Did Audley have the talent to make it to the top?

[oliverfennell]

I think that is the general consensus - he had it physically but no psychologically. His losses could easily have been wins with a bit more self-belief. I think his apprenticeship was solid enough in terms of opposition, but becoming an instant millionaire and celebrity will have taken the edge off somewhat. Also, he could have been more impressive (and therefore built his self-belief) in those early days if he only had to concentrate on training and fighting, but instead he took it upon himseld to be (essentially) self-managed, self-promoted, build a stable of fighters under the A-Force banner, deal with the press, and so on. It was an admirable attempt to do things "my way" from the start, but with hindsight it was not a good idea.

[thaibox uk]

Basically no,From his first pro fight you could see he was scared of
being hit and that never went away.
He was arrogant enough to assume the gold medal would guarantee him a world title and took the celeb route as opposed to the hard work one.

[Hagler2002]

Can't see this thread going more than one page.

The answer you're looking for is NO!

[pasty_spud]

YES he did...he just did'nt have the bottle

[ALI]

Err, history has already answered this one has it not?

Dont quite get this discussion

[dondada]

I think that is the general consensus - he had it physically but no psychologically. His losses could easily have been wins with a bit more self-belief. I think his apprenticeship was solid enough in terms of opposition, but becoming an instant millionaire and celebrity will have taken the edge off somewhat. Also, he could have been more impressive (and therefore built his self-belief) in those early days if he only had to concentrate on training and fighting, but instead he took it upon himseld to be (essentially) self-managed, self-promoted, build a stable of fighters under the A-Force banner, deal with the press, and so on. It was an admirable attempt to do things "my way" from the start, but with hindsight it was not a good idea.

That's it, concisely and accurately put.

[funso banjo baby]

very thin ankles



very important if someone like Sprotty's going to rock you down to your boots

[telboy66]

he had the size,the offence,but the one thing missing HEART without which no boxer can ever make it

[Adamj1987]

he had the size,the offence,but the one thing missing HEART without which no boxer can ever make it

perfect answer and his rubbish match making for himself didnt help make the big fighst come sooner

[Chambers2]

He lacked the stamina, the chin and certain psychological aspects to make it to the top of the pro game IMO

[jimglen]

obviously not, another prove positive of the Hype machine, which todays media live on and sadly many more are willing to believe and make excuses for. Audley is one of the worst supposed good fighters I have ever seen!!!

[ArtOfWar]

No is the answer for me. He may have won an Olympic gold medal, but the amateurs and pros are so different that a good amateur is necessarily gonna be a good pro. Audley for me didn't have the stamnia or the toughness to be a world champ. He never once showed he had that ability. He has basically lived off that gold medal success.

[n1ebf]

Obviously not.....you're not just classed as good for going forward. The obvious question marks over desire, heart, chin etc..to one side, think Audley's defence wasn't the best.
Could you seriously imagine Audley mixing it with any top Brit or especially top American, or even Ukranian if you like of the last 20 or 30 years. You'd be talking carnage IMO.

It's unbelievable really the amount of money AH has made in boxing when you consider the above but in making SOME, not all of that money, he has traded some respect IMO......after so many disappointing performances and second chances it is inappropriate to announce to TV viewers around the country that you will be world champ later in the year and Undisputed world champ the year after, when what you have in fact done is dismantled a Danny Williams who was on about 3 weeks notice.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think that is the general consensus - he had it physically but no psychologically. His losses could easily have been wins with a bit more self-belief. I think his apprenticeship was solid enough in terms of opposition, but becoming an instant millionaire and celebrity will have taken the edge off somewhat. Also, he could have been more impressive (and therefore built his self-belief) in those early days if he only had to concentrate on training and fighting, but instead he took it upon himseld to be (essentially) self-managed, self-promoted, build a stable of fighters under the A-Force banner, deal with the press, and so on. It was an admirable attempt to do things "my way" from the start, but with hindsight it was not a good idea.

That's it, concisely and accurately put.

Yes, I'm with that. Remember Audley's 'breakdown' over the stresses of being a promoter, manager and fighter all in one?

I think that Audley's ego wrote cheques his capabilities could not cash.

[THEBUTCH]

Did Audley have the talent to make it to the top?

I thought he did, but I was wrong, he didn't :(

He also turned out to be an arrogant dick splash

[Poncey]

I think that is the general consensus - he had it physically but no psychologically. His losses could easily have been wins with a bit more self-belief. I think his apprenticeship was solid enough in terms of opposition, but becoming an instant millionaire and celebrity will have taken the edge off somewhat. Also, he could have been more impressive (and therefore built his self-belief) in those early days if he only had to concentrate on training and fighting, but instead he took it upon himseld to be (essentially) self-managed, self-promoted, build a stable of fighters under the A-Force banner, deal with the press, and so on. It was an admirable attempt to do things "my way" from the start, but with hindsight it was not a good idea.

That's it, concisely and accurately put.

Yes, I'm with that. Remember Audley's 'breakdown' over the stresses of being a promoter, manager and fighter all in one?

I think that Audley's ego wrote cheques his capabilities could not cash.

x4

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

He did show elements of the world class, he could put combos together nicely, decent jab, perfect build/size. Everyone mentions his chin/heart which is true, his power wasn't really there either for a man of that size though, he also had bugger all workrate and only threw 10punches a round, mainly because his stamina was so shit.

Bonin seemed to laugh at Audley's punches and Haye took Bonin out in 1.

[Coco]

Audley never had the punch to get him out of trouble and lacked stamina, chin and heart.
I personally believe he liked the celeb life too much and didn't to the graft in the gym.
He showed glimpses early on against Rogan what he is capable of but never had the confidence in his fitness to sustain it.
Instead he resorted to spoiling to get through the fight.
Nevertheless they don't give Olympic Gold medals away and make no mistake that he is ultra talented. I feel he lost his desire somewhat after the games as he was made an instant millionaire and the celeb he wanted to be, maybe he thought the hard work was done and professional success would come easily.
It is also worth mentioning that he had the perfect style for the amateurs, and it highlights the difference in what what is needed for the respective codes.
Unfortunately I think someone like Price will go the same way

[Old bones Ian]

Well i was always an Audley supporter, thought he really could of done it, but in the end he couldn't. I'm not so sure he had the inbuilt stamina that is needed to rise to the top, he was never out of shape when getting into the ring, he always looked liked he had trained hard for a fight, but the stamina wasn't there.

Maybe he left it to late for his body to get used to the longer distances in the pro's, some guys just can't adjust that well.

[tonyevs]

He had the tallent - just not the heart.

[Exoddus]

His power is nothing special and his stamina was always very poor. Don't know much about his chin as he really hasn't fought anyone. Danny put him down with a blow to the head. Sprott knocked him cold and he said he thought Rogan broke his jaw.

I'm not even going to talk about his heart. If you keep coming forward against Harrison. You'll beat him.

[rhino222]

his problem is his balls, real fighters need balls, audley was castrated before he ever set foot in a boxing ring.

[housesecond]

He had the tallent - just not the heart.

Spot on.
The question was about TALENT, which he most certainly had loads of. You could go on all day about his mental make up but the origonal question is an easy one to answer.

[yiddo14]

Looking back I don't think he even had the talent.
The Division he won Olympic Gold in had to be one of the weakest of any weight in the history of major Amateur championships.

Wlad would box rings around him even if they both promised to only thow jabs over 6 rounds.

[rhino222]

its hard to get up at 5am to go for a run when you are wearing silk pyjamas.

i think it was hagler who quoted this, and how correct this is, the BBC gave fraudley too much too soon...simple as that.