Worst case of running off all time? i watched Julio Cesar Chavez vs Lonnie Smith earlier, and boy was he on his bike, other examples?
Eusebio Pedroza D15 Bernard Taylor. BT challenged road warrior Pedroza in his Charlotte hometown, and tried to take advantage by running away with the title while Pedroza refused to give chase. Eusebio simply stood in mid ring and swiveled back and forth as necessary to remain facing Taylor. The climactic moment came when Bernard attempted an Ali shuffle. Pedroza responded with his infinitely superior version of this display, and deserved to retain his title on that artistry alone. One boxing magazine subsequently published an article about this match titled, "Can a challenger run away with a title?" Not on this occasion, but it was uncomfortably close on the cards. (I had Pedroza a comfortable winner, and if Bernard had been challenging anywhere else but in Charlotte, he might have been disqualified.) At least Archer and Pastrano engaged Griffith and Johnson with their jabs, while Taylor scarcely came close enough for any punching to take place at all.
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Daniel Jiminez was a pretty bad example of this on Jiminez part. He was the defending champion, but he was back pedaling and at times running away from Marco. This is the only real reason it went 12 rounds, he was scared to death it would seem. I was also going to mention Chavez/Smith.
It's not exactly pertient to the thread, but it was this display of elusiveness cum negativity that makes it such a surprise to me that McGuigan was able to pin Taylor down so quickly and efficiently. And I always thought Spinks-Mayorga was a clear example of excessive backpedalling coupled with little output, though I'm sure that people can think of better examples.
I didn't see it, but I did see BT turn more aggressive after Pedroza. As for McGuigan, that was on Barry's turf, so Taylor was certainly not getting a chance to steal the crown by running away this time. (What I don't quite get is how LaPorte 1X, Pedroza 1X, and Taylor 1X are sufficient for McGuigan to reach the IBHOF, unless it's as a political reward for his promotion of peace in Ireland. If Canastota is going to practice the social angle though, then bring in Chuvalo for his anti drug campaign, and Cooney and Ramos for advancing the cause of retired boxers.)
Paul Vaden vs Terry Norris.Although not on his bike as much as some of the others who have been mentioned, he gave the one of the biggest examples of non effort Ive ever seen. This was especially frustrating to watch because the fight had been hyped because of the two fighters dislike of each other. Even worse, it was televised on FOX, who had brought back boxing on free tv for a short time and this absolute bore of a fight really hurt the prospects for future programming. I believe Vaden was sanctioned with some of his purse being held for his complete puss out.
Im not saying that this is the reason but the fact that McGuigan started up some kinda union to look after boxers interests in and out of the ring may have had something to do with it. I dont know myself, just summising