Which fighters did you hate but now respect

I respect Jack Johnson. Can't stand him.
I respect Floyd Mayweather. Can't stand him.

Two off the top of my head.

 

Used to hate Fury. Now I like him

 

I used to dislike Fury, Aj and Wilder.

 

Used to be my homie, used to be my ace,
now I wanna smack the taste out your mouth.

 

Mayweather, still don't like him, but I respect his achievements and ability.

Barrera used to hate him back when he would just look to have a tear up. I learned to appreciate him a lot more and even like him when he learned to box more, have to respect how he came back from back to back defeats and reinvented himself.

Chisora, hated his antics early on in his career but his performance vs Vitali made me a fan and his constant willingness to take tough fights and give good accounts even when losing has made him one of my favourite heavies ever.

Dillian Whyte, didn't think much of him but just like Chisora by taking tough fights, he's won me over.

Carl Froch, hated his style early on, thought he was a KO waiting to happen. But his first fight with Kessler won me over, I realised if he could almost beat Kessler on an off night he was greater than the sum of his parts. Plus just loved how he upped his game when he really needed to vs Groves and Bute. He's given me some very memorable nights of boxing.

Tyson Fury. Hated him, only time I've ever rooted for Wlad was when Fury fought him. But I must grudgingly admit he's the best heavyweight in the the world and I misunderstood his humour at first, when he used to say outlandish things I thought he was being serious, which clearly now he wasn't. I'll still root for AJ when he fights him, but I think he'll beat AJ, his skill is undeniable.

 

I can’t stand Broner but you gotta respect a man child with an IQ of 32 that still manages to wipe his own ass

 

George Groves for me

 

Used to hate Fury and consider him a joke. Now I’m his biggest fan and have been since the Wladimir fight.

 

I've never disliked a boxer then liked him, but plenty have gone the other way around.

 

Andre Ward.
Hate his fighting style and all the money I lost thanks to the home cooking in Kovalev 1. Also, "SOG" is lame.
Respect him as a serious, grown up man in a world full of clowns and manchildren. The guy talks an awful lot of sense.

 

I think the OP means the other way around but this works too.

For me Mayweather. Use to hate the guy but have a high level of respect for him now.

 

Never Hated Fury but wasnt a fan and picked him to lose by KO against WK and Deontay 1 (although i picked him to win Deontay 2) but boy was i wrong. he just genuinely is someone that fights to the level of his opposition and is without a doubt the number 1 HW

 

I've gone back and forth on Fury. I liked him then didn't when he ducked Price for the British title. I liked him and wanted him to beat Wlad. Then he failed a drugs test, gave up on the sport and started spouting crazy **** and I thought he was being an *******. Then he came back against the worst opponents he could dig up and took on the biggest puncher in the division whilst acting like a renewed man.

 

SRL