All Time Greats who were underachievers ...

Tex Rickard had something to do with Dempsey's 20's career. Plus it was the 1920's with legends like Babe Ruth, Dempsey, Red Grange (football), etc. Those guys lived at a different level...even compared to today.

The 1920s has been called the Golden Age of American Sports. It also has been called the Age of the Spectator. The United States had a strong economy for most of that decade. Many workers had more leisure time. New and bigger stadiums and gymnasiums were built. The introduction of radio made it easier for fans to keep up with their favorite teams. Newspapers increased their coverage of sports. Improvements in roads made it possible for fans to travel to athletic events in distant cities. For the first time, large numbers of Americans began to pay money to watch other people compete in athletic contests.

Baseball was the “national pastime” in the 1920s. More people went to baseball games, more people followed baseball, and more people played baseball for fun than any other sport. The most famous athlete in the United States in the 1920s was baseball star George Herman “Babe” Ruth, the right fielder for the New York Yankees. The colorful Ruth hit more home runs than any player had ever hit before. He excited fans with his outgoing personality. Ruth was the perfect hero for the Roaring Twenties.

The 1920s also was a decade when college football became more popular. Notre Dame, coached by Knute Rockne, became the most famous college football team. Illinois star Harold “Red” Grange became a household name. The best college teams could compete in bowl games, such as the famous Rose Bowl, held in California.

Boxing was popular too. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was almost as famous as Ruth. Horse racing, golf, and tennis all had their fans. College basketball was still a young sport. Professional football and basketball were minor sports."

 

This may sound odd but for me its Duran.
When the man trained properly he was unbelievable. Problem was he just didn't like to so we got to see some very brilliant performances but missed out on many more.

 

Dempsey wasn't exactly endeared by the general public...he was a villain...a draft dodger to some,..a brutal ruffian...and honestly, at times he really looked the part, as in that well known footage of him sitting in his corner just prior to the Carpentier fight...with that stubble and those stone killer eyes....but that all changed after Tunney bea`t him and he uttered those words afterwards that instantly humanized him..."Honey, I forgot to duck"....

 

Maybe “all time greats who could have had even more impressive careers”?

 

Perhaps the guys who drew the color bar ended up as the underachievers, at least in the eyes of history?

 

“the all time greats who seem to have the most unfulfilled potential, despite their excellent accomplishments"?

 

For me Hector Camacho Sr. And no one else is close. At Superfeather he looked as unbeatable as any fighter in history. That Blow out of Bazoka Limon, is still one of the most dominant performances I've seen against very good competition. But the one shot from Rasario and he went from possibly better than Ray Robinson to what could've been.

 

Ruben Olivares, if only he trained with the intensity of a Marvin Hagler. Then again, if you take away the cheap booze, cheaper women and copious pot smoking is it still really Ruben Olivares?

 

James Toney. Yes, I would consider him as an ATG. Had all the talent and old school tricks but was just too inconsistent despite being so skilled. And he loved Burger King too much.

 

Jung Koo Chang kind of seems like an ATG/underachiever combo.

 

Yes, Camacho was, to me, the ultimate underachiever.

 

Good point Russell.