List them. (too protected*) While he was never as good as the hype was saying, Bute is an example of that. Was unable to deal with adversity cause his team only fed him palookas. Pretty sad since in his later years, he showed some heart against good fighters
I always felt Gerry Cooney was shielded too much on his way to a megafight title shot and hadn't acquired the range of experience needed to be successful at the top level. He would've benefited from sharing the ring with someone like Mike Weaver before leaping up in class to fight Holmes, but I suppose his people didn't want to risk the big payday.
If we're talking about active fighters. GGG comes to mind. It seems like he faced about 40 punching bags. Then when he faced Canelo people were shocked he didnt Ko or have his way with Canelo. Many people expected a blowout and ever since he was "exposed" he hasnt looked the same.
Good call. Though in GGG case, im not sure if he would have turned out to be better if he faced better opposition before hand. His losses or struggles werent due to him being unable to deal with adversity
REED May Be Nitpicking, But There's a Difference in Being PROTECTED and Lacking AMBITION... Bute and Cooney are Excellent Examples of Protected Fighters...But In the Case of Golovkin, he Lacked Ambition...In Golovkin's Defense, There was a Time Other Middleweights were Reluctant as Hell to Share a Ring w/Him... @ That Same Time, Golovkin was Fine w/Treading Water, Beating Up 3rd-4th Tier Opposition in the Interim... GGG Also Contradicted His Own Negotiation Tactics; Wanted a Favorable Split and a Catchweight of '64 w/Andre Ward, Yet NEVER Made Similar Offers to Other Beltholders @ '68...Refused a Catchweight of '56 or '58 (Can't Recall) w/Canelo, Yet Made it Known He'd Meet Floyd @ a Catchweight of '52... In the End, Golovkin's Legacy was RUINED Much Like That of a Protected Fighter, but REED Thinks Golovkin's LACK of Ambition is @ the Root of It... REED
I think Mark Holmes fits this scenario. He just fought one bum or one guy on the slide time after time. Even his brother Larry stated, "Mark better s**t or get off the pot!" Finally, with a record of 32-0, his braintrust decided to take a chance and put him in with fellow prospect John Collins. I'm not sure if they would have taken this chance but it was for the USBA title so I don't think they had a choice. Anyways, taking advantage of the fact that Holmes learned nothing beating a bunch of clubfighters, Collins blew him away in 2 rounds.
Tyson post jail might fit the bill. Was so used to see his sift opponents bowling over as soon as he hit them that he didn't prepared properly nor could adjust for Holyfield (even though he fought ferociously in that fight).
Don't know nothing at all about Mark Holmes but was he a case of not learning anything because he was protected (in other words, had the potential to be a good fighter) or simply a scrub that needed to be protected cause he was worthless a la Faruuq Saleem??
Really hard to say. Clearly he learned nothing from the clubfight/cadaver circuit. Perhaps if he was moved far earlier one could have seen if he had potential and heart. But even after the Collins exposure he went right back to the clubfighter circuit and never even made another attempt at anyone with a pulse and just retired with a record of 38-1.
