Fighters who were damaged by their best performance

How about Meldrick Taylor vs Chavez in their first fight? I know he lost by TKO, but it was his most famous one, and two seconds away from his biggest win.

 

Meldrick Taylor was the first to come to mind, but he also fought brilliantly against Buddy McGirt.

 

Agreed. While I have no doubts that Chavez took something out of him, Taylor still went on to having some stellar performances after. The Aron Davis and Glenwood Brown fights are two which come to mind.

 

McClellan vs Jackson I

 

Not understanding this one. McClellan went on to score three consecutive first-round KO's in defense of his title (including one against Jackson) after that. And as for Jackson.........well I don't know how anything he did in this fight could be considered his best effort. He was outfought and outsized from the first bell...........

 

I think it's because there has been speculation that G-Man was suffering from neurological issues after the first Jackson fight as he complained of frequent headaches.

Of course, that doesn't prove anything. Headaches can result from all sorts of causes.

 

Smokin Joe but partying had a lot to do with hit

 

Leonard Hearns 1- Ray had his eye damaged in that fight, retina?? and the rest of his career he had eye problems, and you could tell by looking at the eye something was wrong..

 

You can get the same kind of headaches reading just a couple threads in the General Forum.

 

Bingo. Jackson scored 1st round KO's after the fight, and while those are great results, it also means his body hadn't gone through a real battle between that and the Benn fight...it's speculation on my part, but I feel G-man was a ticking time bomb by that point. His behavior got more and more erratic/violent afterward, and he was coming off as a man becoming unhinged.

His physical reaction to the Benn fight was tragic, but there was warning signs going in to that fight that years of gym wars and the first Jackson fight had completely compromised him.

 

Whether it was his best performance I don't know but Sergio Martinez boxed a great fight against JC Chavez jnr for 11 rounds. He took some heavy punishment in that last round and never boxed like that again.

 

Good example and what a finish to what was a great fight.

 

Good get. Leonard's eye has never looked right since.