It is a good example; Frazier won the fight, but was never able to perform anywhere that level again...
Well, it took much out of both. More of Frazier though. He still had a good fight left in him but he was never the same.
In retrospect, I'd have to say Roy Jones, Jr. after he won a piece of the heavyweight title from John Ruiz. It all went south right afterwards.
Rafael Herrera after the Venice Borkorsor fight. His face was ruined, he eked out a split decision and although he did KO Anaya in his next bout, he began his decline. That fight took a lot from both fighters. Scartissue
Just thought of another. Bud Smith won the lightweight title from Jimmy Carter and was the hot shot after his successful defense against him. Ironically, it was the last fight he won. Scartissue
A dark horse candidate: Walker W10 Uzcudun. Mickey was on a 28 fight undefeated streak going in, nobody had beaten him decisively since 1926, and no one had beaten him at all since a peak Loughran in 1929. In his first match after Paulino, Risko (whose number Walker previously had) handed him his first heavyweight loss in a 12 round UD, then Schmeling stopped him two matches later. For the remainder of his career after Uzcudun, Walker went 14W(8KO)-9L(3KO)-3D. He did manage to decision Rosenbloom in a ten round non title rematch, but he couldn't beat Maxie earlier with the title at 175 on the line. Of course Mickey was getting older, but this was still a rather abrupt downward shift in his career curve.
Good call. Uzcudun also is a very underated fighter. Tough man who was a top contender for a long time.
Overlooked in the wake of the Griffith-Paret tragedy is the fact that Gene Fullmer's war with Benny was the final win of Gene's career. Yes, his final three bouts were against a red hot Tiger, but Gene looked impressive against Benny. He said Paret was one of his most grueling fights, and that won't come as a surprise to anybody who's watched it. Did Paret's death defuse Gene psychologically, did the physical toll diminish him for Tiger, or might a combination of those factors played a role in reducing him?
Nigel Benn v Gerald McClellan. Not only was it such a sad accident,but Nigel's heart did n't seem in the game after that. Which was totally understanderble.
Ali slipped by degrees. Several times, I've suggested that Shavers may have caused more neurological damage to Muhammad than has commonly been discussed. Ali took a tremendous amount of punishment in Manila, but much of that was to his body. Frazier never separated him from his senses, and Muhammad was lucid and articulate in his post fight interview with Dunphy when he was resting on his knee in the ring, reviewing the match in detail, specifically round ten. He remembers being hit by Shavers, well enough to assert that Earnie was the hardest puncher he ever fought. However, he also allegedly had no memory of much of their match. Shavers caused him to see stars repeatedly, and more than a few of the Champ's brain cells died little deaths during this one. Does Leon Spinks defeat the Ali of Shavers?