Enigmas as in how great or even good they were is a mystery. Lack of good competition, never being able to prove their greatness at a world class level, bad breaks, early deaths... So on and so forth. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Calzaghe is a perfect recent example to give an idea of what I'm looking for. Pissed away 90% of his career taking safe fights in his own backyard against over matched opposition. Does so in decisive fashion, but it proves next to nothing on a world class level. Finally steps up at the end of his career and fights two faded legends. Is floored in the first against both (Against a Jones without a pulse none the less) I don't know what to think of Sloppy Joe. I' recently heard a poster here say he thrived off of workrate and a good chin and not much else, and in many ways I agree. :think His "best" win in many peoples eyes was against another question mark fighter in Kessler, who now looks to not be anything special at a world level either. Thoughts, and other similar fighters?
Another excuse to talk about Yuh Myung Woo. In my judgment, the great fighters really prevail when they are pitted against fellow greats. Yuh was never in that position, as his defenses were mostly against average fighters, and whenever he struggled, he would usually win definitively in rematches. I have a fight with him against Willy Salazar, a lank guy for light Flyweight. Well, Yuh wins practically every round in my eyes, bouncing right hands off this guys face repeatedly. One of the referee's had it 116-113, and another 117-112. It wasn't even that close. Most of the fighters in that division fighting out of Korea were enigma's. You didn't know if they had losses because of incompetent officiating, and guys like Yuh never came across a fellow great fighter. Yuh was great from what I see, not an all-time great, but as a package...he was a world calibre fighter, indeed. Ricardo Lopez is the same kind of thing to me.
James Scott- I assume you're much less likely to fulfill your potential when you're living and training in prison. Tony Ayala Ike Ibeabuchi
Gerald Mclellan. A lot of speculation as to how good he could have become. Hard to use the Benn fight as a barometer because noone knows in which round his brain started to short circuit.
Lost to two no names over the course of his career prior to the Benn fight, so not too sure about that. :think
Michael Nunn. I believe he was psychologically "damaged" after the Toney fight. He could have been greater, had he moved on after that loss. Ike Ibeabuchi, Tony Ayala, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Benitez(if he had been focused and had self discipline he woulve done more)....
Yeah, Ricardo Lopez, who by staying in his little bird cage of a division, never really revealed if he was as good as he appeared on the surface to be.
Imo,Joe Calzaghe's best performance was against Jeff Lacy. In the Kessler fight,he produced a solid,rather than brilliant performance.