Opposite Career Trajectories - Loser Up, Winner Down

I suppose maybe Trinidad-Mayorga fits the bill...kind of. :think

Trinidad definitely went downhill, copping that beating from Wright and then laying low until un-retiring to get schooled by a shot RJJ for a paycheck (to his credit he at least seemed to try, but damn...an embarrassing effort).

Mayorga's career didn't exactly skyrocket, but it wasn't terrible...and he did go on to headline numerous PPVs.

True, he went .500 over his next six - but the three losses were to elites and they weren't the same kind of beating Trinidad took from Wright (or Jones).

Let's break it down:

Win over Piccirillo for a vacant title. OK, not bad. Whatever

Loss to DLH on PPV. Fairly competitive until the stoppage. Made DLH break a sweat, and really work for it. Not a worse loss than either of Tito's, really.

Win over Vargas on PPV. Shot, fat Vargas..but he still beat him up and was above his peak weight and past prime himself. OK, again - not bad.

Loss to Mosley on HBO. Very competitive until the stoppage, and he honestly wasn't too far off from winning. No shame in this one. Much better account given of himself than those by Trinidad in his losses after they met.

Win over Walker on Don King card, not on American TV. Eh. He didn't look very good at this point. Pretty bad actually. :conf A win's a win, I guess?

Loss to Cotto on PPV. Pretty decisively outboxed until the stoppage, but had Cotto retreating at times and seemed to be "in it" all the way. This was also nowhere near the tooling Wright-Trinidad was.


One guy's career went in the shitter, and the other guy's kept on the same up-and-down trajectory it had already been on (adding a HOF name to his resume, as well as a claim to a title in one more division).

So yeah, I'd say it qualifies.

 

Hmm. I don't know. :think

Cotto went on to lose once (to one of the best fighters in the world...even if it was supposed to be a size mismatch) - and then went up a division to snatch and then defend a title.

Clottey went on to lose to the exact same guy Cotto lost to, taking less damage but fighting in an extremely negative and almost cowardly manner. He's done jack all else since (except fall down, hurt himself, and withdraw from a meaningless fight that wasn't even going to be televised anyway).

I'm going to have to reject that one. :yep

Were you kidding? Or maybe you didn't understand the thread's objective? It isn't about stock or perception of the winner/loser falling/rising directly after their encounter. It's about whose career improves, and whose declines. In your example, I'd have to say Clottey's continued to decline while Cotto's suffered a slight setback but then got back on track.

 

That one's pretty close. :thumbsup

The only problem is that after the Tszyu upset, Phillips put together a couple more nice wins before he began to slide.

 

Denver Cuello and Pit Anacaya!

They met in their mutual pro debut and Pit emerged triumphant...but Cuello would end up getting the best of him, 2-1-1 in a tetralogy. He also would become a contender for years (and was close to being the #1 guy at straw before the Zhong upset), while Pit would rack up a mere 4-21 record after their rivalry's completion. :!: