Fighters you used to think was hype/ media creation but who proved you wrong?

Always liked Canelo but did a 180 on Wilder. Used to think he's a fraud but not anymore. I'll be rooting for him against Fury

 

Gotta say Canelo, I always felt he was a good talent but not a top 3 p4p level talent. I'm talking about when he was gifted the WBC 154 title fighting the likes of Ryan Rhodes. I felt he was good, but pampered and wouldn't go as far as he has.

 

Wilder? Come on guys...

1. Wilder never had any hype around him at all. He's barely known in the US. Because of the Fury fight they migh recognize him now but before that Fury was more popular in the US than Wilder.

2. Wilder isn't any good. He hits like a tank and can kill you with one punch. But he couldn't box if his life depends on it. He's the worst world champion in boxing technically. His footwork looks like he started boxing last week.

Canelo is a good call tho.

 

He´s a pampered diva, but also a better fighter than I thought a few years ago..

 

See I thought he was good. I just didn't think he'd be such a toxic figurehead for the sport.

 

Spence,
Kovalev,
Fury,
Wilder,

 

I agree with everything you've said there & I'm not really a fan but I'm still going to pick Wilder because he's been in several fights that he's been hurt or losing handily but he still keeps trying when I thought he'd fold as soon as he faced real resistance.

 

Ryan Garcia
J-Rock
Teofimo Lopez
Caleb Plant

For these last 2, I always knew they were very good but thought their best days were behind them and wouldnt turn out to be as good as they did:
Matt Korobov since the Andy Lee loss
Artur Beterbiev..... What a ****ing machine

 

I agree with everyone's call on Canelo. before he fought GGG I thought he was going to get blasted out, but whether you think he won or lost those 2 fights surely we can agree he at least held his own?
Dillian Whyte also for me, after his loss to AJ I thought he would just fade away but I think he has a pretty decent record that stacks up against any heavyweight contender out there now.

 

Lomachenko.

I remember a dude was showing videos of him before he blew up in America. Hyping him his credentials and his amazing footwork.I was like yea, whatever meng! Mainly cause not many Euro boxers live up to the hype.I thought he was another Euro hype job.Boy was I wrong. He is high tech never seen anything like it. Making good boxers look ordinary. Making them quit I was stunned and proven wrong.

 

I agree with this. I've not seen any quit in him. Plus, he is always in shape.

He seems to want to be the champ and makes the effort. As we've seen with other HWs, that is not a given in this era.

 

When I first saw Canelo fight, against Cotto's brother -- who almost smoked him early -- I knew he was talented and skilled especially considering his age and opposition. But this was a dude who struggled with Liam ****ing Smith, and should have 3 losses at 154. Since his time there, hes moved up 3 more weight classes and looked more impressive at each one. His traps have exploded and his speed and power have even improved since his days at 47 amd 54. That doesnt happen if you're natural. It just doesn't. One of the primary roadblocks a fighter faces in acquiring and developing skill istheir physical limitations. The more impressive the engine, the easier it will be to develop skill and incorporate it. Hes certainly gained more skill which is impressive considering hes always been skilled, but not impressive at all when you look at his physique compared to earlier days and realize how much gas hes on. I mean he struggled with Liam Smith and was being pushed back by him, but now hes blitzing SMW and LHW, while he's on high octane and if they wanna get paid they cant even rehydrate properly? Sorry but not only am I not impressed, thats disgusting. People are dying, when the playing field is that uneven its no longer sport, its a gladiator in the Coliseum up against 3 lions.

 

Yeah. You probably have to give him credit for more than his power. He's also showing unreal toughness in the first Ortiz fight where he was hurt badly and wobbled and still came back and didn't go down. Can't deny that. Wilder is a combination of confidence/self belief + lethal power + toughness which makes him a world champion without any boxing skills. Still enough in the HWD.

 

Huge difference between the way I viewed Jermain Taylor at his actual career peak (lineal middleweight champ, officially besting Hopkins x2...but with both of those decisions being controversial and the rest of his challengers and pre-championship opposition being softies) and the way I viewed him after the rigors of the S6, all his outside-the-ring tribulations and still managing an implausible climb to a second world title reign. Shame the way he continued to spiral down after that, but he certainly proved in the long run that he was no paper tiger HBO construct.