Is Mark Breland the greatest disappointment as a professional ever?

id beg to difer i belive at one time the cobra was p4p #1 an multiple divison champ ww an jm although had some let down fights mainly loyd honeygahn but donald already in ibhof ann is highly thought off by most not near let down breland was

 

Billy Arnold, PERFECT! BB...The hot-shot that Rocky had no chance against. Exactly the way you described it...Seems like yesterday...The Lower Eastside went crazy.

Was "Blackjack" Billy Fox a latter-day Arnold?

 

Yes Page was a pretty monstrous disappointment.

 

Yes J.G.,Billy Fox,was considered another world beater,like Billy Arnold...Look at his numbers...Billy Arnold had 55 wins,with FIFTY FIVE KOs>He gained notoriety when Fox "stopped a compliant Jake Lamotta in 1947", but soon after his bubble was burst when the underated Gus Lesnevich,Ko'd Fox twice,ending his promising career...Incidentally J.G. Vince Foster was a sure miss champion about that time who kod tough Tony Pellone..He was managed by Jack Hurley and was called another Billy Petrolle,the Fargo Express...Well I saw his myth shattered when Charley Fusari flattened Foster in one round MSG...

 

At the end, Breland's amatuer career was almost too easy. When he turned pro, his team should have started all over. In order to get tough, you've got to be matched tough.

"Six fights into his pro career he was fighting a 19-0 fighter, shortly afterwards a 24-0 opponent, then another 24-0 guy."

You mean Don Shiver, Troy Wortham, and John Munduga? Hell, why didn't you throw Richard Aquirre's 13-0 legder in there too?

Anybody seriously think that compares to what Ray Leonard did in 1978 and even more so in 1979 leading up to his shot at Benitez?

FACT is that Breland didn't have a single tough matchup until he fought Marlon Starling as a defending titleholder.

You review his record and tell me how many truly signifcant wins he has on it. Lloyd Honeyghan?

 

Vince Foster's name jumped out at me, bb -- haven't heard it in probably a half-century. Remember him briefly at Stillman's, a moody, volatile dead-ringer for jazz trumpeter, Chet Baker, with his high cheek bones. Always seemed to be on the knife-edge of the dark side. Had the look of violence goin' someplace to happen.

 

Johnny Bumphus was a tall southpaw with tremendous speed, fine skills and lengthy amateur experience, but an opponent of his died late in his amateur career, which may have compromised his enthusiasm for boxing. As a professional, he was also exposed as somewhat chinny. He did ascend to Pryor's vacated LWW championship after enjoying good television coverage during his climb up the ranks, but Gene Hatcher upset him in his first defense, for Ring Magazine's 1984 upset of the year. (To me, Mad Dog-Bump City was a bigger upset than Moochie-Breland I.)

 

With what I know about Greg now, I can see why he failed.

 

I think Breland did OK in hindsight. Not positive, but I think he had hand problems. He didn't have the same punching power in the pros and when he hit guys and they didn't go, his physique (or lack thereof) became a detriment.

 

He was a letdown but Biggs had to face a prime Tyson, Bowe and a revenge-filled Lennox Lewis. Fights like those would hurt anyone's career.

 

Especially when you have a drug problem.

 

Super stuff, i was coming in LOOKING for Davis.

 

He cleaned out the LHW division except for DM. What else did you want him to do? Not his fault the division wasn't star studded in that his time. He's at the very least a top 50 ATG.

 

Agreed. You can only fight who's available.

 

I think Howard Davis was.