He turned out just like the Cuban heavys.They have a promising start but cant resist the good life that money provides. After coming from such poverty,who can blame them.
Bingo. I really think this is it. He got a belt, some money, little recognition and was living the good life. He came into the Vitali fight with nothing in the tank. Same thing last night - there was no fire. The Sam Peter from 2005 would have handled Chambers and probably have given Vitali a good contest, I believe.
Too much too soon for Sam. Too much hype, too much money, too much food etc. Honestly it takes a special sort of fighter to handle Don King's sort of hype machine and Peter wasn't it. People say "The Klistschkos broke him" but that's not the case. He was still a good heavy (by comparison to the rest of the division) after Wlad. Problem was that it was too much too soon with the weight and opponents. Step up in opponents + step up in weight=bad business.
That 2006 comeback fight against Julius Long was sorry-ass to the max..... If ever an opponent was brought in to lay down it was that 7' stiff named 'Long' on ESPN..... Peter has already been spoon fed too many bums and stiffs for record padding... YET! He'll return again with another quick KO over some hopeless melon farmer on ESPN by the summer........ MR.BILL
I think Vitali ruined his confidence and he wasn't the most confident guy to begin with. Plus, he got lazy. I mean 265?
I don't know how much of a difference Atlas would make. Pops Anderson is a decent trainer himself and Sam just seems to "yeah yeah" him to death in the corner. Not everyone is made for a tough guy act and Teddy Atlas' tough guy act would probably break Sam down around their 3rd fight together.
People are focusing on his weight when they should be focusing on his lack of skill. Peter, in shape, is just as unskilled as he as at a heavier weight.
He has decent handspeed, great power and an underrated repertoire offensively. Even though he's not the most skilled guy in the world, he's got enough tools to contend. The problem is he's lost the dedication, will and mental toughness to do that.
And thats where the Wlad fight comes in..In no way do I think Wlad ruined Peter, but I think that was the start of his confidence problem. When Wlad and Sam met, Sam was undefeated and "on top of the world" as they say. Thats was his 1st loss and I think he struggled with that. Then Toney fights which were very close (1st was..IMO toney won)..then the McCline fight, then Vitali... his mental state took alot of shots and his confidence is so far down its almost gone IMO
First, his great power does not impress me. If he lands, very good. But on most days, he is not going to come close against a skilled heavyweight. Decent handspeed? Meh - nothing that can upset elite boxers. And many more should have seen his loss of dedication coming a mile away. It is what happens when a guy earning big bucks maxes-out. I would have been shocked had he stayed at around 240lbs after the Wlad fight. Last, the "mental toughness" is just one of the many possible problems with Peter. I think people were too desperate for a savior.
Entirely possible. However if all it took was one loss to send Peter tumbling down to the brink of what he is now then he really wasn't much to discuss. The only thing that I'd point that counter acts your point is that his greatest career performance WAS post Wlad. I think the loss and the 2nd fight with Toney was what started this. Peter said "**** it, this is easy. I can just be this good and do this to everyone." Problem is it's never that easy.