Great boxers that declined very quickly

Harold Johnson was championship grade for 12 years...but he had Archie Moore in front of him all that time.

Many say he won the Pastrano title defense also in 1963.

 

Not a great but Jermain Taylor is a recent example of a pretty quick decine, Lacy also but Joe ruined him.

 

Pipino Cuevas is a prime example. He was considered damn near indestructible through his title reign then got blasted out by Hearns in 1980 and even though he was still a young man, he was basically finished as a top fighter. He never won another big fight and he suffered many embarrassing losses. All this downfall occurred while in his early-mid 20's so not a case of a broken down old man at the end of his career.

 

Winky Wright

Jermain Taylor

 

Julio Cesar Vasquez went from great performances against Davis, Medina, Wright, Whitaker and Daniels to just being a no-hoper practically over night.

 

Terry Norris
Tyrell Biggs
Frankie Randall
Vivian Harris
Junior Jones
Kevin Kelly
Roy Jones
Pernell Whitaker

 

Joe Frazier fits pretty good in this category.

 

Tyson comes to mind. some boxers like Hearns or Hagler or Duran who have different options can fight on and modify their style a little but Mike was so dominant that any little slip of his talent and he started to lose. Just by not moving his head as time went on, he was hit more and what was his greatest asset (defense) was not that anymore.

 

Pea was having his problems even before Oscar, he needed a desperate come from behind KO against Hurtado in his previous fight just to keep his big payday with Oscar alive. He also had issues with Rivera before that.

Pea was probably too deep in the coke at the time: he'd slack off and need to pull fights out of his ass against guys he shouldn't have had problems against, then put it back together for his big fights, or at least enough to give a brave effort like he did with Trinidad.

 

Shocking to tear out your knee and then lose to McBride at nearly 40? How well Tyson seemed to extend his career considering his style is more amazing than his decline. I guess that speaks volumes about his phenomenal ability. He had great speed even well into his 30's.

 

I whole group of highly rated fighters went down hill fast once BALCO closed its doors. So they did not have the talent, skill or ability we were led to believe, it was just absence of PEDs that exposed them.

Some of the above mentioned fighters benefitted from slick, iron-handed management and "declined" once there was an influx of real talent in their division or they were forced to fight opponents they were previously protected from. I mean, Bowe probably would have "declined" quicker had he actually fought Lennox Lewis instead of tossing his belt into a garbage can.

And of course, there's simply undiagnosed health problems that could cause a fast deterioration.