Sacrificial lambs that won in boxing

go back and look, it was me and one other guy. Anybody who followed or knew andy knew he was winning. It wasnt luck. Sacrificial lamb, no way.

 

Braddock, Clay and Turpin were big underdogs, but they were also the nr. 1 contender.

Douglas was just a stay busy fight and a way for King to get a bigger slice by having two of his fighters face each other, so I think that's a bit of the ultimate pick.

Leon Spinks was similar case, being thought of as easy pickings but still had a name as an Olympic champion.

 

I didn’t know that Jim Braddock was the #1 contender when he challenged for the title. Interesting. But did anyone really think he stood a chance at all ?

 

That was my recollection at the top of my head, but my recollections don't always survive scrutiny. He was a big underdog, for sure, as was Clay. I think the odds against them were similar.

 

Looking it up, Braddock was indeed the NBA:s nr. 1 contender. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/National_Boxing_Association's_Quarterly_Ratings:_1935

 

Orlando Salido against Juanma Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko
Kiko Martinez against Kid Galahad

 

Another one not mentioned--and I lost a bundle on it & you always do when giving the big odds--was Alfredo Layne ko'ing Bazooka Gomez.

Did not see that coming and thought the fight was nothing more than a formality and actually did not even consider it a stay busy fight. Man, was I wrong.

 

If the Morrison fight never happened we’d be saying Tommy would’ve been KO’d early and that a come forward guy like that didn’t have any options or avenues for victory.

 

When Butterbean was fighting Arum was trying to market him into a big fight and I remember this boxer beating the crap out of him.Anyone remember his name?

 

I think it was something like the first time he had to go beyond 4 rounds. He was dying out there and they quickly reconsidered the marketing strategy and kept him at perpetual 4 rounds. Thus, "the king of 4-rounders" was born.

 

Michael Spinks Vs. Larry Holmes 1
No one expected that "just this time" the champion of the LightHeavyweight category would win.
Larry Holmes was expected to tie Marciano's record that night. But someone else was writing boxing history.