Fighters who benefited from poor lifestyle choices

At @Eddie Ezzard's request, this thread is dedicated to finding the fighters whose unhealthy choices -- sex, obesity, cocaine, and so on -- improved their careers.

A few nominees to start things off:

Butterbean and Galento, whose exaggerated, pudgy physiques combined with their aggressive styles to get public attention.

Sullivan's alcohol benders were part of his larger than life personality.

Johnson apparently patronized prostitutes, which contributed to the public's desire to pay to see him lose.


Others...?

 

Fury. He struggles with all of the above and I think it makes him better. The extra fat seems to help him absorb the heavy blows of guys like Wilder and Wladmir.

The cocaine helps him in his jittery movements and cagey style. I mean...just look at him. I have never seen such a big heavy guy be so erratic and twitchy. And it somehow works for him.

His twisted perverse thoughts and alcohol issues are probably the fuel that helps him come up with clever strategies and to get inside his opponents heads.

 

Well I don't think it made him a better fighter in terms of skill, but Johnson's legendary trolling by taunting white opponents and sleeping with white women were brilliant and way ahead of their time. It helped make his pockets fatter. Perhaps it helped his defensive cagey style indirectly by forcing himself to put his money where his mouth was and to be more elusive avoiding damage. He knew his gimmick wouldn't work if he was constantly getting tagged or knocked out. He gave Mayweather the blueprint for success.

 

Depending on definition of poor lifestyle choice, but Mlke Tyson ending up at Tryon School for Boys at age 13 because of his criminal record, afforded him opportunity to meet staff member Bobby Stewart a ex boxer, who noted the talent of Tyson and introduced him to Cus D'amato who nurtured Tysons talents, managed his psychological issues, became Tysons guardian and played big part in getting Tyson to become champion, albeit Cus passed away before title won.

Having Cus as his guardian likewise very likely stopped Tyson being sentenced to long prison term or indeed worse.

 

Yeah, I think it's very unlikely that any fighters improved their skills by drinking, taking drugs, banging groupies, overeating, etc.

Except maybe cocaine as a PED on fight night or something.

 

Maybe Mayorga with the cigarette bit.

 

According to some including Atlas, D'amato far from making sure Tyson received proper schooling and discipline outside of the gym, used to turn a blind eye to his many thuggish behaviour problems and Tyson used to take advantage of this because everyone knew that the elderly D'amato saw in Tyson a final opportunity to have another heavyweight champ before he pass away.

 

I think Carlos Monzon smoked and it didn’t seem to effect his stamina. But I can’t see how it helped either

 

It calmed his nerves and relaxed him? All the women did as well.

 

He was so relaxed he murdered one of the women.

There are several boxers — James Scott, Bernard Hopkins, Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Clifford Etienne among the more notable — who took up boxing in prison and made it a vocation. Their bad life choices landed them in institutions that had prison boxing programs (not sure if Hopkins learned to box in prison or just decided to dedicate himself to it because he didn’t want to go back).

 

Some of those guys certainly improved themselves in many ways through boxing didn't they. You've just given me motivation for a thread.

 

Jake LaMotta's terrible life and choices callused his will to win, that greed and ferociousness isn't made in a vacuum he would drink your blood and sell his mother to win. Jakey was a made animal by his own hands.

 

Post of the year man .... Lol

 

Monzon was only a post coital smoker who still got through “40” a day. King Carlos indeed!

 

This i do believe is very true, i never suggested otherwise, Cus always was looking to the big end prize.

My post was regarding theme of the thread that Tyson benefitted from being taken under the wing of Cus, this happened because of his being at the 'secure naughty boys school'.