All the gear but no idea............

[Old bones Ian]

Ricardo Williams Jr.----whoops, I see he was already mentioned. There were a couple of other 2000 US Olympians that really failed to live up to expectations. Dante Craig and Clarence Vinson come to mind.

A pair of 1984 Olympic gold medalists and Mike Tyson amateur conquerors---Tyrell Biggs and Henry Tillman----also come to mind.

I met Ricardo Williams at the Sydney Olympics, came across as a nice guy, shame how things went for him, but he only has himself to blame.

[Goz]

Tyrell Biggs maybe. Obviously lost his unbeaten record against a peak Mike Tyson so a pretty tough assignment right there but he was touted as the next Ali coming out of the 84 Olympics.

[Old bones Ian]

Nick Wells an american boxer this is the guy who won the 1972 US Amateur heavyweight championship, twice knocking out Larry Holmes, one of those wins was in the 1st round .He went to the Olympic trials and was beating Duane Bobick before a cut reopened and the fight was stopped. Nick won numerous amateur titles , but as a pro only compiled a 13-8 record.

[crusader]

Craig Payne is another American amateur star who fell very short as a professional. In the amateur ranks Payne defeated Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Teofilo Stevenson among others; by the end of Payne's professional career his record stood at 12-20 with his biggest win coming over Samson Po'uha.

[El Raincoat]

Mohammed Abdullaev he was supposed to be the next Kostya Tszyu, he won gold at the 2000 Olympics did alright before being stopped and never made it after that, still fighting today.

Think it was Cotto that stopped him - billed as revenge as Abdullaev had beaten him in the ams. Had no idea Abdullaev was still fighting though.

Cotto did stop him but that was 2005 he had already lost the aura by then when he lost to Joshua Clottey's brother Emmanuel. He had won every second of every round then was dropped right at the end of the fight and messed up the count. By the time he fought Cotto he hadn't lived upto the hype and was kind of put in so with Cotto cos of the amateur back story.

[Deserter]

Mohammed Abdullaev he was supposed to be the next Kostya Tszyu, he won gold at the 2000 Olympics did alright before being stopped and never made it after that, still fighting today.

Think it was Cotto that stopped him - billed as revenge as Abdullaev had beaten him in the ams. Had no idea Abdullaev was still fighting though.

Cotto did stop him but that was 2005 he had already lost the aura by then when he lost to Joshua Clottey's brother Emmanuel. He had won every second of every round then was dropped right at the end of the fight and messed up the count. By the time he fought Cotto he hadn't lived upto the hype and was kind of put in so with Cotto cos of the amateur back story.

Yeh, you're right, had completely forgotten about the Clottey loss

[palooka]

The Collins brothers, George and Tony, also sprang to mind as soon as I read the OP.

I think that their records flattered to deceive.

Both had good amateur success and boxed as juniors only - appearing to be more physically mature than most of their opponents.

As pro's, both were well matched:

Tony turned pro at "17" - with a record of 20-0 he boxed a lad who was 2-6 and his next opponent was 2-1

George turned pro at "18" - with a record of 21-0 he boxed a lad at 0-2 and a couple of fights later boxed a lad who was 1-0-1

Sure, but they undoubtedly fit the criteria defined by the OP of failing to live up to expectation - I can recall the press at the time and they were definitely trumpeted e.g. a lot of coverage regarding Tony allegedly standing Eubank on his head in sparring. They weren't necessarily being marked out as world champions, but no-one was expecting them to lose to the likes of Wally Swift Jnr, for example.

I just dropped my cup of coffee reading that!

Wally Swift Jnr was a very good class box fighter, fit and brave as hell. He did not have the matchmaking advantages that Collins had else he'd have gone no where near the dangerous men he boxed on the way up and had a perfect record himself (like Collins).

[Deserter]

I think that their records flattered to deceive.

Both had good amateur success and boxed as juniors only - appearing to be more physically mature than most of their opponents.

As pro's, both were well matched:

Tony turned pro at "17" - with a record of 20-0 he boxed a lad who was 2-6 and his next opponent was 2-1

George turned pro at "18" - with a record of 21-0 he boxed a lad at 0-2 and a couple of fights later boxed a lad who was 1-0-1

Sure, but they undoubtedly fit the criteria defined by the OP of failing to live up to expectation - I can recall the press at the time and they were definitely trumpeted e.g. a lot of coverage regarding Tony allegedly standing Eubank on his head in sparring. They weren't necessarily being marked out as world champions, but no-one was expecting them to lose to the likes of Wally Swift Jnr, for example.

I just dropped my cup of coffee reading that!

Wally Swift Jnr was a very good class box fighter, fit and brave as hell. He did not have the matchmaking advantages that Collins had else he'd have gone no where near the dangerous men he boxed on the way up and had a perfect record himself (like Collins).

Simon, I'm perfectly aware of Wally Swift's credentials as a strong domestic operator, but the fact remains that the hype around Collins in the early days meant that he was expected to come through tests like that comfortably and move on to Euro/fringe-world level.

[palooka]

Sure, but they undoubtedly fit the criteria defined by the OP of failing to live up to expectation - I can recall the press at the time and they were definitely trumpeted e.g. a lot of coverage regarding Tony allegedly standing Eubank on his head in sparring. They weren't necessarily being marked out as world champions, but no-one was expecting them to lose to the likes of Wally Swift Jnr, for example.

I just dropped my cup of coffee reading that!

Wally Swift Jnr was a very good class box fighter, fit and brave as hell. He did not have the matchmaking advantages that Collins had else he'd have gone no where near the dangerous men he boxed on the way up and had a perfect record himself (like Collins).

Simon, I'm perfectly aware of Wally Swift's credentials as a strong domestic operator, but the fact remains that the hype around Collins in the early days meant that he was expected to come through tests like that comfortably and move on to Euro/fringe-world level.

OK, Deserter I can take that on board, many were fooled by the hype and the unbeaten record.

A couple of others from that era that spring to mind are Gary Stretch and Adrian Dodson.

[dexter]

Haider Ali looked pretty special in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. I think Warren binned him after half a dozen mediocre pro fights.

[keithmoonhangover]

Johnny Nelson fought a guy that came to the ring in a tux, full of confidence and got sparked.

[dbflex]

Before Roman Greenberg, there was Georgie Kandalaki

[Coco]

Before Roman Greenberg, there was Georgie Kandalaki

Didn't he have a detached retina? And at least he was unbeaten with top amateur pedigree

[the truth]

Kandelki retired undefeated apparently he didn't like boxing

[Deserter]

I just dropped my cup of coffee reading that!

Wally Swift Jnr was a very good class box fighter, fit and brave as hell. He did not have the matchmaking advantages that Collins had else he'd have gone no where near the dangerous men he boxed on the way up and had a perfect record himself (like Collins).

Simon, I'm perfectly aware of Wally Swift's credentials as a strong domestic operator, but the fact remains that the hype around Collins in the early days meant that he was expected to come through tests like that comfortably and move on to Euro/fringe-world level.

OK, Deserter I can take that on board, many were fooled by the hype and the unbeaten record.

A couple of others from that era that spring to mind are Gary Stretch and Adrian Dodson.

Yeh, Dodson's a great call - huge hype around him early doors.

[manno]

Just an aside, what a terrific fight Swift vs Collins was by the way. The Collins boys came around when it seemed much harder to be a multititled junior imo.Also a 3rd brother,Benny picked up couple of nat. titles but had nowhere near the hype of his brothers when turning over. Re. David Reid, i know he was well hyped but looking at his technical ability and the fact that he was not exceptional in any dept. i think he swam the channel winning a gold medal, a world title and no doubt earning a good few quid.

[Deserter]

The Collins boys came around when it seemed much harder to be a multititled junior imo.

Very true.

Simon, forgot to say earlier that I actually don't think Stretch was hyped that much - if anything people disparaged him because of his model looks and overlooked the fact he was actually a decent fighter domestically. He was willing to get down in the trenches as well.

[m1kee50]

The Collins boys came around when it seemed much harder to be a multititled junior imo.

Very true.

Simon, forgot to say earlier that I actually don't think Stretch was hyped that much - if anything people disparaged him because of his model looks and overlooked the fact he was actually a decent fighter domestically. He was willing to get down in the trenches as well.

Agreed. Gary Stretch was a good amateur but it was a big surprise when he KO'd George Collins (live on BBC TV's 'Record Breakers') when Collins was on the verge of breaking some kind on record for the most fights undefeated.

By the way, although the Collins boys all had multiple junior amateur titles, it has been rumoured that they were actually older than claimed. The Collins brothers are from a traveller background and I seem to recall there was some debate about their exact date of birth. If it is true it would have given them a big advantage in the junior ranks. A couple of years can make a big difference in a teenager's development. I don't know how true these rumours are but George Collins certainly looked very mature for his age - moustache, hairy chest etc at 17 years old.

[manno]

George was looking to beat Errol christie's 74 and 0 amateur record!! When you consider all the bad decisions you see from w.m.c shows to the olympics this really is some record. At the time Christie did point out that his record was superior wether collins had surpassed it or not. His resume included a senior A.B.A title as well as winning a gold medal at the euro juniors in Berlin( against a German!) which was unheard of back in the day.

[palooka]

Errol McDonald anyone?

[manno]

I think Errol Mcdonald is a good shout, know he won ABA'S with not much experience and had natural ability but he was never guna be a Kirkland Laing.

[veriton]

kelly oliver was touted as the next big thing by Sky, but his four ABA titles didn't take him far in the pros

[gp.]

What about Cassius Clay? He burst onto the scene after his Olympic medal and that win over Liston, then seemed to disappear completely.

[keithmoonhangover]

What about Cassius Clay? He burst onto the scene after his Olympic medal and that win over Liston, then seemed to disappear completely.

I know, I wonder whatever happened to him?