Why isn't Chagaev appreciated more?

I remember him going life and death with some very average fighters... like Travis Walker. Chagaev is actually one of the few who didn't manage to stop him in his 14 defeats. Very poor chin. Chagaev could punch a little too, but it never seemed consistent to me. I don't know why things didn't come together a bit more for him. Same thing happened with Ibragimov.

 

Dude was blown away in like 30 seconds by a overweight Mexican brawler. He was game and scrappy but his chin was paper mache.

 

They both had injury problems. Sultan was just his right hand.

Chag had Hep C, but there were also rumors of nerve damage, and a number of others which I can't remember. I think he found it hard to train.

They left their best in the amateurs.

POST SCRIPT
There were also rumors that he was going blind in one eye.

 

There is nothing outlandish about the praise given to Usyk. He beat Joshua and Fury, proving that he is the best heavy in the post-Klitschko era....almost ten years. And Dubois, who seems to be the coming man. Usyk is the best in almost ten years, and if Dubois has a good reign, that might go up to 15 or so.

 

You are missing the point--he has made his amazing accomplishments in 6 FIGHTS. And the fights have only been close because of poor judging. He has outlanded and staggered/dropped everybody. The discrepancy is because he walks into everyone else's hometown, and that includes Saudi, because we know who Turyi wants.

He's not that GOAT, that will always be Ali or Louis. BUT, because of his two weight classes, he is an uber-elite fighter. He's there with the best. Nothing will take that away from him.

 

Usyk knocked out Dubois as well, who's coming into his own as a top dog now. The Fury and Joshua wins are exceptional for a blown up cruiserweight, any way you want to cut it.

 

In retrospect, I don't think Chagaev was too dissimilar from someone like Joseph Parker - both were solid, well-rounded boxer-fighters, but w/o any particularly spectacular talents. I think if Chagaev were to take Parker's place in the current era, he would have the potential for roughly the same degree of success & perhaps be better remembered.

 

He also blew out an Achilles on a training run. Dude seemed to be aging in double speed.

 

Incidentally, the Greek hero Achilles actually died of hepatitis of the ankle.

 

well, a dirty needle did enter it...