Poorest Title Fight Performances

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by young griffo, Nov 18, 2008.


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  1. young griffo

    young griffo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I just watched Douglas-Holyfield again today and I must say I was seriously underwhelmed by Buster's conditioning,effort and performance,especially in a title fight.

    It got me wondering what were some of the other poorer title fight efforts that there's been?

    I'm not looking for fighters who got caught flush and stopped early because it's boxing and stuff like that happens.

    What I'm after is fighter's who for whatever reason let themselves and their fans down by their undeachieving efforts when they could clearly have done better.

    Examples of fighters quitting,coming in fat,being scared or being generally disappointing in title fights is what I'm after.

    Any examples spring to mind?
     
    young griffo, Nov 18, 2008
    young griffo, Nov 18, 2008
    #1
  2. stonerose

    stonerose Guest

    akinwande v lewis
    tyson v holyfield 2
    manfredo v calzaghe :D
     
    stonerose, Nov 18, 2008
    stonerose, Nov 18, 2008
    #2
  3. daredevil1989

    daredevil1989 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    peter klitschko
    seldon tyson
     
    daredevil1989, Nov 18, 2008
    daredevil1989, Nov 18, 2008
    #3
  4. doug.ie

    doug.ie 'Classic Boxing Society' Full Member

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    sam peters...that was a terrible showing by a champion
     
    doug.ie, Nov 18, 2008
    doug.ie, Nov 18, 2008
    #4
  5. DamonD

    DamonD Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Are we talking the defending champion's performance, or the challenger as well?

    If the former, Seldon - Tyson has to pretty much take the cake. Can't get much worse than that.
     
    DamonD, Nov 18, 2008
    DamonD, Nov 18, 2008
    #5
  6. AlFrancis

    AlFrancis Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I'm his biggest fan but of got to say Duran Leonard 2.
    What a disappointment.
     
    AlFrancis, Nov 18, 2008
    AlFrancis, Nov 18, 2008
    #6
  7. natonic

    natonic Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Tim Witherspoon vs Bonecrusher Smith. He got caught early but he was out of shape and unmotivated.
     
    natonic, Nov 18, 2008
    natonic, Nov 18, 2008
    #7
  8. TBooze

    TBooze Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Frank Bruno was a disgrace the night he defended his title against Tyson.
     
    TBooze, Nov 18, 2008
    TBooze, Nov 18, 2008
    #8
  9. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker

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    I don't think Bruno was a disgrace ... I think he got destroyed by a very motivated Tyson who always had his number ....

    Sticking with poor performances by champs ....

    Sullivan - Corbett
    Dempsey - Tunney 1
    Baer - Braddock
    Liston - Ali 1
    Foreman - Ali
    Lewis - McCall 1
    Bowe - Holyfield 2
    Witherspoon - Thomas
    Qwai-Spinks
    Monzon-Griffin 2
    Hagler-Duran
    Ali - Lyle
    Ali - Evangelista
    Ali - Norton 3
    Ali - Young

    off the top of my head ...
     
    he grant, Nov 18, 2008
    he grant, Nov 18, 2008
    #9
  10. young griffo

    young griffo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Another one was Kirk Johnson coming in at about 260 pounds for his fight with Vitali Klitschko and being subsequently destroyed in 2.

    Although from memory that was only a title fight eliminator so I guess Kirk doesn't count in this thread.

    Greg Richardson fought like he was absolutely petrified of Jeff Fenech when they met for Fenech's Jnr Feather title.It was a shameful display as Richardson ran and ran and ran,offering little to no offense before meekly folding in the 5th.
     
    young griffo, Nov 18, 2008
    young griffo, Nov 18, 2008
    #10
  11. AussieMauler

    AussieMauler Relative Unknown Full Member

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    I love to read this classic stuff and rarely post.

    It is not big on a world stage but Stipe Drews VS Danny Green for the light heavy strap 18 months ago or so.

    Stipe took one jab to the face and decided it was safer running for the remaining 35mins and 49 seconds.

    weakest performance by a defending champion i have ever witnessed.

    Secondly i dont think Danny Green was exactly champion material. Just a solid contender
     
    AussieMauler, Nov 18, 2008
    AussieMauler, Nov 18, 2008
    #11
  12. SteveO

    SteveO MSW Full Member

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    The Douglas defense was pretty horrific.

    I've seen a few documentaries in which his trainers said that he was having pizza sent to the gym on a frequent basis.
     
    SteveO, Nov 18, 2008
    SteveO, Nov 18, 2008
    #12
  13. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    The 80's heavyweight simultaneously had amazing performances (Page against Coetzee) to ones that made you roll your eyes in disgust (Bowe KO 1 Dokes!)
     
    Russell, Nov 18, 2008
    Russell, Nov 18, 2008
    #13
  14. WhataRock

    WhataRock Loyal Member Full Member

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    What about Mijares in the Darchinyan fight?

    Absolutely no gameplan, not in it from the start, utterly destroyed despite all the hype on him.

    Throws nearly 700 in 9 rounds against Arce but cant even manage half that against Vic in the same timeframe.
     
    WhataRock, Nov 18, 2008
    WhataRock, Nov 18, 2008
    #14
  15. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    Yeah, I haven't seen that fight yet but I'm wondering where all the Mijares is God bull**** stemmed from as of now.
     
    Russell, Nov 18, 2008
    Russell, Nov 18, 2008
    #15
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