Heavyweight Underachievers?

Jeff Merritt - drugs got in his way

Eric 'The Whip' Curry - was looking fantastic but suddenly took a few years off - don't know why. Came back looking like Buster Mathis after a buffet.

Bob Baker - had bad hands. They wouldn't break but they would swell up. It probably curtailed his punching power (early in his career he was called the second coming of Joe Louis) but he sort of/kind of made up for it by being a really nice combination puncher. Also, he was a bit lazy in the gym. Prone to put on weight between fights.

 

Riddick Bowe.

 

This honestly is the one.

Yes he did become world champion, but he blew his entire potential so he was ultimately an underachiever

 

Jim Jeffries, Corrie Sanders.

 

Cooney

 

Andy Ruiz. Its not even his weight, he just needed to be more active. He has so much talent but just wastes it.

 

Greg Page for me.

 

Did one of Foreman’s grills short circuit and burn your house down?

I hope so.

 

Corrie Sanders. Yes he had the huge win over Wlad but that wasn’t until he was already 37 years old . Wasted prime

 

Maybe Bowe for his natural talent but I’ve always wondered why he was steered away from so many big punchers. No Lewis, Tyson, Mercer, McCall, Morrison, Moorer, Bruno, Ruddock etc or even a development fight with Bonecrusher Smith coming up. His resume is almost bereft of big punchers. The fact he was washed up and punch drunk before turning 30 makes me wonder if he always was flawed durability wise and maybe achieved as much as could be expected.

 

Johnny du Plooy. Plenty of power, a real will to scrap, but very little discipline in the ring. Chin up and swinging for the fences.

 

Tony Tucker might be worth consideration here.

Basically missed his entire 1980s generation (he turned pro in ‘80 and was experienced and prime enough to have fought a fair number of them but somehow missed out), had the one-handed fight against Mike Tyson where he showed a bit but mostly survived, bested Buster Douglas (which in retrospect has to count for something considering what Douglas would do not so much later) … then was just kind of there.

Didn’t take on many challenges, didn’t position himself for a run to show that he was among the best, just mostly marking-time fights until he faded out of the picture.

Whatever his potential or shortcomings as a fighter physically, it’s hard to not conclude that lack of ambition was his fatal flaw.

 

Buster Douglas - showed what he could do against Tyson then next fight against Holyfield came in 15 pounds heavier and was iced with one punch. Had he maintained the dedication he had vs Tyson for his career no telling.

Greg Page - when he was an amateur many were sure he was the next Ali. He had that ability to avoid punches plus size and speed. But when he hit the pros he didn’t seem to progress enough and never seemed to be in top condition. He stopped Gerrie Coetzee for a version of title but got beat by various fighters more and more as his career progressed.

Max Baer - Growing up all I ever heard about him from my father and uncles was he had the perfect physique to be a great fighter but he was yellow and that he quit against Louis. His own son who was very close to his father still said he was very undisciplined and that he had sex right before the Braddock fight. If he had worked hard in the gym to improve and perfect his craft like say Larry Holmes and Mike Spinks did he could have been serious competition for Louis.

 

I would also add, no fundamentals and no heart.

 

Max Baer
Nino Valdez
Candy Slim Merritt
John Tate
Tim Witherspoon
Michael Dokes
Gerry Gooney
Toney Tubbs
Toney Tucker
Pinklon Thomas
Buster Douglas
Mike Tyson
Riddick Bowe
Corrie Sanders
Vitali Klitschko
David Tua
Andrew Golota
Ike Ibeabuchi
Sultan Ibragimov (because he quit too early)
Tyson Fury
Andy Ruiz