Who do you think is the Biggest Waste of Talent In Boxing?

richierichballs

Some of the top of my Head Johnny Tapia, Paul Spadafora (got locked up),
Tony ayala also got locked up too. David Tua I always considered some what of a wasted talent, he didnt keep himself motivated in my opinion he should of won a major title by now!
He didnt keep himself motivated after the loss to ike ibeabuchi who I also think is a wasted talent! Totally schooled Tua, he was a major under dog and was very impressive.
Not sure what happened to him but he ruined Tua's chances of getting a Major Title Shot,
Ike also sparred with Evander Holyfield.
Think he went to Jail for sexual assault or something aswell?
Think hes still inside........
Also Prince Naseem Hamed in my opinion could of been an All Time Great if hadnt of had such a big ego!
Zab Judah of he could only stay focused also could of been Great

hinault

Prince Nazeem.

Riddick Bowe ate himself out of contention.

walshb

Ike didn't school Tua. It was a close and hard fought win from what I saw.
Major talent he was, that is definite.

Hamed was simply exposed by Barerra as not being all that great.
Hamed could do little against Barerra, and would do little against Morales
too had they met. JMM would also have exposed Hamed. He was not a great
pure boxer, not at all. He did so much posing.

I think Toney had he been more focused in training would have been greater
than he was. He was a very very special breed of fighter. Barely trained, did sparring
and pads and that was it. His relaxed and effortless style allowed him to always
perform. On top form, he was a genius.

hinault

Oliver McCall was one boxer who never delivered on his ability and the promise that he had shown.

Sublime boxer when he was on form.

walshb

Mike Tyson stands out big time. At peak he was unbeatable. The fame and money went to his head, Rooney was outed, Cayton too, and King took over. From there, Tyson was a gonner.

hinault

walshb wrote: »

Mike Tyson stands out big time. At peak he was unbeatable. The fame and money went to his head, Rooney was outed, Cayton too, and King took over. From there, Tyson was a gonner.

Tyson was lost after Cayton split.

Some would argue that he was lost when D'Amato died.

walshb

hinault wrote: »

Tyson was lost after Cayton split.

Some would argue that he was lost when D'Amato died.

Well, he had his best success after Cus died. Rooney and Jacob's and Cayton combined were Tyson's biggest influence post 1985, especially Rooney who was the trainer and motivator and the man who clicked with Mike. They just worked perfectly together. There was a great connection. Steve Lott also figured heavily in the peak
Tyson career. Also, after Jacob's death, Tyson began to suffer.

consultech

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

foams

Kirkland Laing, probly not the biggest waste of talent but he could have definalty won a "world" title.

T-K-O

consultech wrote: »

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Beat me to it..

cowzerp

Agreed with Riddock Bowe, could have been the most devastating Heavyweight ever, size of George Foreman with even more skill, like a modern day Foreman.. Who if had not took 10 years out also could have been the best ever..

Others,
Shannon Briggs
Tommy Morrison

irish
Paul Griffin.

kevinhug

cowzerp wrote: »

Agreed with Riddock Bowe, could have been the most devastating Heavyweight ever, size of George Foreman with even more skill, like a modern day Foreman.. Who if had not took 10 years out also could have been the best ever..

Others,
Shannon Briggs
Tommy Morrison

irish
Paul Griffin.

Was just going to post the controversial Tommy Morrison. He does have aids, he doesnt, who knows.

I would also say John Duddy, more for being poorly managed. Robbed of fights he should have taken, the taylor fight, major pay day.

walshb

cowzerp wrote: »

Agreed with Riddock Bowe, could have been the most devastating Heavyweight ever, size of George Foreman with even more skill, like a modern day Foreman.. Who if had not took 10 years out also could have been the best ever..

Others,
Shannon Briggs
Tommy Morrison

irish
Paul Griffin.

Good selections there Paul.

I am not sure with Griffin though. Always came across as an amateur to me. His style wasn't suited to the pro game. It lacked the punch and versatility.
Similar to Carruth. Both great amateur 3 rd fighters. Pro game wasn't really for them

Big Ears

walshb wrote: »

Good selections there Paul.

I am not sure with Griffin though. Always came across as an amateur to me. His style wasn't suited to the pro game. It lacked the punch and versatility.
Similar to Carruth. Both great amateur 3 rd fighters. Pro game wasn't really for them

Maybe so but Griffin still really underachieved as a professional compared to his talent. He doesn't have a single title to show for his efforts(not even a some trinket), and didn't beat any fighters of decent quality. Carruth even lived up to his amateur accomplishments more than Paul.

Tommy Morrison has HIV KevinHugs not Aids, and despite what he protests I think we can be almost certain he does indeed have it. He's also an admitted roids user and said he felt he needed the drugs in order to be competitive.

Shannon Briggs is an illegal steroid user aswell, and that combined with him being asthmatic means I don't see him as a waste of talent at all.


Bowe is a very good choice however.

I'm going to say Charley Burley or Sam Langford, fantastic fighters by all accounts but kept from becoming the tremendous champions they undoubtedly would of be due to their race. Their amazing talent was essentially waster and there's many more examples of black fighters around that era who suffered the same.


Lazlo Papp has got to be up there too. After being utterly dominant in the amateur game an aging(31 year old) Papp turned pro. 5 years in he finally got the chance to fight for the European title and that's when he started to show his real class as a pro too. In a period of only 2 World titles(and in many cases only one World champion) the European title meant even more than it does today. All the top European fighters of the time would fight for it.
Papp won 7 European title fights, 6 by stoppage(our own Mick Leahy the only man to go the distance with him).

Although he had nearly turned 39 Papp was all ready for an assault on a World title but was refused to be allowed to fight for it(due to the Communist principles of the Hungarian government at the time). He retired and that was that. Who knows what he could have achived if he fought on, and even more so who knows what he could have done if he'd been allowed turn pro before such an advanced age.

walshb

Big, my point is that Griffin's talents were really suited to the amateur game.
Counter puncher, lightning reflexes, ones and twos. He never had power
or volume. He relied almost 100 percent on speed and reflex ability.
Suited to short fights.

Papp is a great choice and if I am correct didn't he not lose
a pro fight in about 28 fights or so?

Big Ears

walshb wrote: »

Big, my point is that Griffin's talents were really suited to the amateur game.
Counter puncher, lightning reflexes, ones and twos. He never had power
or volume. He relied almost 100 percent on speed and reflex ability.
Suited to short fights.

Papp is a great choice and if I am correct didn't he not lose
a pro fight in about 28 fights or so?

I understand that and I'm not saying Griffin could have been a great fighter because of his amateur credentials, but that despite being suited to the amateurs he still underachieved even when you take into account the talent he had not being suited to the pros. He spent far too long doing nothing but treading water in Australia aswell. Infact his whole pro career was treading water really.

Papp fought 29 fights and had 27 wins and 2 draws. A remarkable record considering his tough opposition, this being before a fighter '0' meant everything and fighters we matched tough. 3 Olympic Gold medal(two at Light-Middle and one at Middle), aswell as 2 European Gold medals(one at Light-Middle, the other at Middle), means when combing pro and amateur records Papp stands up there with almost anyone.

f1dan

I just looked up Papp on boxrec. 5'5'' for a middlweight:eek: Different times I suppose

clubwelly

I think Tua could have won a world title without messers Kevin Barry & co.
Toney is def someone who had the skills but couldn't control the diet.

John Breen always says Neil Sinclair should have won a world title.

rebel girl 15

Dunno if this is the way the OP means it but when I read the title, the one that popped straight into my head tbh was Darren Sutherland RIP - we'll never see the talent that he had fulfill its potential

consultech

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Dunno if this is the way the OP means it but when I read the title, the one that popped straight into my head tbh was Darren Sutherland RIP - we'll never see the talent that he had fulfill its potential

It all depends what "wasted" means tbh. I take it as in Darren never wasted any of his talent himself. I think the definition refers more to foul pros who - due to their own fault - never reached their potential. Your eaters, drinkers, lazys, egos etc.

juanma

paul stephens in irish amataur from c.i.e
also gavin browne from crumlin

Kaizer Sosa

I totally agree with Floyd Jr. Such an incredible talent as a boxer but doesn't have the heart of a real fighter. Unfortunately, I think his refusal to risk his '0' against genuine quality fighters is ironically going to be what denies him the immortality he seeks so badly. The guy has the talent to beat anybody but doesn't have the genuine self confidence or will to back himself.

I think Gerald McLellan was a huge waste of talent also. Had freak speed and seemed an insane talent.

I'd also consider Naseem Hamed a waste. Much of it was for the razzle dazzle he brought to the sport which has been missing from a lot of fighters. Whatever we think about his attitude or persona, people wanted to see his fights to root for him or in many cases to see somebody shut him up!

On a slighly different angle, I'd love to see Bernard Dunne if he had Steve Collins' chin. Think he could beat anyone. Shame to see that boxing skill wasted in that sense.

walshb

I don't see the Naz thing at all. He went as far as he could go, didn't waste what he had, he was simply exposed. No Naz ever beats Barerra. It's a different league.

Gerald didn't waste his talent, he was almost killed. Maybe we are not being specific here.

My view of the thread was that it related to those who squandered their talent and didn't fulfill their potential because of certain issues. Tyson and King and Givens being a prime example.

Dunne with a chin and ALSO a far better defense would be a tough nut for many.
His defense is quite porous. Cordoba was ahead on my card, and there are better boxers than Ricardo Cordoba in the world. Dunne never wasted his talent. He was always committed.

Daroxtar

Andy Lee. 4 years ago he was the best middleweight in the world bar none, he was knocking out former world champs with a single punch and the only men who could even stand in the ring with him were the Klitchkos :rolleyes:. What happened Emmanuel old buddy...where did Andy Lee go wrong?

colly10

Mayweather - although he may go some way towards proving me wrong by taking on Mosley, anyone hear of any talk of an opponent for him?

barney4001

foams wrote: »

Kirkland Laing, probly not the biggest waste of talent but he could have definalty won a "world" title.

Yes he beat Duran and he was a classy fighter unfortunately drink and drugs got to him, a wasted talent indeed like Tyson he destroyed himself, and Don King was no help to Tyson i would,nt be surprised to hear King had him set up
3 world champs was more fights to generate money for King with Tyson out of the way

phily2002

Zab Judah
Joe Calzaghe - achieved alot but wasted way to much time fighting nobodys when he should have left Warren and gone stateside
Dariusz Michalczewski - never left Germany, should have fought RJJ
Michael Gomez

juanma

juanma wrote: »

gavin browne from crumlin

5* time All Ireland champ is an achievment and a half.
Never came to fruition for him unfortunately.


*(or 6, not too sure)

aleybert

Joe Calzaghe - the record books will show an unbeatable fighter, but really fought some dubious fighters and only fought in the U.K. for nearly all his career.
He should've gone over to the U.S. years ago and fought the best out there.
Kinda like a Welsh Mayweather, but not nearly as annoying.:D

BDF

Has Eamonn Magee been mentioned? If he had the right attitude he could have achieved a lot, he should have beaten Hatton but apparently he was drinking up until two weeks before the fight.

walshb

aleybert wrote: »

Joe Calzaghe - the record books will show an unbeatable fighter, but really fought some dubious fighters and only fought in the U.K. for nearly all his career.
He should've gone over to the U.S. years ago and fought the best out there.
Kinda like a Welsh Mayweather, but not nearly as annoying.:D

Who exactly should Calzaghe have fought? From 1998-2008 I think Joe was
always a top 2 or 3 SM fighter, with only Sven Ottke ranking ahead of him in several years.

I don't see any names that Calzaghe ducked really. Jones was a LH and Heavyweight; Hopkins was staying at 160 lbs. Toney was well up the weight. Wasted talent? I don't think he was. You could argue that his era was weak, but that is not his fault

gmkgreaney

dunno about biggest talent wasted but andy lee is gone fairly stale

YamaMotoYama

Michael Carruth... seemed to lack the champion mindset in my opinion. Losing career defining fights and not even making weight in at least one case.

Ricky Hatton... had he cut out the binges and got a proper trainer earlier, could have been a true great as opposed to a Sky Sports great.

Riddick Bowe... what an appetite!