Worse yet, was taken apart by chinny Mark Breland.... yikes.... looked like he didn't even know what he was doing in there... that's the same guy who upset Curry.... I don't know what his lifestyle was like, or what his story was. Whenever I think of Honeyghan I think of a guy who looked sensational in one fight in a huge upset, then became a joke not long after. Boxing can be weird like that.
There was no internet obviously in those days, so many did not know what was going on behind the scenes with fighters. You might read something in a magazine, but they didn't publicize too much personal stuff then. Now with the internet you can find out a lot more gossip than you could then. Boxing is no doubt a sport that requires extreme discipline and it can be hard to maintain that for a long time. I think a lot of young fighters, once they score a couple blow-out victories, stop improving and think they can apply the same strategy to anyone they face. Nunn was another who was a little like that. Looked sensational against Kalambay, but then never really impressed like that again and was on the downside.
Severely weight drained Had several non title fights at 154 lbs in 1985. Should have moved up permanently after unifying against McCrory
Honeyghan was not shot until after the Starling beating. Marlon did a number on him. Breland just cleaned up what was left
No reason he should have destroyed Starling. Marlon loved for guys to come right to him. Starling loved to block and counter. Honeyghan was not shot for that fight he simply had a style that played right into Marlon's hands. When Mickey Duff told Lloyd "to make himself scarce" it was too late as the damage had been done. Honeyghan was a shell after that beating.
The media jumped the gun on Curry, prematurely betowing the mantle of supremacy when he really hadnt faced anyone of note Marlon Starling? Let's get serious! Lloyd was more powerfully built and put the pressure on. Lloyd was great on offense and Curry just couldnt keep him off. Lloyd over powered him. In short, Curry met up with the wrong opponent and finally met his match.
This is an excellent post and correct, although the thing I think is that Honeyghan's style and strength was a little underrated.. He was for real
Do you not think Honeyghan fell into bad habits though Fergy? I know there might have been a style issue but I just think post Curry Honeyghan just looked ragged and indisciplined in his fights. Maybe he may never had beaten Starling but from what I remember at times he looked like an amateur in there,but against Curry he looked like a top class polished performer. I think out of the ring he was a bit of a complex character who was hard to handle for his handlers.
I agree , as jabber 74 said Curry seemed listless and I was very surprised he lost. The word you used ,focused , may be the best descriptor of why he lost to a fighter who honestly wasn't as good as he was.
Honeyghan claim he was weight drain with Breland also. claim was running miles in park morning of contest to make weight & then sauna
Honeyghan was wrong style for Curry Starrling was wrong style for Honeyghan but Curry can beat Starling this is the sport of boxing. styles makes the fights
Totally agree on all fronts, beating Curry, or the remnants of Curry flattered Honeyghan enormously, he was at best a good fighter at top Euro level, but I struggled to have him as world class, his defenses were not what you would call top calibre, right place , right time , thats where he was, footnote : When he was champ he worked out at a gym near Tottenham football stadium, I didnt live that far from there at the time, so went along to see him work out one day. I managed to get into the gym, sat down at the back to enjoy seeing a champ go through his paces, alas it was not to be, Bobby Neil was told by Honeghan to throw me out, tout sweet ! I asked Honeyghan why, he told me to F..K off. in no uncertain terms, then by sheer coincidence again bumped into him at a fair in north London about a year or so later, he had 3 minders ? walked around like he was royalty, ignoring everyone's plea for a signature, and being a right arsehole, a thoroughly unlikeable man, believe me. Was over the moon when Starling put him in his place. stay safe guys.
LOL Starling was very good, being ranked #3 by Ring Magazine at 147 at the time Curry defended against him in early 1984 He easily took care of Lloyd later on Curry unified easily against the Ring #2, WBC champion Milton McCrory. At the time there were only three unified champions - Marvin Hagler, Michael Spinks and Donald Curry. Meanwhile Honeyghan had looked ordinary decisioning Danny Paul and stopping Horace Shufford. Other than those two his biggest win was a ko of Gianfranco Rossi who was not known at world level at the time. The magnitude and complete surprise of Honeyghan beating Curry cannot be described unless you were following boxing at that time.
