Who are the Heavyweight Journeyman/fallguys that you remember best of days gone by? I'm not talking about the tought fringe contender type of Journeyman but the type that seems to make a living out of taking fights at short notice ang getting KO'd by the house fighter or the up and coming prospect.
The one I always will remember is the former Marine Chuck Gardner.
Bobby Crabtree comes to mind. He was one of those knock em out or get knocked out fighters. When fighting a contender he was always on the get knocked of end of it. Not because he couldn't nessesarily take a punch, but because of how open he left himself. He did however throw meaningful leather unlike some other club fighters.
Hmm, Gardner's record is pretty interesting. Got blown away by the top contenders but he also beat a very old/shot Jimmy Young and gave Mike the Giant White's his first defeat.
He's not really a boxer of the past but Sedrick Fields, although overweight and limited, tries to entertain and always comes to fight.
dempseyfire wrote:Hmm, Gardner's record is pretty interesting. Got blown away by the top contenders but he also beat a very old/shot Jimmy Young and gave Mike the Giant White's his first defeat.
I have never managed to find out any information on the Gardner vs Young fight. But it is common knowledge that Young had bad drink & drug problems by this time in his career and was completely shot, but it is still a result that surprises me every time I read it.
Jose Ribalta 39-17-1 (28 ) was a guy who never got a title shot but faced 11 heavyweight champions and countless contenders in his career. Always put up a fight.
Jesse Ferguson 26-18 (16) did get a title shot with Bowe but was best known for being that next step up for contenders and future champs. He faced 12 fighters who held world title belts along with wins over Mercer and Buster Douglas.
James Quick Tillis. 42-22-1 (31) Tillis did start out an undefeated world title challenger to Mike Weaver at 20-0 but fininshed the tail end of his career 22-22-1 by facing 8 heavyweight champs and every contender you could think of.
Alex Stewart 43-10 (40), this powerhouse heavyweight had wars with Holyfield, Moorer and Foreman. Take away the Tyson fight and he was always in the fight by a punch.
Maurice Harris, 19-13-2 (10 KOs), was among my favorites. He was very talented and had the physicality to win a title, but maintained a sparring partner mentality. It showed up in almost all of his big fights. He was outboxing Byrd for the first couple rounds until he went into a shell and got the crap beat out of him for the remainder of the fight.
I was going to say Bert Cooper, he was an awesome journeyman.
...jimmy slade was a notorious spoiler....lose while making the other guy look bad as well. don't know if that makes him a journeyman or not. maybe there should be a spoiler thread. maybe i'll even start one myself if i can think of a few more.
