Most Protected Fighters

Roy Jones jr. There are more .good fighters he avoided than fought in his prime.
Hate to say it because I was a big fan when he was quasi-champ-but Ray Mancini. After Arguello he just fought 2nd tier and hid behind the wba. Kim was a great fight and tradgedy was terrible. But if yr champ then fight the best. Pintor fought Davila after Owens! Ray was a big enough star to hold off the wba for a fight vs real lightweight contenders. Bogner? Bramble? The bum from Peru? What about Davis Camacho Blake Ramirez rematch. There were a lot in 83-84 & Ray hid behind the wba. Rosario unification. I rooted for Ray then and would of wanted him to win but after a while it was embaressing. Then nothing Bramble beats him and is then destroyed in 2. Nah, Mancini needs to own his terrible reign.

 

Yes , Bowe is a ridiculous shout on this thread.Golota was no mug either.

 

Bruno ( apart from the McCall fight and the 4 he lost).

 

I think it’s way too easy to write off the JL Ramirez win as ‘not yet peak’ — he had lost a VERY disputed split decision to Arguello (knocking Alexis down in the process) less than a year earlier and was 67-2. Not exactly a neophyte.

The ONLY evidence that Ramirez wasn’t yet up to form is that he lost to Mancini. He had cleaned out the competition at lightweight in Mexico (and was Mexican champ) and had ventured out beyond the border of his native country — several times in LA and once in Miami. I don’t know if he was world-ranked yet but he was obviousy in the NABF rankings and was considered a guy to avoid (left-handler, good punch, good chin, great stamina).

You have to credit this overwhelmingly one-sided win for Boom Boom. To detract from it or dismiss it is not really intellectually honest IMO.

 

Also its absurd to call Brian Mitchell "protected". He fought nearly all his title fights right in the other guy's backyard.

 

I agree entirely. You'll notice I said AFTER Arguello

 

Andre Ward. He never fought outside his hometown. Not sure if that falls under protected, but it sure is pathetic.

 

He was sure protected by the refs and judges in Las Vegas s

 

Wilder
LaMar Clark
Roland LaStarza
Faruq Saleem
Brian Nielsen
Gennady Golovkin
Apparently Pryor
Tommy Burns
Andre Ward
Sven Ottke
Lennox Lewis (imo)

 

Lololololoololollmaololollmfaool

 

Ive been in & around boxing almost 40 years & I have NEVER seen a more protected boxer than Floyd Mayweather jr
He should have at least FOUR losses on his record but when you have the State Commission. USADA & Vegas boxing officials in his pocket for every fight he had in Vegas No honest fighter could beat those odds
Now he's gone Canelo has taken over the cash cpw mantle as we all can see

 

Low blows were legal in his fights...as long as it was Ward throwing them.

 

At least four? LOL

 

For sure it’s fair to scrutinize Boom Boom’s path after Arguello, but up to that point I’d say he more than paid his dues — Ramirez, Morales, Al Ford, Johnny Summerhays, etc. ... a lot of guys had earlier paths to establish themselves than that.

 

In the last 25 years or so, EASILY Paul Spadafora.

His team kept him farrrr away from the elite lightweights of his time.

What's hilarious is, Spadafora was constantly calling out Floyd, living off the fact that he beat an outta shape Floyd in a pointless sparring session.

But then Top Rank/HBO actually offered Spaddy a million to fight Floyd, and he turned it down.

He was actually a decent technician and his clinic on Pito Cardona was impressive, but he never again reached that level and his opposition went downhill after winning the title.