Fights in which the WINNER lost everything he or she had left

Muhammad certainly deteriorated,ringwise,after Manila but to say that "the winner lost everything they had left" in that bout is pushing it somewhat.

Interesting post though,Antonio. I'll think on it and come back to you.

 

You could say in FOTC Frazier was never the same, he lost that ambition to be at the top after conquering Ali at the summit, which was evident in his health deteriorating afterwards affecting his performances in fights.

 

Barney Ross in his title defense vs. Ceferino Garcia. Fighting through the pain of an injured hand, Ross managed to outbox/outsmart Garcia, but took a terrible body beating from the heavy-handed Filipino in the process, which I've always suspected may have set him up for his subsequent title loss to Armstrong.

Lou Ambers was credited w/ "beating" Armstrong in their rematch thanks to low blow round deductions, but in reality he was badly battered over the course of the fight. A year later, he lost his title on a surprising upset KO to hard-hitting but otherwise limited Lew Jenkins, who he was expected to outclass.

 

Lockridge should've been champ again.

 

I actually s don't think Eubank Snr was the same after his last fight with Watson. Yes he went on to make successful defences for a few years but he never fought with the same intensity as he did against Michael.
His second fight with Benn was a nothing
like the first, he seemed content to go the distance.

 

I don't think Benn was the same after his brutal win over McLelland.

 

Absolutely not. A fight like that cant NOT take something away from you.

 

Not quite the perfect fit but I would nominate Fenech vs Nelson 1.

For most observers Fenech won and he put his heart and soul into that fight.

Even if he was officially awarded the fight, we still might’ve seen some measure of downturn in Jeff’s career thereafter, just as a physical consequence.

However, being blindly robbed of the win and a coveted 4th world title also can’t be divorced from his deteriorated performances thereafter.

Had he been duly awarded the victory, Jeff might’ve retained a good measure of the will power he clearly lost in subsequent fights - just imo - but then fighters of Jeff’s ilk do have limited longevity also.

In a way, as the FOTC was to Frazier, so too was Fenech vs Nelson 1 to Jeff but without the deserved win.

 

Bowe vs Holyfield 3.
Izon vs Jefferson.

 

Slightly cheating but Bowe v Golota 1. Bowe won in name only. The fight destroyed him.

 

Hi Buddy.
Excellent picks, was going to post on the Ambers/Armstrong fight myself, you have saved me the bother, also saw this quote in an old Ring mag re: Garcia " caring managers kept their fighters away from Garcia " also lots of contrasting views on whether Griffith was the same after the fateful Paret fight ?
stay safe bolo, always read your input, you have a insightful and informative take on our sport, as your posts indicate.

 

I think Bowe vs Holyfield 2: Holyfield won but all those substances to built muscles in order to deal with his arch-rival backfired and basically thrown him out from the peak he built. The 96/97 versions of Evan were sharp, but not like his former prime.

I'll argue, like Holmes said iirc, it was Shavers who took the last piece of soul from Alì and prolonged the problems Alì got in the second half of his life by Parkinson. Pyrrhic victory in every sense, as much as good Shavers was a scalp, Alì legacy was already built and his resume would be stacked even without him.