What boxers had the "wasted potential" or "If only..." careers?

Terry Norris - he had too many sparring wars, over-trained & had a foul temperament in the ring, known for constantly fouling opponents when knocked down (Leonard, Waters, Santana amongst other etc...). He was DQ'd 2x for the same opponent (Santana) for blatantly hitting on the break. From all the sparring wars he had, punishment in the ring & big fight opportunities squandered (he was promised a Dela Hoya fight, but was knocked out by a fringe contender) - he suffered neurological problems & it hindered his career - retiring at a mere 30 years old.

 

Packey McFarland. Had he been given a title shot, he wouldn't have retired so young. And tbh, if he was given one, he could still well be holding it today!

 

Pretty much any one of the 1980s heavyweights who got ripped off by Don King qualify: Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon etc. They all fell short because of substance abuse, laziness, etc. but having really read up on King, I'm convinced that his manipulative, bullying managerial style was the root cause of those problems. Don was such a P.O.S. it's crazy.


I also often wonder how much more Vernon Forrest would have accomplished if not for his shoulder injury. That injury kept him out for two years and prevented us from seeing him in fights with some quality guys at 154.

 

Camacho of he hadn't burned himself out.
Curry if he would have listened to his body and moved up.
MCcallum if he would have stopped trying to be his own manager and pricing himself out of bouts.
O'Grady if he would have gotten away from his dad.
Kalambay if he would have been based in the US or another country that was big on boxing would have had a bigger career.
Breland if he had stayed with Steward.
Norris if he would have stopped trading so much and used his speed to box more wouldn't have about 5 of those losses on his record.
Pryor if he had someone looking out for him.
Nunn if he could have kept away from his hometown.
Mcguigan if he wouldn't have been in a rush to be seen in the US.

 

Obviously a great career still but it would have answered some more questions if Tyson never went to prison.

 

Ramos-may have been champ if his love life and drugs had not intervened.
Tucker-injuries and his father as manager derailed what should've been a great career.
Davis jr- Father as trainer and nice guy personality hurt him as a boxer, though class act as a person.

 

Francisco Bojado.

If he had been more attentive to his training and to developing, rather than his image, I think he would have gone further. Sometimes I think the hype that comes in with certain decorated amateurs(the expectations) ends up being more of a distraction than a help. Maybe sometimes they believe in their own invincibility, rather than working harder than the rest to achieve it? Who knows?

Nothing is handed to anyone, it has to be worked for.

 

some others
Ray leonard - retina
Sanchez - death
Pep - plane crash
Tapia - drugs
Pac Man - lost focus FAST .. you know the story
Harry Wills - avoided
Maybe Valdez - Hand injury
Maybe Mancini -
ALI !! ---- man.. 4 more years of a PRIME !.. wow

so many to name

 

Hard to say.

He retired because he lost motivation (having made plenty of money), and was coming in completely overweight by the end, if anything winning the title would have made that worse, there's certainly precedent for that. Though maybe the extra boost of being champion would have got him to continue.

 

I think Luther McCarty would've likely become champion had he not died so young. Hard to say how far he'd have gone, he may have peaked young, or he may have had a really high ceiling.
Les Darcy, another early death, has some impressive wins for someone so young
Georges Carpentier I see as having a lot of lost potential, having a 5 year layoff when he should have been really coming into his own due to WWI

 

Wilfred Benitez, he was a young champion at 140 lbs, at age 17, defeated Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes on March 6 1976 to claim the WBA title. Won the WBC 147 lb title defeating champion Carlos Palomino on Jan 14 1979 by a split decision. After defending his title against Harold Weston Jr, he was stopped by Sugar Ray Leonard in round 15 on Nov 30 1979, losing his title. Benitez moved up to 154 lbs, and knocked out WBC champion Maurice Hope in round 12 in May 1981. Wilfred defended against Roberto Duran in Jan 1982 but lost his title later to Thomas Hearns on points. Managerial problems with his father Gregorio and lack of enthusiasm ended his career. He could have soared into greatness.

 

Bernard Mays if he doesnt become an alcoholic and continues his training at the Kronk. By all accounts ive read everyone thought very highly of his skills. I was going to list some others but this guy is usually held in pretty high regards as a great could of been.

 

Gypsy Joe Harris and his eye.

I think Edwin Rosario got into drugs and a bad lifestyle very young and though he still accomplished a lot he’d have done much more.