Fights that Took the Prime Out of One or Both of the Boxers Involved

Taylor-Chavez
Lacy-Calzaghe
Vargas-Trinidad
Benn-McClellan (both, but obviously McClellan more so)

 

Joe Frazier was never the same again after he waded through hell in the first fight with Muhammad Ali.

 

Marquez Vasquez springs to mind

 

Pryor vs Arguello #1 both fighters would never look as sharp again. Compounding the problem for Pryor was after the fight, he got lost roaming the streets of Liberty City in Miami looking for his next "Crack " fix.

 

Hamsho beat whatever was left of Benitez into the grave when they fought.

 

Razor Ruddock’s fights with Tyson. He was never the same after those fights.

 

Also, Brewster vs Liakhovich

 

Golota showed himself to be a top 5 contender against Bowe (both times). Not sure if those fights took it out of him (Bowe was of course past it) or he just kind of gave up during them.

 

You could say that Buster Douglas beat the prime out of Mike Tyson. Most would say that Tyson reached the pinnacle of his best against Michael Spinks and never again quite managed to match the faultless efficiency and ruthlessness of that performance but it was only after the defeat and the nature of that punishing defeat that literally no one, not even his biggest fans, ever mentioned him as being prime Tyson again post Douglas. So going strictly by that narrative, Buster did literally beat the prime out of Mike.

 

James Bashir said on a podcast that Mike Tyson was never the same after the two fights with Ruddock. Those two wars ended both guys primes

 

When he returned from jail, though, he was still fighting at a high level. Not quite as good as before Douglas beat him, but still looked great. Holyfield is the one who really ruined him. He was never the same after that first fight. You can tell Mike sort of thinks this too in how he talks about Holyfield. I get the feeling he sometimes wakes up from a nightmare in which he's starting round 11 of the first fight.

 

The fight with Harada was pretty much the last of Rose being able to beat the scales and his opponent convincingly enough with little doubt. Lionel did look sharp in with Rudkin though, I think he won that fair whatever the official ruling.

 

I saw two guys throw predicable shots all night and Ruddock did what he always did, load up occasionally and throw nothing worth while unless it was given to him on a plate. He did as little as possible and Tyson did what Tyson does and did as much as he needed to, to win out against a big durable guy who wasn’t going anywhere or pressing him hard enough.

 

Some on here say the second Patterson fight aged Sonny Liston about 25 years. He was never the same after it. Ali beat a ghost.