What fighter wasted the most promise and talent

Ricardo Williams is the one that I thought of right away.

Certainly not 2 time champs with chin problems like Judah or guys getting arrested for being nuts. Not Clarence Vinson either. He wasn't that good.

Muhamad Abdulaev I think wasted his talent by giving up too soon.

Ike Quartey seemed like he could have accomplished way more, but let the bad decisions chew him up.

 

I dont think you can list any HOFmer in this thread. Pryor is universally considered a top 3 all timer at 140... how is that the hugest waste? Aaron just burnt out quickly IMO. But its no surprise, his style wasnt made for longevity. Hell the same can be said for Tyson. Both Pryor and Tyson had a 3 year stretch when they were awesome, then they began to decline.

 

w/Out Question, Ricardo Williams' Career has Been DISAPPOINTING Thus Far, but he's Getting BACK on the Saddle Again...He's Gonna Do Another Club Show or 2, then Try to REinsert Himself Back into the Mix...

REED was Actually the Matchmaker for a Fight of his in Houston, on April 17th...Dude STILL has the TALENT to Redeem Himself & he Won't B 30 Until June of 2011...

& Despite 2 Losses, Williams DOESN'T have Wear & Tear on him...He MOVED From the Negative Environment he Lived in in Cincinnati & Now RESIDES in Houston...



REED:hammert:

 

Yep...



REED:hammert:

 

Olajide made Khan's chin look like James Toney's.

 

I think Khan was stopped a little quicker by his unknown Colombian puncher. ::

 

Not Only that, but Olajide BROKE his Ankle when he was Dropped by Mendoza...But Even Though he was Legitimately Knocked Down, Olajide was CLEAR HEADED the Whole Fight...

He COULD NOT Stand &/or Maintain BALANCE on the Broken Ankle & the Fight was Subsequently Stopped...That's in NO WAY Comparable to Khan LITERALLY Being Put to SLEEP, Head Resting on the Bottom Rope like it was a PILLOW, vs. Prescott...



REED:hammert:

 

Agreed. I would even say Amir Khan makes Tokumbo look like Chuvalo!

 

Well, why trade the packet of truth?,.. from a hardcore fans point of view, we got to bust it open, completely unrestrained, and examined the contents within.

On a somewhat unrelated note, has Reed oiled up his signature space for the transitional process?.. :crafty:

 

Allan Green KO Andre Ward...The ONLY Doubt REED has Lies in what ROUND Green will Dispose of him In....



REED:hammert:

 

I like Reed's Bones Jones bandwagon,.. Reed may keep that,.. but Dallas finest?.. oh no no no no no, this will not do..

 

I just think of all the matchups we missed out on and :crying::doh:

 

That is a myth when it comes to Tyson. He didn't absorb much punishment at all during his 80's title reign except for the Douglas fight. Many of his fights were over quickly and even when his opponents went some rounds they were more often than not just trying to survive, it's not like he was taking a lot of abuse before stopping them.

 

Tyson & Baer, from the Heavies, are stand-outs.

 

Baer yes, Tyson no.

Baer was good enough to be champ for a longer time than he did, but he clowned away the title in this first defense to a fighter who he should never have lost to. In Baer's defense, it's been said he was never the same after the Frankie Campbell and Ernie Schaaf fights.

I don't see any way to fit Tyson in this topic. He was the heavyweight champion of the world and dominated the division for a 4 year stretch. He eventually lost his title and ended up in jail, but he came back from that and had more success, won more titles, made buckets of money and will most likely be voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Could he have done more? Maybe, but his career, by any standard, was a very successful one.

 

Punishment isn't the only aspect of the belief. Tyson's style required a quickness/head movement/stamina aspect that better suits a younger fighter. Tyson's style turns into David Tua's style when it slows down and Tyson didn't have Tua's durability to make that work.

Personally, I think Tyson could have been more effective than he was as he aged because he didn't stay active and try harder, but we'll never know.

 

Well whatever the reason... in the early 90's his reflexes and speed had already started to decline from what they were in the 80's. The Tyson that fought Ruddock was NOT the same Tyson that fought Berbick, Thomas, Biggs, Holmes, ect. And after prison obviously he was a shell of himself. Still, Mike had better longevity then Pryor only because he had that natural power which kept him a top contender.

 

I dont think Tyson belongs either. Bowe belongs though. Mike certainly got more outta his talent then Bowe did.

 

Well they damn sure wouldnt have been at jnr welter. 140 was a waste land from the time Pryor retired, until Chavez arrived there in 89.

 

I'm not so sure. I think part of the reason that Tyson didn't look as good against Ruddock is that he was a more difficult opponent than most of Tyson's title opposition in the 80's. Ruddock, for all his flaws, was a big, tough & hard hitting heavy who. most importantly, wasn't afraid to mix it up with Tyson. It's easier to look impressive against opponents who have less of a chance of winning. I'm not not going to get into splitting hairs over how much Tyson may or may not have declined by the time he fought Ruddock, but it seems pretty clear to me that Ruddock himself had something to do with Tyson looking less like a killer than normal.

 

Tyson was only 25 years old when he fought Ruddock. Let's not make it sound like he was old then. If you wanna go there after his jail time, that would make more sense. But that Tyson was old at 25 crap doesn't work for me.

 

Yes. Bowe is a good example of a figther that could have accomplished much more than he did. He did win the title, but then proceeded to look for the easiest possible title defenses, including Holyfield who was thought to be washed up heading into the Bowe fight.

 

REED is this a head or heart pick? If it's from the head I'd like to hear your break down of how you see the fight going and why Green KO's Ward.

 

I disagree. When I look at the Tyson of his brief pomp, I see a fighter of extraordinary potential...a rare breed in his weightclass. Then, I cast an eye over the contenders to his crown from 1990 to around 1995, at which time, Tyson would still have been in his twenties. Ruddock, Bowe, Holyfield, Cooper, Douglas, Gonzalez, Lewis, Mercer...I can't see a single name there I would definitively favour to beat the Tyson of around 1986-88. Yes, Bowe, Holyfield, & perhaps Lewis (no earlier than '95) may've upset the applecart (I wouldn't bet on it), but there's no denying his title reign --- consisting of two years & two defenses --- had the potential to last the better part of a decade.

How did things actually turn out? He was demolished by the lowly-Douglas, exhibited an erosion of his skills & instincts by the time he was a mere twenty-five, then went to prison. Thereafter, he returned to win gift belts arranged at King's convenience, completely fell apart in two bouts with an ageing Holyfield, & spent the next several years fighting garbage, until Lewis put him down humanely, the way one would do with a lame dog.

I think Tyson's career had the chance, given his abilities, to be a hundred-fold what it turned out to be.

 

It's obvious you disagree, because I already disagreed with you in my post. ::

I don't know that Tyson beats any or all of Holyfield, Bowe and/or Lewis if he doesn't go to prison. All three were better fighters than his 80's opposition. It's entirely possible that if Tyson didn't end up in jail, he DOESN'T beat Holyfield to regain the title. My money would have been on Holyfield if that fight had happened.

And I don't know why you included Gonzales in with the champs and contenders when he was never really a factor in the division. You might as well have included Joe Hipp while you were at it. I mean really....Gonzales?? and Cooper???

And the bottom line for me is that a fighter who made many, many MILLIONS in his career, broke into the mainstream as a celebrity, was the undisputed champ in the 80's and came back after doing years in jail to have more success and make even more MILLIONS did not waste his promise and talent. We can play the "shoulda, woulda, coulda..." game all day...but the bottom line is that very few heavyweights in history were as successful as Tyson. How many?? Maybe 10 out of all the heavyweights ever?

 

Despite his unbeaten record, Calzaghe should have had a much better career than he did

 

Nah...

Don't confuse fast hands and fancy moves with genuine hardcore talent. and PLEASE don't mention Zab Judah in the same sentence as Roy Jones again! :kick:

Zab Judah was never a smart fighter in the ring and wasn't ever really that elusive. In fact the reason why he was first defeated (Against Tszyu) was because he was trying to pretend he was something that he wasn't and moved his head as if his name was Pernell Whitaker, but for no reason and just for show...and walked right into a Tszyu right hand. The rest is history.

Anyway..biggest waste of genuine talent has to be....

Naseem Hamed.

 

Sadly....I have to agree with Broadwayjoe. This is exactly correct. Tyson cannot be called a waste of talent.

 

I would say the same about Mayweather and Roy Jones. Both of these guys could have had much better resumes than they do.

 

Agreed