Who were the most

Before the drugs , women, fame and one very hard right hand from Edwin Rasario, Hector Camacho ( At least in my opinion) had all the tools to be the G.O.A.T.
But as his career progressed it became quite evident he'd never live up to the promise of what was shown in his 1st 20-25 fights.

 

De La Hoya and Witherspoon come to mind

 

Marlon Starling. Capable of exposing Mark Breland or schooling Lloyd Honeyghan one fight, and then he'd get decisioned by Pedro Vilella or caught unaware by Tomas Molinares the next. It's really just consistency that kept him out of the hall of fame.

James Toney, Michael Nunn, and Chan-hee Park all fit the bill as well.

 

Not a P4P ATG but Jimmy Young might be a good poster boy for inconsistency. Jack Sharkey also.

In Duran’s case, given his age, long career and incremental progression into the upper divisions, I think his lesser performances could be viewed (in due context) as somewhat the anticipated rule…his successes otherwise being exceptional.

Roberto’s long reign as LW Champ, when at prime and his best weight was very consistent.

This premise could perhaps include fighters known for often fighting to the level of their opposition. The quality of the opponent determining how much effort they chose to put in.

 

Lennox Lewis, Lew Jenkins, Jimmy Carter, Battling Battalino, Fred Apostoli, Dick Tiger.

 

José Medel

 

Evander Holyfield occasionally fit this mold.

 

Azumah Nelson had his share of off nights and always rectified them in rematches. Some nights he just wasn't on song.

 

Wilfred Benitez,no way he schooled Duràn and loses to Davey.

 

Fritzie Zivic for me.

An amazing win resume and generally considered an ATG, despite losing 65 (sixty five) times, including many defeats during his prime to non-great fighters.

 

In my opinion Benitez simply burned out early. Starting his pro career in his teens, sparring with much older seasoned pro's in his pre -teens ( At the urging of his father) took its toll and ruined him in his mid- Late twenties .
The human body can take only so much punishment, before it starts to break down.

 

Splitting w/ his father & getting pounded up @ MW is what ruined him in the end IMO.

 

Larry Holmes …he could look great …he could look terrible…there are some who feel he was the best heavyweight in history…and there are those who feel he was overrated…I don’t argue with either point of view

 

I think there’s a distinction between fighters whose level was up and down during their prime, and fighters who produced inconsistent results due to their style and attributes.

Terry Norris would fall into the latter I think. Exceptional offensive qualities and combination punching, but a shaky chin and defensively open when unloading. He’d veer from looking like the best fighter in the world to getting dropped by journeymen, but that was due to the inherent risks and weaknesses of his style. Junior Jones was similar; a lot of his apparent inconsistency was down to durability issues.

Toney is the most obvious inconsistent fighter. Ranked p4p #1 in some quarters at the same time as struggling with Dave Tiberi. A lot of this was probably weight and lifestyle related though; once he got up to cruiser and beyond his performances and level was pretty consistent.

Styles can be a factor as well. Sometimes a stylistic issue and weakness in a particular area can give the appearance of inconsistency.

Genuinely inconsistent fighters, whose level inexplicably goes up and down without any obvious reason, are a bit rarer. Ray Mercer springs to mind; he was as capable of going to the brink with Lewis and Holyfield as he was Jesse Ferguson, even when he came in much better shape for the rematch.