15 minutes of fame!

Inspired in part by the "Arrived with Knockouts" thread.

Which fighters came from obscurity to suddenly burst onto the scene into the middle of the limelight only to very quickly fade back into the obscurity from whence they came? Similar to "one hit wonders" in music.

Ricardo Mayorga is the perfect example of this.

He came from nowhere and scored a high profile KO of Vernon Forrest following a previous knockout of Six Heads Lewis and suddenly had two versions of the Welterweight Title, including the linear. With his brash in your face personality, exciting agressive style and smoking/drinking gimmics after fights...he was the new star in boxing.

Two fights later he loses to Cory Spinks and people suddely forget he ever existed.

Who else?

 

Baldomir.

 

Mayorga's a bad example...Oscar and especially Trinidad fans tout their KO's of him as significant wins. Not to mention he won a title after losing to Spinks.

I'd say a guy like Kevin McBride (KO'd Tyson), Buster Douglas (KO'd Tyson) or Corrie Sanders (KO'd Wlad) are better examples.

 

Hasim Rahman.

Dude was parading around with a crown on his head after his FLUKE knockout of Lennox Lewis. Everyone was talking about the new Heavyweight King and even suggesting that he'd KO Lewis in the rematch too.

Four rounds later and George Foreman sums it up beautifully....

"Lennox Lewis let an average fighter beat him in Africa. This time he came out and made the average fighter look like an average fighter"

HASBEEN Rahman he became...

 

Nah...

He's the perfect example in the spirit of the thread. He was reaching MEGASTAR status (perhaps you've forgotten) before Spinks upset him. After that he was just an "opponent" to pad the careers of great fighters.

 

Keith Mullings....might be one...not sure if he stayed around too long to discount, but had the the controversial loss to Marquez for the IBF title, then won the WBC by knocking out Terry Norris, even got an HBO title defense out of it against David Ciarlante...then never won a fight again, losing the strap to Castillejo, and then losing to Reid and Wright.

 

another poor choice. Rahman had been featured on HBO previously and for better or worse was well known due to the KO at the hands of Maskaev when he fell through the ropes.

Prior to that his fight with David Tua when Tua clearly hit him after the bell and he didn't recover was also well known.

Lastly, Rahman went on to win another title...draw James Toney, lose that crazy technical decision to Holyfield, beat Tua then once again get out to a big lead on Maskaev to then get KO'd in the last round.

Those fights run from 1998 to 2006...not exactly "15 minutes of fame" considering he was in and out of the top ten the entire time.

Pick again.

 

terrible response Sly, but I see what you're doing...Mayorga potential "megastar" comment while there's a concurrent mythical matchup thread pitting Floyd against Mayorga.

It all makes sense now.

 

Eidy Moya
Luis Perez

 

But I don't think you could say he was ever forgotten.

 

Mayorga brings up Andrew Lewis in my mind...had the win over James Page (who didn't spend that much time in the spotlight himself), one defense against Larry Mark, and then the two-fight series with Mayorga.

By the time Margarito knocked him out, the win was already severely discounted.

 

To add a guy who could be considered...

Razor Rudduck...his rep was built off two losses to Tyson. So much so most thought he'd beat Lemmon.

Ironically...Rudduck never fought for a major title and after the Lemmon loss I don't believe he was ranked or at the very least never fought anyone of note thereafter...

Unlike Mayorga and Rahman...

:hammert:

 

better choice.

Didn't Lewis later lose a non-descipt fight in Guyana after saying he quit because he had to take a shit really bad?

 

Please.

 

NO...

 

YES

 

What..are you trying to DISS me on my own thread??!!! :fightme:::

 

Nah he´s not a good example. Don´t blame us because you suck at your own thread.

He beat Vernon Forrest in 2003 and in 2011 he´s still in the main event of a big show fighting for a world title. He fought and did decent business with Trinidad, De La Hoya, Vargas and Mosley. He won a belt against a decent fighter in Piccirillo. He is still relevant ten years after he beat Six Heads.

 

There's a lot of heavyweight prospets you could include in this discussion...one possibly being Derrick Jefferson.

Took part in one of the most exciting fights in BAD's history against Maurice Harris, which was so exciting it had Larry Merchant expressing his love for him. In his very next fight, he dominates David Izon to the point that the HBO announcers are saying the fight should be stopped...it isn't, but later in the fight, he is. His next fight, injures his ankle against Oleg Maskaev, loses..two fights later he's done in by the younger Klitschko and that was pretty much it for him, in terms of relevance.

 

Yep...

another good choice.

 

Corrie Sanders?

 

Michael Grant

 

Bones Adams didn't have a long stay at the top. Beat Nestor Garza for the WBA strap on the Ayala-Bredahl undercard, defended it twice, had the great first fight with Ayala which he narrowly lost on points (the controversial two-point non-knockdown round)...was dominated in the rematch (was it before that fight or the first one Kellerman was repeating that "Pound for Pound Baddest White Boy Around" line on FNF?)...lost to Guty Espadas on the undercard of Ayala's payoff for the win when he fought Morales (during which Lampley couldn't shut up about Wynona Ryder)...and that was pretty much it.

 

:atu:

That cracked me up.

 

His decline was rapid...but his ascent wasn't.

 

Is it in bad taste to bring up Ike Ibeabuchi?

It shows you how long it's been that he's not one of the first names mentioned.

 

Has a young fighter in his prime ever done less after a big win than Zahir Raheem after beating Morales?

 

Actually yes, thats a good call.

The things Mullings did to Ciarlantes face.:fartattack:

 

Carlos Quintana

 

That's a good one...he was supposed to be a routine win for Morales on the road to Pacquiao-Morales II (although some had a sneaky suspicion about that fight could be interesing for Morales, especially at the weight)...lost to Freitas his next time out...also had that Rocky Juarez fight prior to the Morales bout, with all the point deductions.