Even after 2.5 years out Fury will still have fought and beaten the "best men" of his era...so it wasn't a loss. It was a great reset to light his burning fire yet again...and it burns brighter and more fierce than ever before.
Golota was a head case. He had the physical tools (at his best) but not the physiological make-up to be the best. He was not a heavy drinker (by Polish standards) or drug user. He did not believe in himself and would find ways to lose or sabotage himself. I lived in the same neighborhood as him and would see him and his posse around. He might have a drink but he did not have the reputation as a drinker.
I throw Ricardo Mayorga in this group and Kovalev. Both those guys had a reputation for drinking and smoking even while in camp. I remember Mayorga lighting up a cigarette in his corner after one of his fights. Both of these guys were good but could have been better.
Mike Perez made Cruiserweight comfortably, so it´s likely that Andy would do so as well. This reminds me of Chris Arreola. Even at 230 lbs(he at one point was slimming down and taking things seriously), he looked like a damn slob. If compared to Ruiz, you can see Ruiz has muscle beneath that fat. He is a big dude with a large frame. Arreola looked like a blown up LHW. At 6´3, Arreola would have been quite tall for the weight, but at least in his 20s, he would have likely easily made it(if he tried to).
This has to be Tony Tucker , he was a tall, long, outboxer with power, and bfore drugs and the 2 years layoff took it away, used his jab to establish distance, and fought from the outside. he was quite successful, have won the IBF heavyweight title, beat buster douglas, jimmy young, orlin norris and oliver mccall, went the distance with a heyday mike tyson and also lennox lewis. George Foreman, larry holmes and michael spinks ducked him too. A prime Tony Tucker, a one in shape and trained (around 1985-1987) , would have been a spicy opponent to any fighter. 6′3″ with an 82 inch reach, an in-shape Tucker was a very good fundamental boxer, had a great chin, and great jab (according to Mike Tyson, Tucker had the best jab of all the boxers he fought, including lennox lewis and buster Douglas!) and could fight outside, as you please, and would have been a stern test for any fighter who ever lived. Before his 2 long years layoff his career numbers are impressive on their face 37-1-1 with 29 KO’s, and the IBF heavyweight champion of the world But he threw away his career by cocaine, retired right after he lost to Tyson, cameback and fought guys like Lennox Lewis, oliver McCall and Orlin Norris in differents fights where he showed a huge sign of decline. But despite the fact that he was "over the hill" in his 2nd run, he continued to fight and (just like ali with the parkinson disease and Ezzard Charles with ALS) added severals losses he never should have had. And Tucker’s enormous talent and promise would go forever unfulfilled. Tucker is ranked #97 of all time, but oh, he could have been higher if he: -Fought michael spinks (who avoided him) and beat him, which i strongly believe would have happened had They met in the ring. -Fought Heyday Mike Tyson without a broken right hand and beat him (well i think there a chance he could have but a remote possibility....i still think he would lose to Tyson and Lewis, but it would have been a much, much, narrower win for both fighters…with a far better chance of an upset…). -If he didn't get into drugs and wasn't a mess kinda sensitive to injury. Tony Tucker could have been so much more…
Out of that list Terrible Tim stands out to me, wrapped up in arguments with that slime known a King he wilted what may have been a great career...probably many others that were unfortunate enough to have had contact with that specimen.
Good point. He ate his way out of serious contention and good paydays. In the second AJ fight, if he came in in shape and made a fight out of it, he would have set himself up for another payday.
It's wierd. Guys only have the dream of becoming a champ and nothing more. Once they get that 1 big payday and proved they can be champ, that's it, they're done. They're not interested in defending or working hard to stay on top. Seems thats the case with Ruiz.
