What fighters fought within the confines of a chosen comfort zone, sometimes against weak opposition, or on the flip side may have been good but simply never took the risks to prove it. I know from the 70's to the current day there seems to be a trend towards a fighter fighting in their relative backyard, building up a padded record and then being "rewarded" with a big payday against a big step up in competition. But its certainly no new phenomenon. I remember browsing through boxrec and being amazed at the then new boxing scene in Australia around the turn of the century, and how many fighters fought their entire careers against soft opposition there. --------------------------------------------------------------- I remember Foreman's team implying to Mark Gastineau's team that if their fighter could manage an undefeated record of something like 15-0 there would be a potential mega payday for Gastineau and co'. Foreman fought more then one white "prospect" during his comeback, receiving ridiculous paydays against the likes of football player "Jimmy Ellis" whom he fought in late 1991. Ellis was 16-0 when Foreman slaughtered him, 15 knockouts. Anyway, Mark's manager was a sleazy ****, and by hook or by crook he tried to build up that record for a payday that would set everyone up for life. Actually, Gastinaeu's first match-up was against a professional wrestler by the name of Derrick Dukes, whom admitted to throwing more then one fight. I've seen the Dukes/Gastinaeu match and it was ****ing laughable, first punch of the fight and Dukes threw himself to the ground in a manner which would make any professional wrestler proud. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sean O' Grady was more then likely the inspiration for many fighters to come, to employ such tactics. He amassed a 70 something and 1 record in five years, fighting out of his fathers hotel (?) against no hopers. His father even created a belt for his son. No knock against Sean, I like him regardless of whatever way his career played out. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Steele might be the ultimate example of big fish in a little pond syndrome. He fought exclusively in North and South Carolina, fighting against terrible opposition, amassing a 41-0 record with 41 knockouts being travelling to Denmark, being defeated by Brian Nielson. So, who else? Discussion and thoughts on the subject welcome.
Lamar Clark. He built a record of 42-0 (41) against a handful of fighters who'd fought professionally (all of whom had losing records).All the rest were ring ins,local toughs and other assorted punching bags.His thing was to knock out multiple opponents in the one day but if you look at the quality of opposition it's not all that impressive a feat. The first time he met someone with a winning record he was stopped,and he was also stopped by Pete Radamacher and a skinny young kid in his 6th fight called Cassius Clay before finishing with a largely meaningless record of 43-3 (42).
I think all the following qualify to some extent. Sven Ottke Virgil Hill Tony Lopez Ray Mancini Chris Eubanks Joe Calzaghe
No, certainly not the case with all of them. No doubt many turn of the century fighters have incomplete record but its also not terribly hard to see some of the fighters did nothing but err on the side of caution.
Anthony Mundine is fast heading down this track. I'm not sure the Australian public is going to buy his fights with the likes of the number 5 ranked Argentinian welterweight for much longer though. A lot of these home town guys were/are very popular,Mundine's popularity consists largely of people hoping to see him get knocked out.Not a very likable person is young Anthony.
verquan kimbrough to an extent. 23 fights out of 28 where at the prestigious mountaineer casino and race track and resort arena in west virginia. awful opposition and with the amount of real talent he had it was a real shame he is almost finished before he is 30 years old. and when he did step up even slightly he looked awful. maybe not what your looking for but taking the big fish small pond a bit literally. zoltan petranyi. only 1 loss in slovakia & hungry whenever he left the area he lost...BADLY [yt]imcwEyWoVHM[/yt]
Danny Green fits in this thread as well, though Mundine is clearly a better fighter then Green, with more talent as well.
laila ali?.........ranked high i guess and won serious titles but still. fought very few true contenders at her weight.
One of the worst cases I saw was in the 80's, Jose "The Threat" Baret. He was a promising welterweight. 16-0 with 15 KO's. Just blowing guys away in 1 or a couple rounds. But he wsn't brought along properly and not presented with challenges. Tons of hype about his power though. They decided to throw him in against a battle tested Marlon Starling and who took him apart and stopped him in 4. He was stopped in his next fight by Floyd Mayweather Sr., no slouch himself. Never really heard from after that.