Fighters who made the most of little talent

We constantly hear of guys like Roy and Floyd having all the talent in the world but wasting it one way or another, what are some guys who weren't blessed with these types of skills but went much further than was expected of them originally?

Clinton Woods and Carl Thompson are two guys I can think of to start with.

 

Good call on Woods. Glen Johnson is another one IMO, just hard work and dedication.

 

Mayorga i guess....all he really had was a chin

 

Johnson and Mayorga are very good examples. Mad to think Johnson has beaten so many good/great fighters or given them a run for their money

 

Mickey Ward.....he didn't reach the heights in terms of achievements as those listed above, but he reached a level of popularity that some of the silkiest opperators can only envy.

 

John Ruiz

 

i actually read the thread as "made the most off little talent"


Mayorga has made a fortune....he's managed to fight all the big money fighters possible

now that he's made all the money possible out of boxing i understand he's going to move into MMA where i'm sure he'll sell tickets too

 

....i think we have a winner. Try telling anyone who saw Ruiz-Tua that one would go on to be a multi-time world champion, and feature in the heavyweight picture for the best part of a decade....and the other would let himself go, and fade into obscurity....and that Ruiz would be the former.

 

That's true, Tito, Mosley, De La Hoya, Vargas, Forrest x2. Pretty crazy to think as well he was a decision away from being the undisputed welterweight champion.

 

Ruiz is also a great example, adamiw it's true when you see that fight you would never think Ruiz would go on to have more success.

 

yeah, well actually, in effect he was the undisputed champ....Forrest gave up his IBF title to fight Shane for the WBC....a belt that Mayorga added to with his very own WBA belt when he blew Forrest away in three manic rounds.

 

Baldomir.

Probably the worst fighter to ever be a unified champion.

 

Wow. Good one

 

If the judgment is based on how well they developed their skills and boxing abilities, and not on how much they accomplished, then I think I'd put Angel Manfredy somewhere on the list.

About as physically ordinary as it gets for a boxer who managed to stay around - but just below - the world title level for about 4-5 years.

 

Glen Johnson. He is not very talented at all.

Ruiz is a club fighter. If they enforced the rules, he' be on Hegman/Ruiz 3 in the red light district in Houston.

 

Agree with that, he was one of the superstars of 2006 invented by one of the most overrated fighters in boxing history, Zab Judah,.. Baldomir's eventual defeat was enough for people to warrant Fraud 'fighter of the year' , and he was shut out by Vernon Forrest in his very next fight, 12 - zip, I believe I had a wager with one 'V10' that Scrubdomir wouldn't win 3 rounds which was never enforced, in the aftermath of the Forrest fight I also remember Xplosive saying something along the lines that, "Floyd fought....a PRIME BALDOMIR" ::. ................No power, no skills, orthadox, no height or reach and unbelieveably slow to boot, he was just a durable sponge, with an enormous head on a microscopic tail, like that of a tadpole. He still made Fraud bawl and scream behind a wooden podium while simultaneously recieving an 8 million dollar cheque though, that was a moment to be proud of, that's what being an American is all about :crafty:.

 

Kauki, do you remember saying something along the lines of "Abdulaev will knock Cotto out"?
How did that turn out for you?

 

Evander Holyfield in the sense that he became an all-time great despite not being very big, very fast nor powerful. Of course he had much more talent than Ruiz but he did much more too

 

Fernando Vargas. He got very far with little to no talent. He wasn't very fast, powerful, or flashy. What he did have was heart, determination, confidence and very solid boxing skills and he did a lot better than a bunch of much more talented guys who've come and gone.

 

You are ridiculous

 

Why Dympeople, my post you quoted was somewhat abbreviated, it's an important question you seemed compelled to ask, Abdullaev did all that we could ask for, he pressed the action, gave us a compelling fight, and even sacrificed an eye as a gift, the gift of VISION for boxing in the future, hard pressing action fighters, win or lose is what the sport is aaaaaaaall about.

 

:atu:

 

Please tell me what was the talent that made Holyfield an all-time great, since usually by talent we mean physical talent. Was it his speed, power, movement, what?

 

Wladamir Klitchko has done ok for being just a tall guy with no heart or chin

 

So on other words he has gone far with talent alone, which makes him very bad example for the thread. Otherwise, good addition

 

That battering-ram forehead.

 

Roy Jones Jr was just a great athlete

 

I actually thought Manfredy under-achieved. I think he had the skills and talent to be much more successful but was such a fuckin' headcase he never really did much aside from his upset of Gatti.

I don't think many fighters who consistenly claim to be "spacey" in the ring can be classified as "over-achievers".

 

Good calls on Ruiz and especially Glen Johnson who actually managed to get a lot more then expected out of himself..............AND be entertaining at the same time.

 

I hate to say this, but Paulie Malignaggi has done way better then I expected given his talent level. I always thought he was nothing more then a gimmick and would never crack the Top 10.

If you told me 5 years ago he would beat several top 10 guys, go the distance with Cotto and arguably beat Juan Diaz, I would think you were fuckin' crazy.

I can't stand to watch him fight but I have a ton of respect for him. I don't think he's half the "boxer" many say he is, but he's got more heart then most boxers these days, and by a longshot.

:bears: