The Single Highest Expectations Ever On A Fighter

Yeah I thought it was that ***.

 

Wasn't Audley Harrison supposed to be pretty damn big?

 

I do not like him, but I will give this:

Ray Leonard arguably had the highest expectations on him, as he was chosen to lead boxing post Ali.

Now granted in turned out boxing in the 80s was arguably the strongest (across the classic eight) the sport ever knew. With worldwide household names due to Network TV coverage in the USA, and for the first time super fights being shown in Europe.

He had the help of three others, but Leonard did live up to the hype and was the generally considered fighter of the decade.

 

Tommy Hearns. Before he even won his first title at welterweight, he was projected as having the potential to win championships all the way to light heavyweight. In 1979, this was an awesome expectation to place on somebody so young and light. SRL surpassed what was originally projected for him, while many others underachieved. What's amazing to me is that Tommy actually measured up to this then ridiculous speculation.

Breland was heavily hyped while an amateur, but I don't recall him being projected as a future light heavyweight champion. Howard Davis, Jr. was also widely promoted, but not beyond the lightweight class, and I don't remember him being taken as a serious title threat while Duran was still champion in the division.

Don Curry's chin was always suspect, thanks to brother Bruce, so that lowered expectations for him a little bit. I don't remember the Cobra being touted as having championship potential above 147, especially after he got decked by Jun-Suk Hwang, and won the first Starling fight only because Marlon clowned their match away.

I'm pretty comfortable with chosing Hearns for this distinction. However, I have also read clips from the late 1930s and early 1940s about SSR, and they make it pretty clear that Robby was recognized as something really special from the get-go. (This early attention makes the dearth of footage from the peak Sugar Ray all the more baffling.)

 

Well, I purged myself of an awful lot of boxing related thoughts over the first several months after I joined ESB, have had bronchitis for most of the spring (so I haven't felt much like posting), and where classic boxing is concerned I've been enjoying a lot of footage on-line of matches I had previously only heard of, or been able to read about or ask others about. Rest assured though, I've been around.

I've been much impressed with the passionate interest and curiosity you have sustained over the time I've been a member here. (Me, I get obsessed with something for a relatively brief spell, then drop it completely to move onto some other interest.)

 

what about wilfredo benitez not only pressure from the boxing world but from his father

 

James J Jeffries for his fight with Jack Johnson, huge expectation on him in that fight

 

Tyson had massive expectations. When he beat Spinks, he was expected to KO/dominate each and every opponent and basically be the greatest fighter ever. He didnt quite do this.

Ali put massive expectations on himself with his greatest ever proclamations. Amazingly, he largely lived up to those expections.

John L, was expected to KO his opponent in 4 rounds in nearly every fight. And he did in nearly every fight. Absolutely amazing expectations and performance.

These are the three biggest expectations i can think of.

 

That was probably due to him having just 4 fights when Duran left the Lightweight division. There was HUGE expectations on him, he won fighter of the 76 (i think) Olympics ahead of such freaks as SRL and Michael Spinks among others. He was thought of as a "can't miss".

Great post tho, required reading. How could i forget my own fave

For some silly reason i was only thinking of those that didn't meet their expections. I definitely wasn't thinking outside the box.

 

Good call with Tyson, he was meant to break every record going. It wasn't just the way he fought and the knockouts he had, it was also because he was so young. He was only 23 when he lost to Douglas, people expected him to be The Man until 30 or something.

 

Wasn't into boxing at the time but wasn't there huge expectations for Fernando Vargas?

 

You're absolutely right about Hearns. I had not thought of it until I read your post, but I remember Steward stating on television that Tommy would win titles all the way up to 175. That was before he even had his first title.

 

Mark Breland, Greg Page, and Howard Davis Jr. Possibly Bernard Taylor.