Everett "Big Foot" Martin ... incredible run of 'name' opponents

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Unforgiven, Nov 28, 2014.


  1. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    One of my all-time favourite journeymen.
    He was actually an out-of-shape light-heavy fighting at cruiser and heavyweight.

    I'm impressed by this run, starting in mid-1988, to early-1994, mostly losses.


    1988
    Bert Cooper 19-2 (a ranked cruiserweight) @ cruiserweight W10
    Johnny DuPlooy 20-2-1 (big punching HW) LKO7

    1989
    Dwight Qawi 31-6-1 (ranked cruiser) L10
    George Foreman 63-2-0 (at 18-0 and 18 KOs in his comeback) L10

    1990
    Gary Mason 33-0 with 31 KOs (ranked, big punching HW) L10
    Pierre Coetzer 29-2 (ranked by WBA at HW) L10
    Francesco Damiani 26-0 (HW contender) LKO2

    1991
    James "Bonecrusher" Smith (former WBA champ, huge puncher, on a 8-fight win streak since losing to Ruddock ) LTKO8

    1992
    Michael Moorer 27-0 (ranked HW) L10
    Ridd!ck Bowe 29-0 (ranked HW) LTKO5 * on cuts
    Tim Witherspoon 37-3 (ranked HW) W10
    Tony Tucker 45-1 (ranked HW) L10

    1993
    Larry Holmes 54-4 (ranked HW) L10
    Herbie Hide 22-0 with 22 KOs L10

    1994
    Tony Tubbs 38-5 (former champ, still competent boxer) L10


    That's pretty impressive, 15 fight run. Not much filler in there.
    And of course he went on to fight a whole slew of next generation HW contenders : Wladimir Klitschko (twice !), Lamon Brewster, Fres Oquendo, Luan Krasniqi, Ruslan Chagaev, Liakhovich, Sosnowski and others.

    And really just a fat light-heavy.
     
    Unforgiven, Nov 28, 2014
    Unforgiven, Nov 28, 2014
    #1
  2. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    Yep... Saw a lot of Bigfoot during that time frame. If you were an up and comer, you weren't fully christened until you fought Martin. When interviewed years ago, Martin Said the guys at the gym gave him the name "Bigfoot" because of the considerable amount of hair he had on his back. He was a modest fellow. While many fighters make up excuses for their losses or bad performances, Everett would make concessions for his opponents having an off night.. For example, he said that he didn't feel Michael Moorer or Tim Witherspoon were looking up to par when he troubled one and defeated the other. A truly nice guy and a man who genuinely worked for his living. I certainly hope that his health is in tact given the amount of beatings he took and from not just one, but two or three generations of top flight heavys..
     
    mr. magoo, Nov 28, 2014
    mr. magoo, Nov 28, 2014
    #2
  3. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Oh yes, the guy has fought George Foreman and Larry Holmes from 70's and current champ Wlad Klitschko (2 times)
     
    Big Ukrainian, Nov 28, 2014
    Big Ukrainian, Nov 28, 2014
    #3
  4. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    Even in that 15-fight run, he fought FOUR men who were either undisputed HW champion (Foreman, Bowe) at some point, linear champ (Moorer) or almost universally considered the real champion (Holmes).

    Of the other eleven, FOUR had held the WBA, WBC or IBF titles (Smith, Tucker, Tubbs, and Witherspoon, who held both WBC and WBA).

    Of the remaining seven, TWO would shortly acquire the lesser-regarded WBO title (Damiani and Hide).

    Of the remaining five, ONE (Qawi) had already held the WBC title at light-heavy and the WBA title at cruiser, losing those titles to ATGs at those weights.

    The four others (Duplooy, Mason, Cooper and Coetzer) were just ordinary tough mofos for a fat light-heavy journeyman to think about taking on.

    Martin was solid.
    1992 he took on four guys who probably wouldn't have wanted to take on each other. And Martin sure as hell gave his money's worth.
     
    Unforgiven, Nov 28, 2014
    Unforgiven, Nov 28, 2014
    #4
  5. sweetsci

    sweetsci Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I hadn't thought about it before - Qawi lost both his titles to future world heavyweight champions.
     
    sweetsci, Nov 28, 2014
    sweetsci, Nov 28, 2014
    #5
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  6. timmers612

    timmers612 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    In those days reading the monthly Ring you almost always found the results of a Martin bout listed.
     
    timmers612, Nov 28, 2014
    timmers612, Nov 28, 2014
    #6
  7. LittleRed

    LittleRed Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    A Marvin Albert call is necessary here... Bigfoot martin with no regard for human life.
     
    LittleRed, Nov 28, 2014
    LittleRed, Nov 28, 2014
    #7
  8. latineg

    latineg user of dude wipes Full Member

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    I loved it when up and coming fighters fought BigFoot. He was one of the best and most consistent stepping stones for nearly a decade.
     
    latineg, Nov 29, 2014
    latineg, Nov 29, 2014
    #8