I was just thinking watching an interview with the lawyer Alan Dershowitz who is infamous for getting more murderers, pedophiles, and rapists off scott free after the prosecutors had air tight cases than anyone in history. He's regarded as one of the greatest defense lawyers in America, and rightly so. He won more cases that he wasn't supposed to win, with the deck stacked against him than anyone, and that's impressive. I thought, "Is that what a great boxer does: snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, win against all odds?" That's partly what makes people revere Pacquiao and Duran. "Why is a guy that small or that old still able to beat opponents so much larger and younger?" It's where they separate themselves from other champions who just win the walk over fights they are supposed to and fold under real adversity. Teddy Atlas said that Mike Tyson was 0-3 in real fights (Holyfield and Lewis) where he was really tested but that a real champion can get back up after being knocked down and emerge triumphant; which brings me to Orlando Salido. Orlando Salido beat Vasyl Lomachenko, Robert Guerrero, and Juanma Lopez x2. Forget guys like Canelo who got 4 or more gift decisions. Who gets 4 upset victories? Sugar Ray Robinson beat Fullmer and Basilio well past his best. Dick Tiger had no business beating Nino Benvenuti or Jose Torres at his age, but Tiger and Robinson were ATG fighters in their prime. What about journeymen, overachievers, guys no one thought had a chance but proved everyone wrong time and again? If Andy Ruiz beat Tyson Fury the way that he beat Joshua would that mean that he's lucky, underrated, or simply rises to the occasion? Now, Juan Manuel Marquez wasn't supposed to beat Pacquiao but he did twice. He's a great fighter in his own right, and no journeyman, but he was the underdog. I want to make a distinction between guys like Buster Douglas or Andy Ruiz with just one big upset win and guys who made a career out of it and I don't want this just to be about old guys with stories about Povetkin knocking out Whyte or Tony Thompson defeating Price and Solis. So here's my question. Who won the most fights they weren't supposed to win and not by gift decision?
Yeah, but all that is just old stuff. He never upset anyone until Trinidad when he was 36. He spent the previous ten years crushing cans being considered elite. I'm trying to see who made a career of being a spoiler. Salido's run was kind of like Maidana who exposed Broner and then beat Mayweather though that was just the tail end of his career. Think Ossie Ocasio who beat Jimmy Young twice and Dwight Qawi.
Salido is a good pick. The first person I thought of was Steve Robinson. He was a very late sub, no-hoper when he upset John Davison for the vacant WBO belt. Made eight defenses and I haven't checked but I wouldn't be surprised if he was the underdog in all eight. That was such a nice story at the time. Oliver McCall also had his fair share of upset wins - Lennox Lewis, Bruce Seldon, Henry Akinwande. Fres Oquendo, Francesco Damiani ... I think Oliver was still upsetting prospects up until a few years ago.
Joe Smith Jr. - Believe he was underdog to Fonfara. Then he def was underdog to Hopkins. Think he was underdog to Hart and was def underdog to Alvarez
John Molina Jr. was the underdog against Lundy, Bey, Provodnikov. And should have taken the 0 of Figueroa.
Didn't McCall beat up the guy who beat his son? +Yeah, Marcin Rekowski sent McCall's son Elijah 25 into retirement so the 48 year old Oliver got in the ring with him and whipped his ass. Good shout out, him beating Lewis and Oquendo.
Kamil Sokolowski has to be up there as far as recent fighters go even without counting the robberies.
Tyson Fury has 4 underdog wins: Wilder I, Wilder II, Wlad and Chisora I. Joshua has none. Wilder has none.
Fury was also a slight underdog in the first McDermott fight, at least with the pundits not the odds makers. Odds quickly shifted after the first 2 rounds though. Whenever Fury had to step up he was the underdog. Everyone saw his opponents in a better light, probably because Fury hid his talents and kept his cards close to his chest.
well there was a host of european fighters who decided to stay the hell away from the US when hopkins and jones were P4P kings. that would go some way to explaining why their opposition was lacking. i don't think it's a coincidence that this was the time when 'getting a belt' and defending it in europe became a trend...