Brillant Amatures Who Were Bad/Medicore Pro's?

I met Paul when i was like 13 at some benefit for him when he was getting ready to go for the Olympic trials (I remember it was the same night that Holmes knocked out Marvis Fraizer)super kool dude he had a fine chick on each arm.Anyways we started boxing and he was amazed how much boxing i knew for being a kid.Long story short he talked me into going to his gym,I hadnt been to a gym since i was 8 but eventually he got me to go tothe gym again I ended up being at the same gym as paul when iwas a young teen at the Hollenback youth center in East Los Angeles but he was hardly there after the Olympics.

He was a great amatuer and no one could touch him back then. He dominated every one in the olympics and won the Val Barker award. He use to spar with champs and world class flys ,bantams and have his way with them when he was an amatuer. Problem was his hands he had brittle hands and not much power,real tall for his wt at 5-9 He was still really good in his first 8 or 9 pro fights he beat contender Alonzo Strongbow in his 3rd fight for the NABF title. He also started partying and was acting like he was a World champ after winning the Gold medal he was real big in LA back then,So his lifestyle plus he had a lot of layoffs earlyon due to hand problems he seemed to have just lost his great natural talent by the time he fought Canizales for the title he was stopped on a cut but was getting handled before they stopped it in the 2nd. After that he was mainly jusst a fringe contender and finished 16-4-0-3kos,

Anyways "Ricardnho" you forgot to mention that he also put on a boxing clinic against Orlando Canizales in his 5th pro fight,Orlando dropped him once but Paul got up and won almost every round.

I remember he didnt like OScar at first I forgot his reasons but i think he was just hating or had sour grapes cause every one forgot about him and made a big deal of Oscar. Oscar also use to go train at Hollenback to train when he was an amatuer and as a kid from time to time Al Stankie trained him as a teen,who is better known for saving Gonzalez from the gang life and taking him to a gold medal butthe Ressurection was Oscars main gym. I think some of the dislike is that he remembers when Oscar was a wet behind the ears kids when Paul was the talk of the town. Later when Oscar was a prospect coming up Paul begged him for a payday and wanted to comeback to fight Oscar but Gonzalez was to old plus Oscar was a Huge Jr lightweight and Paul would have been a blown up Bantam. Later on they ended up becoming friends.

By the way what wins were gifts for Paul? I dont recall him getting any gift decisions.

 

It's spelled AMATEUR. ****ing hell.

 

Tyrell Biggs was one that sprung to mind..

Courage was not that great an amateur , but i knew him quite well, he became Lou Duvas right hand man , and mitt man in helping him nurture many young fighters when he kinda retired. He was a very powerful man, he lost his unbeaten record to unheralded Brian Bam bam scott on a Golota v Bowe card in New York. He hit like a truck.. he used to hang out with Zab judah when Mike was training at Golden Gloves Gym in Vegas around the time of the 2nd Holyfield fight. Courage was awesome to look at , imposing as hell.. like a giant Kong type figure when he stared down at you from the ring.. LOL

 

Ricardo Williams

 

Eddie Escobedo was a Mexican/American Super heavyweight who was suppose to be pretty good he won a couple National titles but lost to Larry Donald in the trials.He turned pro and got off to a 12-1-1-11kos but was weighin up to 290 at the end and probably couldnt stay away from the dinner table cause he weighed a fit 230 as an amatuer. His last fight he had a draw with Harold Sconiers and never fought again despite his still proming record.

 

I remember Mitch Greens pro debut(on wide world of sports) and he looked awesome he blew out some guy in 1 round. I told my dad he could beat Larry Holmes LOL(I was just a kid). He told me Green was still a baby compared to Holmes to give him a few years, he was an excellent amatuer with Size,power,speed and skills. I waited and waited and this guy ended up being some Wacko Mental Case who was obsessed with stalking Tyson and Don King and well i think yu guys no the rest.
I must admit though this guys insane behavior and outburst was pretty comical.

 

Willie Dewitt
Sean Osullivan
Jerry Page
Robert Shannon
Kelcie Banks
Pepe Reilly
Marshall Martinez

 

It was said he was hitting the drugs way before he turned pro.Shame, if he had his mind in the right spot, he would have been a solid top ten to the least.

 

???

 

Beat Tyson aswell. Gold medalist too

Sad to see he never made it to be honest but i guess in a good heavyweight era there can only be a few champs. He'd absolutely carve up these days.

 

Jorge Luis Gonzalez defeated Lewis, Bowe, Stevenson and Biggs in his amateur career.

Did not make too much of himself in his pro career. Witherspoon and bowe made him his *****.

****ing huge man though. Cool haircut

 

Who the **** keeps bumping Cotto 20s **** threads???

 

He did end up becoming Larry's sparring partner for a few years, and Larry even commented on his ability to take a punch.

 

Many latin boxers skip amature-status cause they know it's pure crap and ruins their natural style.
Close thread

 

Most Latinos in the US have extensive amatuer careers, where as in Mexico many turn pro early cause of Poverty,and there is not too much funding in their amatuer program. Although there are some good amatuers but not as much as their would be if it was funded like other countries. Thats why they arent a powerhouse in the amatuers yet in the pros they are second to only the US in world Champs.

You do have a point though about styles and the Pro style suits them better.