are we putting too much stock into guys with 'stellar' amateur careers?

To be noticed by managers of course and they are more marketable.
U.S HW pro boxing champions, Olympic gold medalists: Patterson, Ali, Foreman, Frazier.
Likes or no, W.Klitschko from Ukraine too.
A.J from U.K.
Lennox Lewis, U.K/ Canada.
Wilder too had Olympic medal, bronze.

 

Look at Fury

Nothing spectacular as an amateur got outboxed by some small Ruski's and David Price

but came into the pro's almost knowing he had what it took to be the best & confident he'd smash Price if they ever fought - Before Fury even had his skillsets, he just had stamina, grit, guts, heart, an iron will & determination.

12 round bouts with no head guard, different gloves & less strict refereeing is massively different.

 

Nothing spectacular but represented one of the biggest amateur boxing nations internationally and came second in the olympic trials, dropping the eventual bronze medalist, far from average.

 

You learn more going gym to gym doing live sparring for the pros then in an amatuer fight. Alot of good amatuers are good at those 4 - 2 min rounds where they frown and sometimes deduct defense and dont allow you to tie up and use alot of tricks you can use in the gym that you need to know in the pros. sprint fights dont mean **** for the pros.

 

Being a great amateur does not mean you'll be a great pro.

Sometimes being a great amateur can mean you turn pro at am advanced age and time is not on your side any more.

Some fighters might be perfectly happy competing as an amateur and then striving to win a belt at an older age.

I just get frustrated when the next big thing is already 30 years old lol.

 

Fury also improved over the years as well.

There are many great examples of guys who get their **** together in the pros instead of the amateurs.

 

Why is Campbell "lowly"?

 

It's diminishing returns. 10 amateur is too few, 100 is great, 300 you're going to be harming your pro career.

But if you 300+ amateur fights that was your career, the pros are more of a retirement fund or a way to leave Cuba if that's what you want.

 

Because he won it

 

Fury "lost" that fight, but he still dropped Price in the 2nd round, with headgear and everything, that tells you what you need to know about his chin.

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Well, why?
He went full distance with the same Linares. Linares pro credentials were higher than Campbell ever had.
Campbell was too large for Loma, still Loma haters ( in short: EE fighters haters ) are predictable as hell.

Only cherry picking for Lomo might had been small and older Rigo.

 

He still WON IT....

 

Traditionally for Western fighters it was a good judge of prospect.

Like a hotshot college quarter back.

It was a bit different for the Eastern fighters as they had to stay amateur, and even after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, they still had that culture of staying amateur longer.

Nowadays, its very vague as, technically, theres no such thing as amateur anymore, only "olympic style" boxing.

The APBA and WSB are openly professional and dont have singlets or headgear and have 10 point must systems.

Professionals now fight in the olympics.