Was it considered a huge upset at the time? What led to it, exactly? Toney was pissing Nunn off at the weigh in and in the ring by taunting him, I believe. Was it considered the end of Nunn potentially being the next big thing?
I didn't see the fight live, but was totally shocked about the result. I don't remember teh line, but Nunn was a big favorite going in...and yeah, it did knock him off of the 'next big thing' pedestal.
It was a huge upset Nunn was consered the next big thing in the sport. It was also in Davenport Iowa Nunns home town.
At the time, I knew Toney was a promising, young fighter from Detroit trained by Bill Miller. But I hadn't seen him fight. Nunn was considered the next big thing and a lot of people were very high on him. Some were saying he had the athleticism and marketability of Leonard, while others were comparing him to a southpaw, less-powerful Hearns. Regarding Toney, I thought it was too early for him to step it up against a fighter of Nunn's caliber and expected him to be outclassed. I didn't actually see the fight, but I was extremely surprised (and happy with the result being a guy who has lived outside of Detroit most of my life). It ended the belief that Nunn was the next big boxing superstar.
Big upset yes, but it was quickly rationalized. Nunn from Barkley onwards had peaked and failed to build on the Tate/Roldan/Kalambay run and was becoming the bore (all be it an excellent bore) we feared he was going to be pre Tate. And a pre steroid Toney was a rather good fighter and underrated by everyone going in.
I've watched the clips from that on youtube a ton of times, I never tire of watching Toney put him away. Nunn was a pinhead, and was literally knocked off of "the next big thing" pedestal. He should've stayed down the first time, but his getting punched into the ropes then bouncing off them only to be punched again was pretty good for posterity's sake. 2nd to Nunn!
I was there. It was outdoors at the baseball stadium in Davenport Iowa right by the river. People were on the bridge watching the fight. You could subtly feel the tide turning by the late rounds, Toney was landing punches but was tiring bad. Then bam. Incredible. The whole place was just stunned. Nunn was pretty much a legend in the Quad Cities and Toney was just coming on the scene and was a substantial underdog. Great night, I'll never forget it.
I saw it "live" on TV...I think it was on at a odd time. Nunn had pretty much boxed his way to a big lead....Toney to me was outclassed....then Toney just cold-cocked Nunn from out of nowhere and took the title. Big upset.
Nunn had already made it. He'd beaten Tate and Starling and knocked out Curry and Kalambay. That night when Toney beat him was the end for him. He was never again in top shape and was never the same. Nunn had always had sort of a bad rep in Davenport, but he helped out the city with more visibility. Shame what happened to him.
Good point, he'd definitely already made it. I just never really liked him for some reason, and was glad when and how Toney beat him. Although, what's happened to him afterward is very regrettable.
Nunn hadn't looked too great against Marlon Starling either. Maybe he has peaked. Maybe he was struggling at the weight. The Nunn that fought Tate would have been too much for Toney
Nunn was only up a round on my score card. Nunn built up a lead, but had lost the last couple of rounds before he got knocked out.
