Mark Breland

I saw him fight at the '84 Olympics in LA when I was a kid and then met him before a Cotto fight at the Garden a few years back. Very nice guy. I always wondered about his professional career as well.

 

The only full fight of his that I've seen was his rematch with Marlon Starling, in which I felt Marlon won.

 

I think he's underrated to a minor degree, thought of as being a poor professional compared to his amateur exploits.

Much like Curry and Tzysu, he stayed an amateur for far too long and though all free had great professional showings it was just too late.

Didn't help that Breland brought multiple nagging injuries into the pro's that required sugery. He didn't have the time for that, nor did some of them ever heal fully regardless.

 

A lot of guys are accussed of being chinny, but he really was a disaster waiting to happen.

I wish I can remember the guy's name, but there was one fight when the promoters, who had manufactured Breland's title reigns, knew that he could not beat a live welter of any sort, and so matched him against a ranked LIGHTWEIGHT. This guy was still rocking Breland with every punch, and then quit because of a puffy eye. It was embarrassing for everyone.

Let me find the guy's name on boxrec.

POST SCRIPT: Rafael Pineda is the name I was looking for, who later went back down in weight and won a belt in his own right.

 

His downfall was that he did not meet rediclous expations. He was a two time world tittle holder but he was expected to be a top 10 ATG.

 

Scoff at Breland, but have to tell you first hand, in amateur boxing in the NY in the mid-'70s, just the mention of his name chilled the blood of opponents. Had kids on my team face him. One managed to go the distance, after 3 KDs -- cause for celebration!

In the locker room before a bout, Breland might just as well been the grim reaper. Every kid on the way to the ring was a dead man walking.

Think Joe Louis's opponents in his prime.

 

Er, you're aware that Pineda was a very solid puncher, yes?

What about the Breland/Davis war where Breland takes numerous bombs before going down?

 

The point is, he came up in the ratings as a LIGHTWEIGHT and they jumped him up to get someonein there Breland could beat.

It was pretty naked. All the boxing rags realized exactly what was going on.

Davis, not a great puncher, did get the stoppage, though.

 

Would have loved to see Mark Breland fight someone like Clint Jackson as an amateur, would he have come out on top?

 

Breland was a bitter disappointment. The man was sold as the new Robinson (the speed of Leonard with the power of Hearns). It was the first time I found out about 'boxing hype'. A disappointment I never quite got over or forgave.

 

There's an exibition match between him and Tommy Hearns on youtube which is pretty cool, Tommy rocks him with a right hand towards the end

 

That would be so sweet. But Tommy is too classy, and Breland such a Gentleman, that I think they are playing around.

 

And a quality performance. I brought into Honeyghan, and the fight at the time was a pick-em, with the edge being to the Raggamuffin Man, as the fight was in the UK.

Then Breland goes and tugs Superman's cape...