David Reid, former Olympian and guy who got brutalized by Tito. What do you guys member about him??? Do you guys think he would have gone a lot farther in Boxing had it not been for his lazy eye and brutal beating Tito put on him??
He seemed to be afraid of Tito to me. Reid was only decent. He never seemed like the type of fighter to go far professionally.
Reid had glaring deficiencies, and he wasn't aggressive enough. His defense sucked. He did well in the Tito fight up until the point where he knocked Tito down. After he knocked Trinidad down, all he did was admire his own work and let Tito off the hook. All the while, Tito kept burying bodyshot on Reid. It eventually paid off when Reid broke down and took a serious beating. Reid's corner should have stopped the fight, because their fighter was never the same after the beating he took. David should never have been impressed that he knocked Tito down, he should have tried to knock him out. It just goes to show you it's not how you start, it's how you finish.
Apparently that eye was a pretty big issue even before he turned pro...several operations couldn't remedy it to a level that was acceptable for his profession. I think ultimately given his style and defensive flaws the eye would have been a major issue at some point even if he hadn't fought Tito. He was pretty good...Solid, quick athletic talent but always destined to burn out early IMO.
its funny he was mentioned...i actually just watched a fight of his this morning before i went to work: his last fight against sam hill :bart dude's eye issue meant he wasn't going to have a long career...but i did like the fights he had on the way up....his ko of simon brown was nasty..and him winning the light middleweight title in his 12th pro fight..the beating from tito, which i felt was too soon for him, was horrific ...i think his management cashed him out with that...and the subsequent fights he had after did him no good either
The eye problem and his style meant he probably wasn't destined for a long career but he could probably have done quite well if he didn't run into Tito. Trinidad crucified him and the fight should've unquestionably been stopped in the 11th - I'm not sure what the ref and his corner were thinking. I don't think Reid was guilty of admiring his own work or let Tito off the hook thought - Trinidad was knocked down numerous times (almost always in round 2 for some reason) in similar circumstances and he always reacted the same way - he got up and laid a severe beating on his opponent. Reid wasn't winning that fight, regardless of strategy. Reid had a big right-hand and, along with some pretty serviceable skills, he could've had a nice run if he'd been protected more.
Reid fought really stiff comp right from the start (probably 'cause of his eye). By his 12th fight he had more quality experience than a lot of guys with twice as many fights.