pretty good list and how about throwing in Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson for a while...Jerry Quarry had his moments especially against Ali and Frazier and Victor Ortiz is today's poster boy
I don't think Floyd Patterson was mentally weak, he always fought back though sometimes it was to no avail.
Quarry is a good shout, he had that debacle against Chuvalo and that bizarre strategy in the Ellis fight. Also the wrestling move on Ali he a few scratch your head moments.
I'd hardly put Foreman in this category He was a 3 - 1 underdog coming into the ring with Joe Frazier the first time and calmly took him apart. That is NOT mental weakness. Against Muhammad Ali,it was simply Foreman not knowing what to do with a force of nature
Naseem Hamed, as soon as someone fought back and beat him instead of gritting his teeth going for a rematch and winning he ran off into the wilderness and got fat.
the impact of losing a world title shouldn't be underestimated. one moment you are arguably king of the world, the next you are a nobody. Thats a freakish shock to the system, you need to readdress your whole way of thinking in minutes.. the nature sport itself creates mental issues that you rarely get elsewhere in life (not withstanding family tragedy and such).
I think including Hamed is unfair as he overcame adversity in many of his fights before Barrera (Medina and Kelley in particular). Vincenzo Nardiello is a one of most mentally weak world level fighters I've seen. All of his losses were by TKO, and seemed to follow the same pattern of him folding alarmingly when put under pressure. Many of the knockdowns he suffered were him voluntarily taking a knee, rather than hard knockdowns in the traditional sense. It seemed to be the same scenario regardless of whether the opponent was a puncher like Benn or Wharton, or a lesser hitter like Woodhall, Seillier or Close.
I don't think so. Liston knew exactly what he was doing in both fights. He wasn't afraid of Clay/Ali for one second.
David Reid Gamboa (gameplan goes out the window when he gets tagged) Judah Hector Camacho Jr. Worst of anyone, Tor Hamer
I agree with you. Ali out thought and outlasted Foreman, but it wasn't a result of mental weakness on the part of George. His formula worked against nearly everybody else. But Ali was a freak. No shame in losing to him.
Herolgee...u r spot on. In other sports a defeat or 2 is irrelevant. In boxing it can be a roadblock. Once a fighter loses his invincibility there is no going back.Plus in boxing a bad night is painful whereas maybe not so in other sports. Boxing is fairly unique . In all sports the difference between winning and losing at the high end is in the mind to a large degree, but none more so that in boxing,where the greater will and mindset will always prevail (assuming similar fitness and ability)