I remember the sage Gil Clancy giving examples as a color analyst for CBS from time to time of fighters whom, in his view, had improved by virtue of the fact they had won world titles. Can you think of any examples of this, or do you think it's more a case of these fighters simply being better than most (including Clancy) may have realized? Is it really possible to become a better fighter overnight that way? I know boxing is hugely psychological, but.......
"World title" has been a misnomer for decades now, but that doesn't mean the titlist believes it is anything less. With that in mind, I submit Iran Barkley (whose performance in the fight after Hearns I was his best ever, despite the loss) and James Toney.
there are so many fighters that lose their championship in their very first defense, I don't know what to think of this, it probably depends on the individual
See, those are actually two examples I'd use to illustrate the other argument, that they were both actually better than many suspected going in, rather than suddenly becoming great simply because they now had a belt.
Clancy said that about Qawi then Braxton during his second fight with Saad Muhammad. he remarked that sometimes winning a world title can make a fighter better by 20 percent, people see him walk down the street and yell "Hey champ!"
