British fighters who underachieved/wasted their talent?

maybe not "very average"

but them came a point where the "secret" was out..............he was not what he was hyped up to be

 

I got chatting to a bloke who knows McCracken and apparently Eastman was/is just plain lazy.

 

Lazy would be the word. He looked like he could do a lot more. He should not have lost to Joppy at all.

He also wasted too much time between then and getting back onto the world scene. He needed an injection of "drive" that is for sure. He looked like he was in gear neutral the majority of the time when he had the chin to do more.

 

Junior Witter

 

I don't believe that underachieving/wasting of talent is the same as not living up to the hype.

Many boxers are hyped to the max, it generates money and interest. Take Amir Khan for example. He was hyped as the 2nd coming, yet has been found wanting at only a moderate level. Has he underachieved, or wasted his talent? I wouldn't say so. He's just flawed, and can't really do too much about it.

 

Nah. He ended up getting exactly what he deserved. nothing more, nothing less.

 

I think Witter wasted his talent a lot.

Stupidly taking a world title fight at nine days notice, then fighting bums for four years constantly calling out Hatton - when he could have taken more risky fights and beaten some decent people.

While Hatton was wasting time in 2004 he could have really done something and either forced a fight or made himself a big name in his own right.

He might have been better fighting Harris in the US, because it was an impressive show. Hennessy made a blooper there, Witter is hardly a cash provider!

 

I don't think Witter underachieved. He would never have beaten Tszyu when he had all the marbles. He didn't have the style to do so.

And then he just never got a chance at Hatton.

Not exactly a great deal more he could have done. He was a world titlist, that is about what one would expect weighing up achievement against talent.

 

Maybe Witter just flattered to decieve, he seemed to always have "more in the locker" but never used it. Maybe he never had it in the locker in the first place?

 

John Conteh - all the skill in the world to burn, but he ended up burning himself.

Lloyd Honeyghan - Beat Curry, absolutely magnificent; but he could have gone on from there to achieve so much more.

Barry McGuigan - was never the same after he killed Young Ali in the ring (wouldn't throw the left hook to the head anymore); beat by Steve Cruz in sweltering desert heat; kinda threw the towel in after that as far as his career goes.

 

Agreed on Conteh but Honey went on to have a half decent reign at 147 but just faded fast and Barry Mac had a pretty good career for the abilities he possessed IMHO

 

The McGuigan that fought Pedroza should have gone on to achieve so much more in my opinion (even if it wasn't prime Pedroza); with just two defences of the WBA title he is damn lucky he got into the HOF; he was a real wrecking ball early in his career, and I think the Young Ali thing hung over him quite a bit; thats why I would class him as a wasted talent. He kind of just faded away in the end; there were offers on the table, but he was content in retirement; the hunger was gone.

 

I don't think barry should be in the HOF, he beat a past prime great in Pedroza but I think he was the first to admit his style was not going to make for a long career. He took far too long "getting back on the horse" after the Cruz fight and should have stayed at feather instead of moving up to 130 lbs but I think the spark was gone by that point in any case.

 

Bugner could have been great if he had a bit more heart when he faced giant black dudes.

 

herol graham-he shoulda been a world champ but...