Here we cite boxers destroyed mentally by one defeat

Yes he was never the same unfortunately.

 

Don Curry never looked like the smooth, virtually untouchable counter puncher with crippling power post Honeyghan.

Maybe it was the weight loss, maybe it was the vicious beat down, but something was gone.

 

Yeah I've heard that, yet in his ten fights prior to losing to Barrera, he was 10-0 (8), including a devastating KO of Augie Sanchez in his fight prior to Barrera.

Maybe his hands were bad, maybe he was just fat, unmotivated, and at that point, virtually untrainable

 

Hi mate. It's a good point you make. And valid. Specifically for Naz, yes he was a car crash waiting to happen at that point. Though I do feel the Barrera loss crystallized everything for him.

 

True enough - I guess you could say it woke him up to how finished he was...

To me that's not so much breaking him mentally, but maybe that's just me.


I don't quite know how I'd define a fight that breaks one of the fighters - and stays separate from waking someone up to the fact they're shot, or exposing someone who's hopelessly overhyped and stepping up, etc...

 

Trinidad after Hopkins
Broner after maidana

 

interesting one here- even though these were two wins due to disqualification, bowe was never the same after his golota fights. even with out the nut shots, golota manhandled bowe in both fights. he quit after the second fight and then tried to make a comeback a few years later.

 

Wonder what happens when Usyk"s bubble is burst.

 

Disagree with those.

AJ wasn't destroyed mentally by Ruiz. He always believed it was a lucky shot and then he won the rematch. He was destroyed mentally in the rematch with Usyk. He had the perfect camp and strategy and it still wasn't enough. He was then surrounded by yes men and fan boys who felt he was on a great run despite his best win being Wallin lol.

Price wasn't destroyed mentally by Hamer. He was destroyed mentally by the rematch with Thompson. That's when he realised he didnt belong at that level.

 

No he didn't. Get over the fact that everybody knows it was a robbery, and a fake win. It's ok, it happens.

 

Scared? He won pretty much every round easily.

He always believed Ruiz fluked ot hence why he was never bothered

 

Sod it, why not...

This will sound dark, and it is, but that's the dark side of the sport.

Gman after Benn.

We can talk about fighters who get humbled and never perform as well again, guys who get exposed, guys who get a wake up call to how shot they are... And yes, it changes something, but mostly it's either retirement, stepping right back in level or losing their fear factor and/or confidence.

But when it comes to being truly "mentally destroyed", it's guys who take permanent injuries and whose lives are irrevocably changed who are the true answer to the question - most other answers would be hyperbole at best and ridiculous at worst, by comparison.