Jesse Ferguson in today's heavyweight division

The reason why jesse looked inconsistent or lacking in dedication was probably because he was often evenly matched. Nobody looks great if you are evenly matched all the time.

A groomed prospect will only be evenly matched if his backers think it is worth the while, this means they get to hone their skills on a lower level of victim with losing records for a lot longer where as guys like jesse Ferguson had to learn on the job against other fighters looking to break through.

This means he had miles on the clock and had to take what ever came along. If you check his record he started very well but was soon facing tough opponents as the "opponent". when you are cast as the opponent (heel)against the house fighter (face) you wont be getting so much notice or training expenses.

A fighter like jesse had the makings of a champion, if he was groomed as a prospect all the way through to contender today I am sure he would do very well even in his own era. There is enough belts to go around for all good contenders.

 

Ferguson spent much of his career earning as a sparring partner and taking fights at late notice or just going through the motions as the "opponent" often against guys who had employed him for gym work. Often wasn't in great shape.
Still, he beat Ray Mercer and possibly should have got the decision against Oliver McCall and an ancient Larry Holmes, maybe some others.
He gave some ranked fighters a hell of a lot of trouble, even when he was 36 - 40 years old and fighting like a good sparring partner.
He gassed out in a couple of fights.
Riddick Bowe and Frank Bruno probably did best against him (he was 36/37 at the time though) .... but he was definitely overweight for Bruno.

I don't know if it was a lack of management or rough matchmaking, or just Ferguson's personal choice - like I say, he probably earned decent regular wage as sparring partner for much of his "prime" years. And if he had fought or won more fights maybe he wouldn't have been in demand so much as an occasional "trial horse" later on in his career. It's all about paying the bills.
Maybe he just knew his limits.

 

Ferguson was a good fighter. Poor management and poor work ethic held him back. He probably would do just as poorly in todays division because he didnt work hard.

 

On a good night Ferguson could beat a top 10 ranked guy like Hepatitis Chagaev or Dimitrenko.

 

Either Klitschko would have stopped him .
Haye would have stirred away from him.
Povetkin might have fought him and won a decision.
Chambers would have outpointed him , wide on the scorecards but an almost draw to those who watch the fight.
Ibragimov is retired .
Adamek would have probably ducked him , but might have fought him and , see the Chambers case.
Fergusson would have been deserved to be in top 10 , but the overall avoidance of the primadonas would have kept him just outside of it.

 

He would beat everyone today. He was from before now. It's like, I cannot even imagine how badly Jose Ribalta would've murdered Vitali if he were in his prime when they met, for instance.

 

Brian Minto would beat him.......

 

He'd get KO'd quick by Vitali or Wlad Klitschko.

Helenius would beat him. Chambers would beat him. Adamek would probably beat him.
Povetkin, Solis and Haye would beat him. Chagaev probably still has enough in the tank to beat him.
Him against Sam Peter could go to a close decision either way. Against Arreola, I don't know.
That kid Boystov probably beats him.

Ferguson was a trial horse, and sparring partner, with decent skills and a Philly shell-like style. He was a second-rater.

 

Jess "Fergy" Ferguson from 1985 to 1993 was never a solid top-10 contender.... NO!:-(

Fergy was top-12 to 20 when he was primed from '85 to '93...

Fergy fought in a tougher era on the whole, but the 2011 heavies today are becoming bigger and softer slobs than ever before... Fergy might crack # 9 or # 10 on a good night if he were youthful and fit in 2011....
:deal
Christ, Ol' Fergy must be 52 yrs old now.... I'll bet he's also 275 pounds as well...:huh

MR.BILL:hat

 

I´m joking man !!

 

depends, fergusson needed ample time to train, this may have not always been the case. I talked to ferguson years ago he said the only fight he knew he was going to loose going into was against Larry Homes , because he knew he could only win if knocked holmes out. In the end he was right

 

For a dude who knew he was gonna lose to Holmes in 1994, Ol' Fergy sure made a habit of losing over all. Hell, he has roughly 25 losses on his pro record.. Somewhere near there anyway...

MR.BILL:hat