Been watching a lot of 1980's heavyweight action lately. I've always enjoyed the era and speculating on some of the fighters from that time. One of the more interesting guys of the era who doesn't get talked about a whole lot is Tony Tubbs. Tubbs won I believe 22 in a row before winning a version of the world title from Greg Page over a 15 round decision. It wasn't a great fight but Tubbs in my eyes looked very sharp. He'd drop the belt in his next fight to Tim Witherspoon in a close fight. After that he seemed to go downhill especially after being KO'd by a prime Mike Tyson in two rounds in what has to be one of Tyson's best performances. The rest of his career he was on the fringe of being a contender. He fought a very even fight with a young Riddick Bowe showcasing his skills. He also beat Bruce Seldon, Jesse Ferguson, Orlin Norris (late overturned because of Cocaine), and Alexander Zolkin while seemingly not taken his career serious (being a big cocaine user). In this thread I'd like to here what some of you thought about Tubbs as a fighter and how good was he in his prime and how his career could've turned out had he stayed on top of his game.. Personally I think Tubbs had some really good skills especially when you watch him early in his career, easily some of the faster hands you'll see at heavyweight. Had he stayed on top of his game I think he'd be a very tough out for almost any of the heavyweights of modern time. Could've had competitive fights with Holmes, Holyfield, Moorer, Lewis. Cudos to prime Tyson for destroying Tubbs at a time when he still had some stuff not to many others I think could've replicated that performances. It must be said though that Tubbs chin was questionable considering he was knocked out by two journey men in the later parts of his career. Hard to say what he could've made of himself had he stayed on the right path
I'm a huge Tubbs proponent. He combined skill, speed and size, and when prepared was very game. Tubbs, Dokes and Thomas were the biggest wastes (and waists) of talent in the 80's.
very good fighter. Shame he didn't cut back on the calories and spend a little more time in the gym.. What a difference that might have made.
Tubbs is an under rated and somewhat forgotten fighter. If he was just in shape more often and took a better punch, he'd be in the hall of fame as the speed and skills were very good. Many felt Tubbs won the first round vs Tyson, and beat Bowe, though I had it 6-4 in favor of Bowe. In addition to winning the WBA belt, Tubbs also won the "People's Choice One-Night Heavyweight Tournament" fight , winning four 3 round fights in a night, pocketing the million dollar prize that turned about to be about half of what the promoter advertised. "People's Choice One-Night Heavyweight Tournament " was somewhat unique, as the fans were supposed to vote on who fought who in round one. Some people called it attack of the killer tomato cans, but there was some name boxing fans heard of in the tournament with some very good and honest interviews along the way.
Tony Tubbs' first amateur fight came against Greg Page, which Tubbs lost. But I believe they ended up fighting six times as amateurs, splitting them (three wins for each guy). Tubbs fought well over 200 times as an amateur and rarely lost. Tubbs was considered one of the best amateurs in the world when he "signed" with Harold "Ross Fields" Smith - the guy who embezzled $20 million or so from Wells Fargo Bank - while Tubbs was still an amateur and joined the Muhammad Ali boxing club that Smith ran. The amateur boxers in that club (like Tubbs and Tony Tucker) were notorious for having a lot of money to spend, fancy cars to drive and for doing a lot of drugs (all thanks to Smith, who was spending the money he stole hand over fist). I think both of Tubbs' amateur fights with Marvis Frazier were shown on national television. Tubbs was the only guy to beat Marvis as an amateur (before the Olympic Trials) ... and the networks loved the "Ali vs Frazier" aspect (Tubbs being the boxer fighting for Ali's boxing club/Frazier being Joe Frazier's kid). When Tubbs turned pro, Smith gave him a big "signing" bonus. Shortly after, though, Smith got arrested and was sent to prison. Smith continued to try to run Tubbs' pro career from inside his jail cell, then Don King briefly took over as Tubbs' promoter as Tony closed in on to a title shot. But Tubbs was still calling Smith in jail as his fight with Page approached. Smith was hoping Tony could keep things going until Smith got out. And Tubbs did win the WBA belt against Page, but he lost it almost immediately to Witherspoon. By the time Smith was about to be paroled in 1988, Smith's wife was acting as Tubbs' manager for her husband, and Tubbs had recently gotten another title shot (against Tyson). Had Tubbs somehow pulled a Buster Douglas-like upset over Tyson, Smith would've walked out of jail with the heavyweight champion in his hand. But, with Tubbs' loss, the duo never seemed to get their momentum back. I'm not quite sure when that partnership ended. When people talk about boxers in the 1980s that Don King "ruined" ... Tubbs' name is often included. But Don King didn't have much to do and very little control over Tubbs at all. He only promoted Tubbs for a couple fights. Tubbs was sort of a talented guy who was showered with money and drugs when he was still an amateur by Smith, and he may have become a bigger star than he did if the guy guiding his career (Smith) had taken over boxing in the early 80s (like it appeared he might until he got arrested). But Tubbs went about as far as he could on his own. When Smith went to jail, it sort of cast a cloud over Tony Tubbs, too. He was a very talented boxer. Probably should've been a much more successful champion than he was.
Tubbs had a reputation of having a good chin and being durable before tyson KO'd him. Rapid weight loss and jo joing in weight multiple times also affects punch resistance, tubbs did alot of that throughout his career. He was a very good fighter i would have given him as well as tucker a great shot against holyfield if he showed up in shape for 12 rounds in 1988 or before because of the fact that holyfield was not that great as the "hunter" and both guys were quick and smart. Tubbs actually looked like he had even faster hands than tyson. Alot of these 80s guys went off the rails after losing to tyson and this also affects the way people view tysons resumee. But it was not a case of tyson ruining them but IMO them losing resolve and dedication to a sport after losing to a champ that was young and looked like he was going to reign for a long time. They were going to get older and it looked like tyson was going to keep improving, so their ambitions looked kind of pointless. Many of tyson's opponents made or attempted comebacks after he lost to douglas.
I thought he took the first round against Tyson (a very rare feat), though I think his performance against Bowe gets wildly oversold by some folks. That being said, I still had him winning 3 or 4 rounds against Bowe, no small feat either for an aging, overweight slickster.
Tony had the best pure boxing skills in his heyday, outside of Page. I don't think he had the strongest chin, remembering Clarence Hill floored him early on. But those drug issues hurt him strongly down the line. And he lost six out of seven against Page in the amateurs.
Tubbs was really good I think I scored his bout against Bowe in his favor but i haven't seen it in long time he also flashed how good he was against Tyson until he got caught by Mike. Very skillful fighter. Should of accomplished more
