What fighters were offered championship fights but refused or looked past opponents and got beat right before their shot? Then never got another? Valdez? I remember a Mexican heavyweight with a champion belt tattoo, that refused s shot because he felt he was not ready. Promptly lost his next fight ( name escapes me) Any others that blew their chance?
Gerrie Coetzee wasted his prime and championship playing w Holmes and not fighting for close to a yr and a half.
Rodrigo Valdez was a good middleweight challenger from Colombia, He was rated no.1 WBC mandatory challenger when World Middleweight Champion Carlos Monzon stopped World Welterweight Champion Jose Mantequilla Napoles by TKO 7 in Paris, France, on Feb 9 1974. Monzon declined to meet Valdez, Carlos was then stripped of the WBC title, then Valdez stopped Bennie Briscoe on May 25 1974 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in round 7, to win the WBC title, the rest is history.
Joe Frazier in 1967. Joe was ranked no. 1 ranked contender to then champion Muhammad Ali, but Yank Durham and the draft board ruined Frazier's chance at the title as Ali was stripped of his title and license because of his draft evasion conviction on June 20 1967.
I think that worked out well for Pryor. I don’t think he was suited for WW, especially against one of the best ones that’s ever laced them up in Leonard. Ray was simply bigger and better. A couple years later, Pryor ended up getting paid more for fighting an ATG in Arguello.
Tommy Morrison beat George Foreman in June 93’ for the WBO belt (lightly regarded belt at the time, at least in the USA). He was set to face Lennox for the WBC belt, but Michael Bentt and his trainer’s asscrack changed that. This content is protected
Great shout out . Bentt destroyed Morrisons big money bouts. Morrison just thought he had that win in the bag and was looking past Bentt.
Rudy Barro would have had zero chance of beating Duran, but he had a chance at a title shot, but fought Saensak Muangsurin at JWW instead, probably thinking it would be an easy fight against a debuting boxer, but got destroyed and never came near a title shot again. Tony Ayala Jr. was in line for a title shot against Davey Moore, but self destructed in a terrible way and that title shot went away for good.
I read Joe Baksi, when he came to Britain and defeated Mills & Woodcock, he gained a stronger bid at an already 'considered' Title Chance, yet while in Britain / Europe, he took the opportunity to 'nip' over to Poland for a 6 week Holiday or something, while in that part of the World. I fully understand Big Joe doing this, the world was a much bigger place back then, jumping on a plane for holidays then was not a cheap or regular thing for people. Not only was that reported about Baksi doing this, they actually stated it was a stupid and careless decision to delay any possible opportunity like that. anyway I agree on both accounts, most 'immigrant fighters would also have used the location proximity to 'nip' Home, but the Boxing writers too were right to state it was perhaps careless... the 'other' thing too, "Was Big Joe, really going to get his Title Tilt then or anytime soon?" you see boxer's and Managers know better than anybody How the 'Business' worked - Joe Baksi MADE the Right Decision!
Currently Whyte has here and there opportunities, he has also big head and "verything knows better" so I think he will blew some more! He has still some time left to blew! Hehe!
