Tune-ups that didn't read the script ?

[MightyWarrior]

The career of HW Alex Garcia has to be one of the biggest feck ups in recent history.

A top ten Mexican heavyweight prospect in the early 90's - the TV companies loved him and he was knocking them out in sensational style. Then George Foreman offered him a shot at the world heavyweight title ( and I think he had other offers from other champs too ) but they decided he needed another tune up.....

So of course he gets shockingly stretched out in 2 rounds by a journeyman, and that's all she wrote. Big payday and chance at glory...gone.


Reynaldo Snipes didn't read the script either, when he took on Larry Holmes - he was a tune up for the mega Gerry Cooney fight, and flattened Holmes and nearly had him out....somehow Larry held on, and turned the tables, but the richest fight in history was hanging by a thread.

[Jeff Thomas]

OK

Sergio Martinez Vs Richard Williams!!!!!-
Lockett Vs Russian dude
Oliver vs Devakov


Pretty much all the light middleweights got beat in tune ups for the big fights that never happened.

I fornicating hate tune ups.

[bigjack]

I was always under the impression that a 'tune up' was a fight usually before a big fight,which was purely to keep active, sharpen the reflexes etc,mostly against a journeyman type opponents,some of the fights mentioned on here were high profile and world title fights,i wouldn't call them 'tune ups'

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Jose Seys W KO 1 Errol Christie - fack - that was a tune up gone wrong.
Tom Collins W KO 2 Alex Blanchard - Stayed up till nearly midnight to watch the fight on 'midweek sports special' and they didn't show it because of advertising on Blanchards shorts! Who remembers that bollocks?
Bert Cooper W KO 2 Willie DeWitt

[bigjack]

Jose Seys W KO 1 Errol Christie - fack - that was a tune up gone wrong.
Tom Collins W KO 2 Alex Blanchard - Stayed up till nearly midnight to watch the fight on 'midweek sports special' and they didn't show it because of advertising on Blanchards shorts! Who remembers that bollocks?
Bert Cooper W KO 2 Willie DeWitt

What was Errol tuning up for,i don't think he was talked about for title fights at that stage of his carreer,and as for tom collins that was a european title fight not a run of the mill hand picked opponent for an easy pay day while waiting for something bigger to come along.Do you remember herol graham playing with seys before stopping him,and body slamming him into the canvas along the way.

[Poncey]

I think it qualifies in that at the time Harris was talked about being in the same league as Hatton and other top guys in the division and Maussa had nothing going for him other than an awkward style that was very novice looking.

The Hatton fight did fall through because he wanted more than the 750k he was offered, but I think he would have had a big fight on the horizon once he sorted out his promotional disputes.

I think Billy Graham was in the studio during that fight and he was like

"There goes a pay day"

Spot on. Good memory.

Hopkins Trinidad if no-one else has mentioned it.

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Jose Seys W KO 1 Errol Christie - fack - that was a tune up gone wrong.
Tom Collins W KO 2 Alex Blanchard - Stayed up till nearly midnight to watch the fight on 'midweek sports special' and they didn't show it because of advertising on Blanchards shorts! Who remembers that bollocks?
Bert Cooper W KO 2 Willie DeWitt

What was Errol tuning up for,i don't think he was talked about for title fights at that stage of his carreer,and as for tom collins that was a european title fight not a run of the mill hand picked opponent for an easy pay day while waiting for something bigger to come along.Do you remember herol graham playing with seys before stopping him,and body slamming him into the canvas along the way.

Blanchard was tuning up for a fight against Prince Charles Williams. He was no 1 contender for the WBA and IBF titles and Collins was his tune up.

I didn't know a tune up HAD to be for a title fight - I thought you could have a tune up prior to a bigger fight - Chuck Gardner and Reggie Gross were tune ups for Frank Bruno to his his fight with Joe Bugner!

It's OK - now you know! 8)

[banjo]

I think it qualifies in that at the time Harris was talked about being in the same league as Hatton and other top guys in the division and Maussa had nothing going for him other than an awkward style that was very novice looking.

The Hatton fight did fall through because he wanted more than the 750k he was offered, but I think he would have had a big fight on the horizon once he sorted out his promotional disputes.

I think Billy Graham was in the studio during that fight and he was like

"There goes a pay day"

Spot on. Good memory.

Hopkins Trinidad if no-one else has mentioned it.

That was a massive fight not a tune up

[Lenny]

I think it qualifies in that at the time Harris was talked about being in the same league as Hatton and other top guys in the division and Maussa had nothing going for him other than an awkward style that was very novice looking.

The Hatton fight did fall through because he wanted more than the 750k he was offered, but I think he would have had a big fight on the horizon once he sorted out his promotional disputes.

I think Billy Graham was in the studio during that fight and he was like

"There goes a pay day"

Spot on. Good memory.

Hopkins Trinidad if no-one else has mentioned it.

That was a massive fight not a tune up

I'm trying to think, was there talk of a Jones Jnr fight afterwards (although light heavy would have been a hell of a leap for Felix after such a short spell at middle)?
Even so I don't think the Hopkins fight, final of the little middleweight tournament, could have been considered a tune up. The hype around it was pretty big.

[Poncey]

Seth Abraham organised the fight as a tune up for Trinidad RJJ. But Bernard decided that wasn't a good idea and sparked him.

[Poncey]

Damn. Beat me to it.

[bigjack]

Jose Seys W KO 1 Errol Christie - fack - that was a tune up gone wrong.
Tom Collins W KO 2 Alex Blanchard - Stayed up till nearly midnight to watch the fight on 'midweek sports special' and they didn't show it because of advertising on Blanchards shorts! Who remembers that bollocks?
Bert Cooper W KO 2 Willie DeWitt

What was Errol tuning up for,i don't think he was talked about for title fights at that stage of his carreer,and as for tom collins that was a european title fight not a run of the mill hand picked opponent for an easy pay day while waiting for something bigger to come along.Do you remember herol graham playing with seys before stopping him,and body slamming him into the canvas along the way.

Blanchard was tuning up for a fight against Prince Charles Williams. He was no 1 contender for the WBA and IBF titles and Collins was his tune up.

I didn't know a tune up HAD to be for a title fight - I thought you could have a tune up prior to a bigger fight - Chuck Gardner and Reggie Gross were tune ups for Frank Bruno to his his fight with Joe Bugner!

It's OK - now you know! 8)

A tune up is very rarely a title fight,what i'm trying to say is i thought a tune up was just a low key fight just to keep sharp and nothing else,if blanchard wanted just to stay sharp he could have picked any one from hundreds of fighters,i don't class a european title fight as a tune up

[banjo]

I agree with the post above, tune ups are more what Julio Cesar Chavez used to have inbetween titlefights, keeps you on your toes and make a bit of cash against some hapless victim.

[bigjack]

I agree with the post above, tune ups are more what Julio Cesar Chavez used to have inbetween titlefights, keeps you on your toes and make a bit of cash against some hapless victim.

Finally someone who understands what i'm saying

[stujones]

Again it doesn't fit the description put up by bigjack. But I remember a young Frankie Randall had established himself as a number #1 contender at Lightweight - had the big fights been negotatiate - then fought 31-5 Ramos for a vacant NABF title (so guess its not a tune up) was supposed to have a world title fight next...... got whacked out in 2.

It took Randall 7 years to get his first shot at a world title.... so a costly defeat.

[whiskey]

Wasn't Michael Gomez was pretty much fed to Alex Arthur in Scotland.

But gobbled him up instead.

[bigjack]

Wasn't Michael Gomez was pretty much fed to Alex Arthur in Scotland.

But gobbled him up instead.

Yes he was but it was a british title fight,i don't think it was just a tune up to keep busy,maybe that's what arthur thought it was and payed the price

[lefthook82]

@bigjack you are right

Using the word 'tune-up' was my mistake but it was quite a snappy phrase at the time

I think people are getting the gist though

[bennie]

I remember Alexis Arguello taking a tune-up against a kid named Vilomar Fernandez prior to a superfight with Roberto Duran. Fernandez took an upset 10-round decision and was thrown in with Duran instead.

[lefthook82]

I remember Alexis Arguello taking a tune-up against a kid named Vilomar Fernandez prior to a superfight with Roberto Duran. Fernandez took an upset 10-round decision and was thrown in with Duran instead.

That would have been a good fight between those two

[Jeff Thomas]

Somewhat further down in terms of leagues from Arguello and co- I was meant to fight Amir Khan and took a marking time bout against Baz Carey and got beat- that one really hurt.

[alexpaterson]

Ortiz-Petersen in many ways. It was meant to be a decent win for Ortiz before they put him in with Khan (or that's the impression I got) and he drew.

[Jeff Thomas]

I've seen that it was on a really good KO video set I got years back- anyone know which one I mean?

[J]

Somewhat further down in terms of leagues from Arguello and co- I was meant to fight Amir Khan and took a marking time bout against Baz Carey and got beat- that one really hurt.

unlcuky there Jeff still you woudl have had more pain of a diffeent kind coming I guess but getting well paid for it

[mickey1975]

Wasn't Michael Gomez was pretty much fed to Alex Arthur in Scotland.

But gobbled him up instead.

Gomez was a live underdog.I think Sports Network really thought AAA was the next big thing and,if he was,he would have beat Gomez comfortably.