Name a fighter that was knocked out before he made it big ???

fury got dropped by nobody nevin pajkic who fought once more afterwards, then retired.

 

whoops, misread the title of the thread. thought it said got knocked down, not knocked out. my mistake.

 

Trevor Berbick getting KO'd in the first round by Bernardo Mercado.

 

nelson went to south africa as a crusierweight against a heavyweight in sanders and lost on points

i was at the akinwande v nelson fight took place in my local boxing venue bethnal green
crap fight nelson was again about 203lb fighting 6.7 akinwande and nelson fought only to survive and lost on points.

 

Ah got ya.

 

Benn was already a big star in Britain when he was stopped by Watson in `89.

 

Maybe, it was a bit before my time to be honest. Suppose it's similar to the Khan situation really, there was obviously a buzz about him, but his most significant achievements in the ring came later.