Fighters who failed to fulfill their potential, because they were too old when they started?

He was the first to come to my mind, also. Even Ken Norton got a rather late start in boxing, in the Marines, at 24.

 

Maybe I’m crazy but I think Carl “ The Truth “Williams had a lot of potential. He had a near perfect jab, hard right cross, good footwork, stamina and the ability to rise off the canvas to win fights. Always wondered if he had started a few years earlier if he could have perfected his ability to block left hooks and polish some of those other skills

 

Didn't see this for a while, lol. But yeah, it's definitely changed.
I'm saying something more to the effect of; Bonecrusher started late in general, and he didn't seem to develop or get any proper training because of it.

 

And that's the truth!

 

I watched Rich The Historian's bio on Clint Jackson a few months ago. He seems like a good candidate to be considered on this thread. Seemed like he left his best days in the amateurs.

 

Paul Sykes. Crazy. Crazy man.

Spent all his adult life in prison, was lucky to be granted a boxing license at age 31. after 8 fights in just over a year (putting 3 opponents in hospital) he was granted a shot at the British heavyweight champion John L Gardner before he went off the rails again, ultimately Gardner had too much experience for him. ..,and Sykes went straight back to prison.

 

Clint Jackson would come through east Tennessee a lot to train so we got to see a lot of him. People forget he was the co-captain of the 1976 Olympic team. I thought he had world champ written all over him and was shocked when he lost his 1st fight. In hindsight he just didn't seem to be focused at the pro level.

 

Great one, Swag. Did not know that. Cheers!!

 

Francis Ngannou looks to me like someone who could have been a force to be reckoned with, in Heavyweight boxing, if he had started boxing earlier in life. He is a big strong guy, and I believe he was 37 when he gave Fury fits.

 

The other answer I have to this is pretty obscure, but gets brought up now and again here by some of you diehards.

Whenever we have a thread about undefeated fighters who retired too early, someone mentions a 70's heavyweight named "Bunk Kelly" who was off to a great career start and then mysteriously quit. I did a little digging on the guy and found a facebook post where a fight poster of his was pictured by one of his buddies from back in the day and he said he simply turned pro in his early 30's and decided that it would take too long to make it up the ranks to get big fights and decided to retire.