Boxers Who Were Great, But Truly Never Lived Up To Their Potential

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Marcus S., Aug 25, 2022.


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  1. Marcus S.

    Marcus S. Member Full Member

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    Who are some boxers who never lived up to their potential, whether it was a lack of discipline and dedication or personal issues?
     
    Marcus S., Aug 25, 2022
    Marcus S., Aug 25, 2022
    #1
  2. Dempsey1238

    Dempsey1238 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Tyson would be my near top.
     
    Dempsey1238, Aug 25, 2022
    Dempsey1238, Aug 25, 2022
    #2
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  3. GoldenHulk

    GoldenHulk Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Ike Ibeabuchi, Baby Joe Mesi, Larry Donald, Kirk Johnson.
     
    GoldenHulk, Aug 25, 2022
    GoldenHulk, Aug 25, 2022
    #3
  4. johnmaff36

    johnmaff36 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    great question. will reserve my answer until i see some replies
     
    johnmaff36, Aug 25, 2022
    johnmaff36, Aug 25, 2022
    #4
  5. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    Lamar Kidfire Parks
    Joe Goddard
    Jose Luis Lopez
     
    Seamus, Aug 25, 2022
    Seamus, Aug 25, 2022
    #5
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  6. rski

    rski Well-Known Member Full Member

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    To me Riddick Bowe was always the biggest example this.
     
    rski, Aug 25, 2022
    rski, Aug 25, 2022
    #6
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  7. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    James ‘Bubba’ Busceme won like 500 amateur fights, made the 1972 Olympics but didn’t medal.

    I think he probably had world championship potential. Like some others, maybe he spent too long in the amateurs and ‘left his best game’ there. Maybe there’s other reasons. But I think he was good enough to win a title at 135 on talent at least.
     
    Saintpat, Aug 25, 2022
    Saintpat, Aug 25, 2022
    #7
  8. Cecil

    Cecil Boxing Addict Full Member

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    John Conteh.
    Achieved so much but should have achieved more.
     
    Cecil, Aug 25, 2022
    Cecil, Aug 25, 2022
    #8
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  9. George forearm

    George forearm The forearm of George Full Member

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    Parks is a good shout, always got the feeling we missed out on something special.
     
    George forearm, Aug 26, 2022
    George forearm, Aug 26, 2022
    #9
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  10. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Jose Luis Lopez was just too damn lazy with his offense he reminds me of Ruslan Provodnikov. Both iron chinned guys who look great when they let their hands go, unfortunately they didn't do it often enough. And it cost them close fights they could of won had they just stepped it up a bit more.
     
    Dynamicpuncher, Aug 26, 2022
    Dynamicpuncher, Aug 26, 2022
    #10
  11. Whytesnake

    Whytesnake Armchair GOAT Full Member

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    Howard Davis Jr- 1976 US Olympic gold medalist and boxer of the tournament. Challenged for the title on 3 occasions as a pro. Was expected to do much better
     
    Whytesnake, Aug 26, 2022
    Whytesnake, Aug 26, 2022
    #11
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  12. Stevie G

    Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    John Conteh
    Riddick Bowe
    Wilfred Benitez
     
    Stevie G, Aug 26, 2022
    Stevie G, Aug 26, 2022
    #12
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  13. northpaw

    northpaw Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    It's insane that you can say the baddest man on the planet, youngest HW champ, p4p# 1, former undisputed champion didn't live up to his potential.................and can actually be right. But we really didn't get all out of Tyson that we could've and that's absolutely crazy. Imagine if his team never fell apart and he never lost focus.

    Also: Lamar Parks definitely didn't live up to what he could've been. Chad Dawson, boxing is littered with the bodies of "what could have beens" smh
     
    northpaw, Aug 26, 2022
    northpaw, Aug 26, 2022
    #13
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  14. Bulldog24

    Bulldog24 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    McClellan
     
    Bulldog24, Aug 26, 2022
    Bulldog24, Aug 26, 2022
    #14
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  15. Marcus S.

    Marcus S. Member Full Member

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    I'm just gonna give two names of my own in here that come to mind: Riddick Bowe and Prince Naseem Hamed. I feel like Bowe's lack of care for training and loss of passion after beating Holyfield done him in, while Hamed's undoing was done in part due to hand injuries, ego and the same lack of dedication that Bowe suffered from post-title win.
     
    Marcus S., Aug 26, 2022
    Marcus S., Aug 26, 2022
    #15
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