Great picks. Always wondered by Fernando seemed to have an accelerated career. Like they were rushing as fast as possible to get him to the top.
It is like Hector Macho Camacho when he was hurt against Edwin El Chapo Rosario on June 13 1986, Hector was never the same again.
Hearns after Barkley 1,, or Hearns after Hagler a little.. Just never the same balance/ Each loss took him down a notch, but he was still so good he could still beat most guys.
Good list I was going to mention Mugabi and Taylor the look in the beasts face when he had hit MMH with all he had and Hagler was beating him up Mancini after Duk Koo Kim Moore after Duran Ortiz after Maidana
I understand the premise entails a loss but, if I may, streamlining it to the crux of the question, that being a single fight more than any other causing substantial physical and/or psychological deterioration thereafter then I would nominate the FOTC as it pertained to Frazier. Highlighting fighters who were never quite the same after one given fight, examples of which there are many, makes you appreciate better the fighters who have somehow continued viably after a brutal loss or particularly hellacious engagement. No mean feat. Take Joe Louis after the first Schmeling fight. It might’ve been all over red rover, ala Tyson, never really coming back after a monumental crash. Particularly for some fighters with unbeaten records, when the bubble bursts it stays burst. RJJ might’ve been off peak upon his first loss but I feel if that loss somehow came any early he still would’ve ridden a slippery slope based on eroded confidence. Back to Louis, if Joe didn’t come back, he might’ve gone down as an ATG as at 1936, his prime conveniently drawn as at his first big loss with pundits suggesting any version of Louis pre Schmeling was unbeatable, the Schmeling loss reflecting an off peak Louis while still affording Joe more credit on paper than he actually achieved during his career. But of course Joe came back big time, avenging his one, potentially career destroying KO loss along the way (again, no mean feat, particularly in terms of overcoming possible psychological barriers vs the one guy who beat you down).
Yes it was tough to watch. Meldrick was genuine warrior. He had Joe Frazier's mindset in the ring. Those fast flurries were a sight to behold. No power though. Taylor didn't move after his punches. Moving to Welterweight didn't help him. Now Welters were catching him. Moving up was a transparent move to buy time and avoid Chavez rematch for as long as possible.
Layne v Marciano,Lastarza v Marciano 2,Charles v Marciano 2 , Mathews v Marciano, Cokkell v Marciano , Curry v Honeyghan.Honeyghan v Starling.
that fight was a robbery! when you have a stadium of chavez fans QUIET at the end of one of his fights, you know who really won. and it was NOT chavez!
An interesting angle is to consider fighters who were never the same afterwards due to the effects of a fight they won. The old pyrrhic victory. Frazier, for instance, always admitted that he was never quite the same after the first Ali fight, and stated that he needed a lot longer than Ali to recover physically from it. I also think Danny Garcia, despite his shortcomings which had been on show before, was never really the same after coming through that gruelling one with Matthysse. Tremendous win at the time and still looks very good eight years on, but even his old man admitted that he had to give him a lot more time off than usual afterwards, and that he was feeling the after effects of it (deafness in one ear, urinating blood etc.) for quite a while. He looked like a diminished fighter over in his next few fights and was incredibly lucky to come out 2-0 against Herrera and Peterson. You could argue that beating McClellan also took whatever was left of Benn away, both physically and in terms of his mindset. Possibly on shaky ground with that one though, as the signs were there that he might already have been a shade past his best even before the G-Man fight.
Joshua fights scared after Andy Ruiz Jr I.: https://www.boxinginsider.com/headl...ony-joshua-i-think-the-ruiz-fight-ruined-him/ Mikey Garcia hasn't had any good showings since the Spence Jr. beating. And he's been pretty inactive.
