Sweet Pea,Taylor,etc.

Ive seen Tyson come off sounding like he carried Biggs so he could prolong the punishment.Sounds like they had a genuine dislike for one another.Brutal.