Agree with many who say it wasn’t just that he was chinny but also seemed to be scared of being punched. Saying that he did step in with Wilder knowing he was going to get sparked which happened. Probably needed the money. I think it’s a combination of the above and perhaps got rich too soon and was happy with that. All Olympic champs or successes get a speed dial to millions and some become top pros and others don’t. He’s probably the biggest failure though. It’s nothing to be ashamed of not being able to fully transition but putting aside Joshua, Kahn and De Gale etc all have had highly successful careers. It’s no shame that they didn’t clear up and become the very very best as got themselves in the mix. Even Audley wasn’t terrible. Lots of people would kill to have fought at his level but obviously fell short of expectations as seemed to have the tools. Lacked a crucial one or two though
Gets on my nerves when people slate someone who isn’t top 10 in their division. Wouldn’t pick a fight with top 500. But suppose he didn’t fulfill the hype but is the hype his fault? He did play up to it but you would when you’ve got a contract worth several million and are obligated to
He was obviously past his not so great best with Wilder but should have been able to outbox him and last more than a round but think he just wanted to go out early and had zero intent on winning
Think i read somewhere audley tried to keep everything in house to keep the money to himself. Instead of investing in a promoter/trainer/manager etc...he pretty much tried to do it all himself. Or not far off it. I think he was basically lazy as well. Didnt train to the requirements of a professional fighter and didnt really have anyone pushing him. With no promoter to get him good publicity...they pretty much turned on him quickly. He tried to do too much and pretty much failed on the one thing he should have been doing...training hard and concentrating on the fights. Think he turned over a bit late as well...too used to amatuer boxing.
I been posting similarly for over 10 years. If you lose a fight or two and fall out of the top 10 - IN THE WORLD - even out of top 5, many here will say that fighter was an overrated "bum". Those same people complain that top fighters don't take risks, fight infrequently, and want to protect their "O"??
Audley turned pro late after taking boxing up in his 20's. He signed a big deal with the BBC and had no idea of how his career should be built. To top it off he went pro with a coaching team with no solid track record with heavyweights or world class fighters. He obviously had frailtys such as heart and chin and perhaps which didn't help.
People were too scared of his innate greatness and so they set about sabotaging his career from the get go.
It's simple. He bought a blue light special chin instead of getting a custom-fitted one. He was cheap, didn't want to shell out for a steel chin and instead got stuck with a nasty plastic one from some sweatshop in the far east. All great fighters know that its a good idea to purchase the best chin possible, something with quality control.
Depends what you class as failure. Banked millions, won the European Belt, avenged 3 defeats, fought for a world title He done pretty good
