Which fighter got ruined most in their first defeat?

TBH, I wish there were more guys like him. He only lasted two rounds with JJ but it took a lot of balls to fight him then later face punchers like Castro and Mugabi(very faded but a big puncher still) and take them to school. Speaking of Castro, he gained a title above 154 as I said earlier and Norris fought and beat him prior to that. He beat a good bit of former champions and he could've done more but he did quite a bit for his time. Definitely one of my fav 154 pounders of recent times(not that still fights as Norris is retired, my fav currently is Cotto).

Norris was great for a few years and maybe the best 154 pounder of recent years. He deserves to be in the HOF when I look at more of him and his defenses/rebounds from losses(such as JJ, Brown 1, Santana twice).

 

Yeah he would smile while giving beatings as he did in Saad 2 and L. Spinks. Great fighter but mean in the ring.

 

Very much agree.

Also, the likes of Salvador Sanchez, Carl Thompson, Micheal Carbajal, Roberto Duran(tons of classics with other ATGs at the peak of their powers), Chang, Ray Mancini, Sumbu Kalambay are all boxsets I'm more than likely going to get at some point.

 

:good

Sanchez is one I have seriously considered getting, so many interesting fights. I saw a Koki Kameda one floating around that caught my eye aswell :yep.

 

mayweather after pac beats him :yep

 

I'd wait until the conclusion of his future HOF career, rather than just the beginning. Remember, his second best win is Diamante's left-overs.:yep

 

Fernando Vargas

 

Milton McCrory was never the same after Donald Curry put him to sleep.

Rubin Williams was undefeated and was being hyped as the next champion out of Detroit, however, he came into the ring dry against Epifanio Mendoza, got knocked out in the first round and became a shot fighter in an instance. Williams has lost his last 12 fights.

 

I always thought Derry Matthews looked like he could off been a decent prospect until the Choi defeat, since then he's been awful

 

Robin Blake, a lightweight out of Levelland, TX was going great guns in the 80s but got in a bad "style" matchup with Tyrone "Butterfly" Crawley. Blake was tall, thin and explosive. Lost to Crawley in Blake's home town on national TV and was never the same.

Alex Garcia, a heavyweight from California in the 90s. Was close to a title fight w/ Lennox Lewis. Garcia was a limited plodder, but had a punch and always gave a 100%. He got clipped by a left hook to the temple by Mike Dixon in the 2nd round and was never then same.
Lewis was at ringside, laughing his ass off as Garcia got TKOed, when he should have been crying, looking at a easy lost payday.

 

Roy Jones :hat

 

Can't believe people are saying Tyson and Foreman were 'ruined' by their first defeat, both went on to beat very good fighters and regain versions of the title, that ain't ruined.

Always think of Lloyd Honeyghan when this topic comes up, Starling absolutely ruined him.

 

Meldrick Taylor is the No.1 example. Imagine what he could of become if he lasted that 2 secs & got the 1st official win over Chavez.

 

No, he is far from the #1 example.

His career wouldn't have been that much different at all if he won. He still took a dreadful beating against Chavez and was going to be a undersized guy in a welterweight division that was about to be loaded with talent.

 

I never saw that fight.

The first I saw of him was against Jeff Lacy. That was a pretty entertaining fight.

Was there a huge decline in his performances after Mendoza, or did he just start facing better opposition?