Drayton was a Jr. Middleweight from South Philly who fought mostly during the 80's, and for a brief time in the 90's. For a short time, he held the IBF Jr. Middleweight title before losing it to Mathew Hilton. His career began in similar fashion to that of someone like Mike Weaver, winning and losing some early on and playing the role of a journeyman. Like Weaver however, he eventually got his ducks in order and put together a fairly respectable career. I only saw him fight a few times, but he was basically at the end of his rope by the time I got around to seeing him.. This content is protected Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of his better moments on youtube, but below is some brief footage of his losing effort against Mathew Hilton. Drayton started off taking a beating, but stretched Hilton the 15 round distance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yazVOO0zCy0
I saw that fight on youtube as well. Drayton was a good guy and a good fighter, but he and Jackson were a mismatch.
He was an ESPN staple in the early 80's. He fought good competition and seemed like he'd win as much as he'd lose against good guys. I saw his title winning effort against Carlos Santos and he defended on NBC against a fading Davey Moore in a circus tent in France! He stopped Moore in 10. He reminded me a lot of Iran Barkley in that he was a flawed fighter who beat his share of good fighters. Not a great technician but a serious workmanlike guy. Good fighter who never would've been champ back in the day of one title per weightclass.
He came over to the UK and KO'd Mark Kaylor in a pretty big upset at the time (not so much looking back though!!).
He was ****ing nuts, I'll tell you that. Either that or he was a typically "Hit me again" Philly fighter like Frazier and Meldrick Taylor. He was laughing and smiling as Julian Jackson unloaded his heavy artillery on him. :shock::shock:
Being from that area, I wonder if Dreyton knew some of the other local greats, such as the Frazier family, Taylor, Witherspoon, etc...
He did. Drayton can actually be seen laughing about it afterwards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgzPNvEc1rQ 8:40
Tough, respectable world class fighter not to be taken likely, the type of fighter that would give the best a tough fight and even beat them on any given night.
Terry Lawless wishes he didn't! As mentioned (Both) his money makers lost in upsets to American journeymen Drayton and Bonecrusher (Bruno), on the same bill!
According to the standards by which the label "overachiever" is casually bandied about, Buster Drayton could certainly meet the definition of one. Boxing out of an orthodox stance, he was one of those rare combatants who used his right repeatedly, almost like a jab. I first saw him ruin Clint Jackson in a huge upset. Jackson's corner was miked, and after the first round he was heard commenting to his handlers about Drayton that, "He's strong!" Clint's career never recovered from his being wiped out in the following round. Buster generated a world of new confidence from this surprising outcome, but I still believed he was too dependent on his right to become much more than an entertaining and unpredictable journeyman. Mario Maldonado seemed to have his number, and points defeats to Hutchings and Kinchen were outcomes I expected. But pulling off a decision win over Santos to become a champion elevated him considerably above what I thought he was capable of achieving. Having added on a couple of successful title defenses, I'm satisfied that Drayton fulfilled his potential and made as much out of his career as he could have.
A good underrated fighter imo.He had a terrific looping right hand and was an awkwardly effective boxer-puncher at his best.Good at setting traps. Had a bit of a gym fighter\sparring partner mentality and on his worst night could be very lethargic, but on his best nights not an easy fighter to deal with.Most of his title fights were great action bouts. Better than anyone around today at 154 or 160 imo., though would never be the type to have a long reign.