How was Corrie Sanders perceived during his times?

Ironically he was champ in that one and Rahman was challenging him for the WBU belt

 

I actually got to see him fight live once in Oklahoma City on a Jeff Lacy undercard. He was known as a huge puncher but seemed to have a hard time getting big fights. Lots of talent but an overall underwhelming career.

 

I had never heard of him until the Wlad fight tbh.

 

He was starting to be heavily hyped in hardcore boxing circles, especially after shellacking a still relevant Cooper. The train met a concussive stoppage when he completely flamed out against Nate Tubbs. There was a rebuilding project but not many believed in it. He had shaky moments against Garing Lane fer Christ Sake. Then about four years later his star began to rise in what seemed like a retread's last gasp but what was actually the best stretch of his career, his performances between Czyz and Vitali. Sure, he lost a couple but was very much in those fights.

All in all, an unrealized talent. Don King called him the greatest waste of talent during his time, and by that we can assume he meant money making talent.

 

I can’t speak for how others thought of him but when he was a prospect in the 90s, I always thought of him as more of an obscurity.

 

This is almost exactly how I remember him being looked at as well. I’d raise my eyebrow at some of his results because he would sometimes stop durable journeyman earlier than others would many times. I remember when Nate Tubbs knocked him cold in I believe 2 rounds, I thought well that’s it. The night he fought Wlad I spent the majority of the pre-fight telling my friends how amazing this Klitschko guy was only for him to get destroyed in 2 rounds!! Sanders did sting Vitali early in that fight (maybe round 1) but he gassed out and took a pretty good whooping. Big brother Vitali always eager to handle little brother Wlad’s conquerors.

 

No doubt Wlad was considered to be a heavyweight on the rise but was as much of a suspect as a prospect … he had been stopped by Ross Purrity already and there were questions at the time whether either brother had the heart or if they were just carefully-matched front-runners is how I remember it. Would they fold when the going got tough?

Those people who you say thought Wlad was a lock must have been surprised when Purrity stopped him, shocked when Sanders did it and outright died of heart attacks a year later when Lamon “Punky” Brewster did it yet again.

As for Sanders, I remember him being figured as an also-ran with a good record after Nate Tubbs, who had like two or three wins over fighters with winning records not named Corrie Sanders in his entire career, clobbered him. He would have a good record and be a solid opponent on paper for whichever top name got to claim his scalp, but I don’t think anyone had high expectations.

To me, Corrie is a one-hit wonder. He caught lightning in a bottle vs. Wlad and that win grew and grew in stature over time because Sanders looked so explosive and all the pieces came together for Klitschko and he became a dominant champion, but in the stretch from Purrity to Brewster he was clearly vulnerable. Funny Brewster doesn’t get the Sanders treatment when people discuss how good he was.

But the knock on Corrie was that he was lazy in training, not dedicated to boxing, would rather play a round of golf and drink a few beers than break a sweat in the gym. And on the whole, I think that’s pretty accurate. It takes more than talent at the top level, and while he may have had the talent he surely lacked the drive and the willingness to sacrifice.

His legacy isn’t as a boxer (or golfer), but as a man. He took bullets to save his daughter when thugs broke into a restaurant where they had a family gathering, shielding her with his own body — he literally gave his life for hers. That’s as admirable and brave and honorable a thing as any human being can do, and for that he deserves more respect than if he had knocked out all the Klitschkos and everyone else in the heavyweight division. #RIP.

 

I watched boxing back then and bought Ko and ring magazine regularly. But only saw or heard about him for the first time when he fought Rahman. And I was impressed, during the fight it was touched on that he was somewhat of a part time boxer which was impressive considering how good he was. And Rahman said after the fight he had never felt power like that or something along those lines.

But now days is better in many ways because they have many more of his fights on you tube and have watched them all. I enjoy his fighting style.

 

They started trying to make him more than he was when Vitali beat him. He became to Vitali what Tucker was to Tyson. That is also when the narrative that Lewis "ducked" him came along. Vitali fans loved to believe that there guy had tamed a super-sayan-southpaw that Lewis was afraid of.

All rubbish, or course.

In his time Sanders was perceived as a fun, skilled, but sub-elite guy, by those who knew him. He never had that much of a name until the WladKlit fight.

 

Yes, this is how I remember it. He'd got some good press here with BN (and Boxing Monthly) knocking a few tough fighters out, being a undefeated southpaw with a solid bang. The wins over Cooper who'd had those close un's with Holy and Moorer and Billups, as BCS8 mentioned, had just taken Lennox the distance and he'd just cracked the top 10 and, of course, had that '0', so he looked primed for a title shot if he kept up this progress. No so much in the US, as you said.

He was ranked top 10 earlier too. He was definitely top 10 with all the alphabets that mattered for a spell in 1994 (i.e. not the WBO) before being shocked by Tony's bro and he'd been as high as 5 or 6 with one of them, IIRC.

 

I must say that I watched his fight with Garing Lane and the only shaky moment was barely losing a round to Lane (7-1 for Corrie easily, never got stunned or hurt as well).

Otherwise a good post!

 

Another interesting fight was his complete blowout of very durable Alfred Cole in a minute.

Years later Al Cole went life and death with Hasim Rahman, losing a very close decision

 

Interesting fact: Corrie Sanders had a fight vs Nikolay Valuev scheduled for late April 2003 when he got a call from Wlad.

I have no doubt Sanders would've flattened that clumsy 7'0'' giant. If you watch how badly light-hitting skinny southpaw Jean Fransois Bergeron stunned Valuev in their fight, or how short southpaw and average puncher Chagaev dominated Valuev from pillar to post and won nearly every round... Sanders KO early

 

A very hard hitting but perhaps limited heavyweight, who came along in the long ago K Bros era.

 

Fun fact Corrie actually sparred with Valuev in South Africa and apparently set him on fire in the gym. I wish I had saved the quotes and links from back then because they are gone now. iirc Brian Mitchell was telling Sanders to take it easy because it was just sparring.