Your favorite cherry picks gone wrong

Moore was a media favorite. He was well spoken, somewhat humble and looked the part of a champ. He had some decent wins in his buildup to winning the title. Maybe not big name fighters but Moore looked good. Ayub { spelling? } was a recognized fighter. Anyways Moore was annoyed to say the least when Duran captured the NY crowd before and during the fight. Moore was a NY kid. Anyways Duran had been shaky in his last few fights---especially in a loss to Laing. I believe he earned a title shot win a win over Cuevas.... I might be wrong. The fight itself was a disgrace. Moore endured punishment that no fighter should take. People were screaming at the referee to stop it---but they fell on deaf ears. People fainting..

also Billy Collins vs. Luis Resto same card ... you..might want to research that. Just a bad night for boxing in the Garden....

 

Vince Phillips vs Kostya Tszyu

Phillips had been robbed right before this fight and Tszyu was aiming for a showcase to set up a possible showdown with Oscar. Phillips put on a gritty performance and KOd the undefeated future hall of famer.

 

Tyson vs Holyfield 1.
Mike hadnt fought anyone and Don King was looking to take advantage of Holyfield's name thinking he was shopworn and perhaps even approaching shot.
Evander had been fighting the best in the world on the regular. He was taking his lumps losing his share but always a warrior. Tyson had been getting handed belts that were nothing because the guys holding them were clowns.
Ofcourse the press conferences came and Holyfield's confidence alone shook Mike and probably had him contemplating another 'rib injury'. Team Tyson's brain surgeons decided to go all Mean Girls on Evander and made up a story that he said he would never fight a convicted ******.
Holyfield denied it. It was a lie. Intended to fire Tyson up to maybe provide some confidence to a guy who wasn't interested in boxing anymore.
This is the ultimate cherry pick gone wrong.

 

That went exactly as planned.

 

Moore was a decorated amateur from the Bronx..4 time Golden Gloves. He came with Camacho, Barkley etc. Davey could fight.

 

Kirkland Laing-Roberto Duran

After losing to Wilfred Benitez,Duran's team wanted a couple of tune ups. The tune went so....so wrong !

 

You beat me to it. I think Tszyu's team thought Phillips was done at that point with all of his out of the ring issues. One thing is for sure, that loss made Tszyu a better fighter. He never underestimated an opponent again.

 

Jacobs had to fight Pirog because he was highly ranked by the WBO. Jacobs went after the belt. He didn’t chose the opponent.

 

One of the underrated great nights in HBO Boxing history. I'll never forget that win. Everyone was so happy for Vince.

Also, one of the last big nights for the longtime journeyman Jesse Ferguson.

Wonderful night for the hard workers.

 

Oh yes, Collins vs Resto was despicable!

 

Sergio was stripped not because he ducked Jacob but for some obscure WBO rule which said you have to decide to be a 154 or 160 champ within 10 days. What. Instead of fighting the reigning champion Jacob just need to fight a thirty something russian guy for the vacant belt, which is honestly quite winnable. Still sounds like cherrypicking for me.

 

Take it up with the WBO.

Jacobs sure as hell isn’t a cherry picker.

 

Neary-Ward
Lewis-Rahman (not really a cherry pick but Rahman was a stay busy fight I recall).
Norris-Brown (Brown was considered a past prime ex champ showcase for Terrible Terry).

 

Jeff Fenech looking to get back on track against Calvin Grove, who was considered a soft punching guy on the downside of his career.

Junior Jones, seemingly a smaller reincarnation of Tommy Hearns, in a stay busy defense against John Michael Johnson.