Fighters You Feel Are Unfairly Downgraded Because They Are Asshats

To some degree, all of: Mayweather, Khan, Haye, JCC Jr, Morel, Broner, Hopkins, Dirrell, Paulie, Pavlik

 

Ray Leonard.

 

Fighters generally tend to get upgraded for acting like muppets.

 

Maybe less so with the passage of time, but judging by reports of the day Sandy Saddler was underrated and underappreciated. Whether it was because of his rep as a dirty fighter, the fact that he beat up a popular champion in Pep, or a combination thereof, it seemed that he didn't get his due as a genuine ATG.

 

You feel his abilities have been downgraded by the general public ?

 

Prince na....

I'm not mentioning anybody.

 

for me it was his extreme fouling and not really his childish acts that makes me think he is overrated.
Unless you count fouling as an asshat.
Then Holyfield often gets downgraded by Tyson fans for his headbutts.

 

Definitely Hamed and Mayweather, Roy Jones too.

 

The primary reason I see Jones getting downrated is because of his KO losses and not because he is/was an asshat.

 

I think on the whole he's benefitted from the perceptions surrounding his persona in the general public.

Since the 1970s many have sworn he's the "greatest of all times". He's often introduced as the greatest of all champions, it's almost a matter of fact.

 

Hamed was a known 'asshat' through his entire career, and was highly rated.
I think it was being spanked badly by underdog Barrera while in his prime - and then falling off the radar completely - that downgraded him.

 

Rubbish, I loathe the man but even I can see he is a top 20 all time fighter.

An arse hole who does not get just kudos would be someone like Chris Eubank. Who some Benn fans just do not get the gimmick Chris rather cleverly played...

Naseem Hamed too, does not get his dues IMO.

 

Those who drew the colour line.

 

Bang on. Take Naz as an example. Growing up near Sheffield and being pretty familiar with the local fight scenes, I'm confident that I was in the minority of people who thought Hamed was/is a wanker. General opinion of him only really started to change after the hit-and-run thing imo.

The people who wrongly dismiss valid, unbiased criticism of many fighters with objectionable personalities as being blinded by personal dislike are easily as numerous as the people who unfairly downgrade the very same fighters in the opposite manner. And more annoying with it, I tend to find.

That a vile scumbag like Monzon hardly ever has his undoubted in-the-ring greatness challenged - rightfully so - while tools like Naz and Floyd attract doubt as to theirs is very telling in a way, though I see the other side of the argument when you consider that Mayweather is just an insecure little **** with issues - no big deal - whereas Monzon was a complete sociopath who had an affinity for throwing people and oranges off balconies at passing tourists. I suppose I can see why some people think Floyd gets the **** end of the stick in that sense.

The Leonard and Ali thing mystifies me. Yeah, there are a fair number of ill-informed knobs who rip into them unfairly, but I can't grasp how people fail to see how insignificant that number is compared to the masses in the mainstream media and general public who idolise them, or the lesser but still substantial number who go ape**** when anybody tries to apply reasonable criticism to their personas.