Jesse Ferguson - The Ultimate Journeyman?

Who fought all the following?

Carl "Truth" Williams, Razor Ruddock, Pierre Coetzer, Tony Tucker, Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas, Johnny DuPlooy, Mike Weaver, Oliver McCall, Gary Mason, George Foreman, Alex Stewart, Tommy Morrison, David Bey, and Bert Cooper among others. And he actually beat one of these fellows.

 

Ferguson was a step above a journeyman. He was just lazy and inconsistent, but a good fighter. Probably could have accomplished more if he was managed better.

 

Jesse Ferguson wasn't a bad fighter to be honest. In fact, he looked like he had a fair amount of potential and as Russell has already pointed out, he won some pretty decent fights. I actually enjoyed watching some of his game efforts growing up. He had a pretty good hook, decent power, average chin, and a lot of heart. His skills weren't that bad either. He might have been a little better had his career been managed differently, but who knows.

 

Everybody's favorite victim (except Razor Ruddock's)...

Dave Jaco!

 

Jesse Ferguson was a good fighter but from around 1987 - 1991 he was working predominantly as a sparring partner for many of the big names. A look at his record shows he was fairly "inactive" in those years but he was probably boxing hundreds of rounds a year with top heavyweights.
I guess he made a better living that way. Boxing is a cut-throat business and some shrewd talented fighters probably make the right choice becoming sparring partners and "trial horse" opponents rather than be too ambitious and get screwed and end up in a worse place.

 

Ross Puritty, surely?

A 'who's who' of heavyweights, most losses but also the draw against Morrison and wins against Gonzalez and Wlad.

If we're talking journeymen that fought a lot but lost to all the known names then it's always one guy that springs to mind for me, have gloves will travel - Big Tuna himself, Marcus Rhode.

 

Jesse was a legend.

 

When it comes to Mike Jameson, I have the image stuck in my head of Bruno wobbling him with a left hook, then blasting him with an uppercut as he was falling. Highlight-reel KO for Bruno there.

 

Dave Jaco?

 

I believe Bowe was criticized for giving Jesse Ferguson a title shot, but I was always glad he did. Jesse beat Mercer prior to that, and I believe cracked the top 10-15. Why not take him as an optional defense of the title for Bowe. Ferguson paid his dues.

I remember Mercer supposedly trying to bribe Ferguson mid-fight to take a dive. There was a situation in the Ferguson-Holmes fight where Ferguson tagged and hurt Holmes. Holmes immediately clinched and whispered something to Ferguson. Holmes was in line to fight McCall for the title at that point. Always wondered if Holmes was pulling a Mercer there. Happens around the 8:40 mark of the video...

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Peter McNeeley might be the luckiest journeyman/tomato can ever dude got to fight Tyson on a PPV. He also his own commercial.

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In 1991, Jesse Ferguson (17-5) fought Oliver McCall (17-4) in Atlantic City on ESPN.

IIRC, the fight was made on short notice because another fight fell out. Both were journeymen who promoters had on speed dial (before there was speed dial, just an expression) as short-notice fill-ins because they’d fight anybody, anywhere, anytime if they money was right. Each would, of course, go on to fight for the heavyweight title (one successfully) but at the time they weren’t really regarded as prospects.

The story goes — and I’m pretty sure this was related on the broadcast — that they were in camp together where they were both sparring partners with some big name, I forget who. Well ESPN tracks down where Ferguson is and finally gets a number and calls him and says they want him to fight McCall. Jesse says sure. They ask him if he thinks McCall would fight him.

Jesse: Why don’t you ask him and hands the phone to McCall. They were playing cards together when the call came, haha. McCall of course says yes and ends up winning the decision.

 

Jesse certainly did take his foot off the gas after the little 'discussion'.