Greats Without A True "Career Defining Win"

another one coming to mind is jimmy wylde

 

Marvin Hagler owes Thomas Hearns a lot. Marvin's whole career and greatness is shaped by the Hearns fight. There is no way it isn't. He would not have been remembered much had he just beaten Vito and Hamsho and Roldan. He needed the big win over a legend. He got it. In a way Hearns had more great wins than Hagler. Cuevas,Benitez,Duran and Hill. But make no mistake about it, Hagler won in a great fight against a fellow legend. Holmes had Cooney.

 

I'm not sure Cooney can be considered a career defining fight, so arguably Holmes doesn't have 1 and maybe thats why he was under appreciated.

In retrospect Burley has career defining wins but Im not sure they were considered career defining at the time

The Klit bros suffer from no career defining wins

 

You could make a case that the 2nd victory over Valdez was Monzon's career defing win, as well as his 15 decision over Briscoe in '72.

 

Mayweather has both Corrales and Hatton

 

Exactly. So Mayweather is one we can definitely put down as lacking a career-defining win then.

 

How on earth can you include Jones (who dominated Toney when Toney was p4p#2) or Toney (who knocked out the 36-0 Nunn in Nunn's backyard when Nunn was highly rated p4p and held wins over Kalambay, Curry, Barkley, Tate, Starling, etc)???

 

From recent times, I'd go with: both Klitschkos, Calzaghe, R.Lopez, Mayweather, JM Marquez... and maybe even Oscar De La Hoya (who deserved big wins vs Tito and Mosley, but was unfairly denied them).

 

Emile Griffith. He is a good choice for this thread btw.

Bubi Scholz.

 

archie moore

 

Jones has Toney and Toney's win over Michael Nunn is a great one IMO.

 

Julio Cesar Chavez.

Pernell Whitaker.

 

Chavez: Taylor

Whitaker: Chavez (if you know how to score a fight, that is)

 

Taylor was not career defining. Whitaker was already in consideration for beeing a great before Chavez. Great wins but not career defining.

 

if you were around to experience the way taylor was thought of and spoken of in the late 80s, and to experience the build-up to that fight, you would understand that taylor was a career-defining win for jcc. before chavez got to him, taylor was viewed as a better fighter than whitaker.

whitaker was indeed already considered a great before chavez, but what difference does that make?? :huh hagler was considered a great mw champion before hearns, but hearns was still undoubtedly the defining moment of his career. a fighter can have his career-defining win after he has already had a very successful career, of course he can. are you trying to say that if pac beat mayweather now or if mayweather beat pac, that it would not be a career-defining fight because they are already great fighters?? that's dumb.