Fair points. I pick Spoon because had he held onto his belt in a very winnable fight with Smith (whom he had beaten before) he would have went on to face a very inexperienced Mike Tyson. Just being in the fight would have been a hell of an achievement, and he sure as hell would have done better than Smith or Berbick.
Watching Bowe vs Tubbs right now. I've seen it once years ago, but so far (opening round five) it looks more one-sided for Bowe than I remember. Some great counters by Tubbs though, especially a deft pull followed by a fast double hook to the ribs and head. (Looked like it bounced off the crown.)
Certainly agree with Page. Other Heavies of the time acknowledged he was the best of the brood but they also knew he had dedication issues. At his best he had a fast hard accurate jab, a right hand not far behind Coetzee's, great reflexes and a great chin for a time. His combination of speed and power was extremely impressive. The trouble was he never had the dedication and desire to take advantage of his gifts. He had trust issues and was seldom in shape. By the time he dedicated latter career it was too late. Early career he looked like a sure thing against the likes of Ward, Monroe and Evangelista. The trouble was he didn't really improve and develop. He was as good then as he ever was. He did put in a fantastic performance against Snipes and thumped Coetzee with sheer power and durability. Holmes himself said he had to get serious and get off his toes and get those hands up a bit more. He lacked some of the basics is what Larry was hinting at. You can only get so far with natural talent, particularly when you are seldom in shape.
Thought about it some more====changed my opinion of Bruno. I think the guy that fits the bill is Buster Douglas. Polish that diamond a little with some better tutelage, and he's a pretty good fighter. The biggest difference being the time frame he came up in. He would have done much better coming out of that 76-78 era like the others mentioned. Coming along as an up and comer during that Tyson reign is a whole different ballgame than 80-85 era of multiple belt title opportunities.
Buster Douglas is definitely my pick. Imagine him showing up in Tokyo form for every fight? Yes - I know that fight was in the 90s, but Douglas was primarily an 80s HW.
I definitely agree. Douglas was incredible talent. He was big HW (not as big as Lewis, Bowe or Wlad but still big) with quick hands and feet, had great footwork, threw great combinations, had good power in both hands, good work rate and very hight boxing IQ. The thing I liked the most about Douglas was the way he threw his beautiful combinations. Not only in Tyson fight - he also threw them in the Mike Williams fight. He did the things that none of the best HWs of the last 30 years could do - ended his combos with huge power punches from another stance (streight left hand). He wasn't the most durable but his biggest weakness was a lack of dedication. It's really bad when very talented guys like Douglas, Sanders, Witherspoon or even Bowe couldn't fulfill their potential because of lack of dedication. I mean, at their best nights they looked like they had ATG potential, and all of them were clearly more gifted physically than Evander Holyfield. But Holyfield achieved much more because he was dedicated to boxing.
Good post. However, I am not sure if Briggs was as talented as Witherspoon or Page. Not every amateur champ has the power to succeed in the pros. Briggs seemed to lack power compared to some of the other guys.
Witherspoon was the best of the three followed by Page but all three were capable of big performances when motivated .. however all three lacked the mental strength of Holmes who kept it together under the worst of circumstances ..
Probably Page, although Tubbs was definitely a smooth operator I can only imagine how Smooth he could’ve been if he would’ve been in great shape more often. I loved watching old fat Tony still schooling young guys in the 90’s, if you didn’t catch him and take him out he was probably going to box circles around you. So slick and Fast. Michael Spinks when talking about sparring with heavyweights. Said he did very well with Tex Cobb and he even said Cobb said that he buckled him a little bit with a right hand. He also said he handled himself well in the ring against Witherspoon. But he was very definitive in saying he couldn’t do much against Greg Page. He said Page hit the hardest (harder than Spoon) so he spoke highly of Page over Spoon. I think he may have been a light heavy still when he sparred these guys. For me I think the answer is Page, probably followed by Tubbs. It’s hard to say that they really underachieved they all held a version of the belt at one point and Witherspoon held it twice. They all had moments where they shined even if it was usually brief.
I’ll throw Jimmy Clark into the mix. He’s a generation behind the others, basically, would have been part of the 1980 team had the U.S. not boycotted the Olympics in Russia. And he was supposed to be on the plane with the USA team going to Poland that crashed, killing off a generation of prospects, but missed the trip after breaking his nose in a car wreck, IIRC. Clark lost three times to Teofilo Stevenson in the amateurs, once on a 2-1 decision at the World Championships and later in North Carolina on a highly-disputed decision. Was featured on national TV several times as an amateur and considered the top American heavyweight of his class. He went 18-1 as a pro. Lost to Reggie Gross, a journeyman (I think 15-3 at the time but had lost 3 of his last 4) and never beat anyone of note — had three more fights after that (one a no contest vs. Kimmuel Odom), never won a title of any sort, never did anything really. Not sure he was on par with Biggs or Page or Tubbs as a prospect, but he achieved so far less than them you could consider him to be the greatest underachiever — at least those guys all beat someone you’ve heard of and become contenders. Not Clark. EDIT: Should have said ‘a generation ahead’ of the others in that he a top amateur in latter part of the 1970s and turned pro in January 1981 and hung ‘em up in ‘89.
