What is your definition of a 'bum'

Even I wouldn't say Ruiz is a "bum" - a fraud and cheater, yes; a regional level fighter, yes - but not a "bum."

Bums are basically tomato cans - guys like Eric Crumble, who show up to get knocked out:

www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=5316&cat=boxer

 

Never has a name been so apt

 

Someone who fights, gets jabbed, flops on the ground, gets counted out, gets up, collects their money, and goes home.

 

Wasted talent . never lived up to expectation. never made much out of a promising career... Failure from one time promise..

Calvin Brock fills that void really.........

 

bums = people who sit at home behind their computers eating burgers all day and think they have the right to critizes professional boxers.. of course as fans we should all have the right to have opinions on certain things. but we need to realize that these are all guys who step up early every morning and working their ass off to make a living of what they love.. boxing! and whoever don't like it, why watch it?

 

There are way too many good fighters referred to as bums but there are some with good records who deserved to be called bums because of their attitude - for example the numerous heavyweights ( with a fair amount of talent ) who show up out of shape with their fat guts sticking out - these lazy underachievers could be referred to as bums.

 

I dunno if a sub-par record means that you're a bum. Fighters like Reggie Strickland and Benji Singleton have awful records, but generally go the distance. I wouldn't classify them as bums. Bums pretty much have no chance at all of going the distance, or even of having moments against even mediocre fighters.

Eric Crumble pretty much epitomizes the term as far as I'm concerned.

 

You don't think a fighter who has a sub par record and can't even beat journeyman are bums? I draw the line at losing continuously to journeyman. If you can hang with some and beat a couple, then you are at least club fighter level.

 

Excellent post. I hate this and I hate people who call boxers cowards as well.:-(

 

No, because in some cases, like Strickland's for example, the fighter can display some measure of ability, even in a losing cause. Fighters whose record indicates NO trace of ability would fit the bill.

 

Spider Rico was a bum.

 

eric crumble?

 

Lack of talent doesn't mean you are a bum if you work hard and do your best.
I would much sooner lable a lazy under-achiever as a bum

 

That would be an exception to the rule. However, looking at his record and who has fought, I would call him a high level bum like fighter. I have never seen him fight, so I would refrain from saying so. But he has losses that are pretty dubious and has as far as I can see, never beaten even a journeyman level fighter.

Either way, we have different definitions of a bum. And I am talking about bum as a classification of a fighter, not an adjective. I prefer to call them low level club fighters. But the thread asked for bums.

 

I think it's disrespectful to call a fighter a bum just because he doesn't win too often. Often a fighter with a record of say, 12 wins and 79 losses is anything but a bum. They are the sort of fighters who are always in shape and are willing to fight at extremely short notice.
Fighters who feign injury or go down from punches that didn't quite land are the bums in my book. Golota was a bum when he quit against Tyson for no good reason.