It happens. When the immovable object gets blasted by the irresistible force there can be a cerebral effect that takes place where suddenly, a fighter can't take a shot anymore. It also happened to Sean O'Grady against Andy Ganigan, John Tate against Weaver, Pipino Cuevas against Hearns, etc.
While I agree in general the irresistible force that ruined John Tate was cocaine and a terrible manager.
Bramble was riding high after the Mancini fights and beating Tyrone Crawley .. he twice beat up a very tough and good if not great Mancini in front of huge audiences and in addition was a colorful character .. he was thought to be a monster, impervious to pain and looked it taking Mancini's best shots without budging ... then Rosario , an underdog going in based on the Ramirez fights and despite the Camacho showing rocked his world , decimated him and he was never the same ...
Scartissue is correct about the seemingly unbreakable chin being finally broken, and I would only add that there is a mental thing probably happening there too. He now KNEW that he could be hurt. He also went up in weight later, and didn't have the kind of power that resonates to compensate for being the smaller man moving up.
Crawley was a talented boxer but had no power, Mancini was a come forward brawler with decent power but was not a puncher. Bramble was able to match up well against them due to his physical strength and defence. Rosario was on the other hand was pure puncher and cracked Brambles chin and confidence in which he never recovered from. Although Bramble did have a good performance after vs Oba Carr which he should've won.
I have a friend who was a journeyman heavyweight who once told me, in discussing his career, ‘All I can say is it’s different after you’ve been knocked out … because you KNOW you can be knocked out.”
Its like being super popular and then being turned down by a romantic love. This is something both men and woman can tell you. It shakes your confidence.
Didn’t he do a Ring Magazine ‘Best I’ve faced’ interview a few years back where he seemed to be in complete denial about what happened in the Rosario fight? He insisted that Rosario thumbed him in the eye and he only dropped to the canvas and stayed down because he couldn’t see out of the eye. He seemed to gave Rosario no credit at all like it was his only way of coping with the loss even after more than 30+ years later.
Yes i heard that! Its like the boxers who dont admit that a first-round ko loss was your most difficult opponent! LOL
Honestly I just don’t think Bramble was ever really that good. He was entertaining to watch because he had a good punch and liked to mix it up. But his wins over Mancini were largely due to the fact that he was facing a man whose head just wasn’t in the game anymore. I think killing a guy in the ring does a lot to mess with a person’s psyche and I don’t think Ray ever forgave himself for that.
I have actually seen Bramble spar in person and let me tell you he is very strong physically and he had a cement chin. I do think he was stronger at lightweight and moving up didn't do him any favors. I was told he was a pain to work with in trying to make a bout and often would price himself out of many fights. I also got the impression he didn't train the way he should. When he fought Tony Martin he was signed to fight JC Chavez latter that year if he won vs Martin. He was winning the fight and around the 4/5 round injured his left shoulder and couldn't really throw his left. He ended up dropping a decision and lost out on the Chavez fight.
