Fights journeymen were not supposed to win.

[MasterG]

Got this idea for this post from a horse race I watched. This quite well known horse racing trainer had 2 horses in the same race, one was a 'potential' champion race horse and the other was there simply to be the pace maker. Make the running until the one or 2 others in the race were tired out then this future champion took over and took the lead, went on to win by 6 or 7 lengths with the pace maker coming in last of them all, doing its job, similar to F1 racing when a 'second' driver is told to let the world ranking leader who is also in the same team pass and win the glory. In this horse race however the pace maker ran off and out stayed the potential champion winning the race in decent style. This made me start to think about journeymen who have done the same thing. They have been paid to give the future golden boy a tester but 'accidentially' knocked the golden boy out, or even outworked him pretty easy and got the win.

This suddenly got me thinking about a few boxers of yesteryear one was Matthew Ellis, a heavyweight boxer from Blackpool. He turned up on the scene back in 1996. He was being touted as the next big thing and he knew it with his dark hair and good looks. Ellis knocked up 4 wins all by stoppage and the stage was looking very good for him. i'm sure at the time he had a bit of money behind him. Come his 5th fight he entered the ring dressed as James Bond, with a tux and dickie bow. This promotion was televised it had Crawford Ashley v Roberto Dominguez as main event with the European light heavyweight title on offer and had an up coming Shea Neary on the card.

Ellis's opponent that night was a relatively unknown Yuri Yelistratov who had a record of 12 - 4 - 1 and his record was a bit 'dodgy' with his first 5 wins suspect in terms of did he actually fight anyone or was his first 5 just made up fictitious fighters from the Ukraine. He turned up in the UK in 1996 against an upcoming Peter Oboh who was 4 - 0 and beat Yelistratov on points over 6 rounds. Yelistratov then turned up on our shores again 3 months later getting beat by American Derrick Banks on a small promotion in Battersea. His 3rd visit to the UK before he met Ellis was to fight American John Ruiz. Yelistratov retired after 3 rounds with a cut eye, incidentially also on the bill that night was future world heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev who was 5 - 0, who fought only twice on our shores both back in 1996.

As I said Ellis entered the ring wearing a James bond outfit. But that night the up coming British boxer came unstuck by getting stopped in 5 rounds. At that point the show was over. Ellis did avenge that defeat almost a year later by stopping Yelistratov in one round on the Shea Neary v Andy Holligan undercard.

Ellis tried to rebuild his career but he was match almost every time with fodder. I suspect they knew his limitations and tried to sell the brand rather than the boxer and his skills. After another 13 wins they pitched Ellis in with Denis Bakhtov 10 -2 for a minor title and was beaten inside 6 rounds, that was in 2002 but Ellis had made no headway since turning pro. The bubble was burst and for the next 16 fights upto 2018 when he last fought he won only 3 fights getting beaten by Audley Harrison, Enzo Maccarinelli, Tyson Fury, Tony Bellew and his final outing in 2018 getting beat by Ratko Draskovic 34 - 12 for the WBU (German) version heavyweight title, he was stopped in 2.

Matthew Ellis came on the scene with all hope and glory. But that defeat by Yelistatov after only 4 fights and dressed like James Bond was the end.

I cant find this fight on youtube but I have it in my boxing collection, however here is the second fight he had with Yelistratov.





Ellis v Tyson Fury.




Ellis v Audley Harrison

[bigjack]

I don't think Buck Smith was supposed to flatten Kirk Laing.

[oogiebe]

Would Ruben Carter's demolition of Emile Griffith count?

[MasterG]

I don't think Buck Smith was supposed to flatten Kirk Laing.

Yeh, Buck Smith was a queer one. He had several alias's if im right all fighting under his name. His record is very good really but fought absolutely no one except Laing and Chevez. But he was a fraud so nothing counts.

[Switch hitter]

Jesse Ferguson vs Ray Mercer........ didn't Mercer offer him money in the fight to lose ??

[oogiebe]

Jesse Ferguson vs Ray Mercer........ didn't Mercer offer him money in the fight to lose ??

yeah, I remember that! Mercer had a bad back or something and he was overheard offering a bribe during the bout! OMG...totally forgot that!

[Monte Fisto]

Lee Swaby vs Enzo MAC

[Verdi]

Ross Purrity vs Wlad.

[dookus]

Darnell Boone v Adonis Stephenson

[oogiebe]

Ross Purrity vs Wlad.

BINGO! A winner! Forgot about that one.

[Coco]

Tommy Morrson v Michael Bentt

[oogiebe]

Tommy Morrson v Michael Bentt

Yeah, at the time it was a shock to me, for sure. In hindsight it loses some of its surprise I guess. What a right hand though!

[banjo]

I know he went on to become a titlist but I don't think Kaylors handlers thought Buster Drayton would beat him.

[MasterG]

Tommy Morrson v Michael Bentt

strictly speaking Bentt wasnt a jouneyman he had one loss prior to Morrison. He got lucky.

[oogiebe]

Tommy Morrson v Michael Bentt

strictly speaking Bentt wasnt a jouneyman he had one loss prior to Morrison. He got lucky.

Good point, but he was supposed to be a step to a title unification for Morrison, if I remember correctly. Makes me think how Frazier/Foreman was supposed to be a step for Frazier to get to an Ali rematch!

[banjo]

If I remember rightly Morrison was going to fight Lewis after the Bentt fight.

[oogiebe]

If I remember rightly Morrison was going to fight Lewis after the Bentt fight.

Yup! Didn't exactly work out for "The Duke."

[Steveh583]

Jimmy Vincent vs David Barnes. (Tho Vincent could be considered just above journeyman I suppose)

[oogiebe]

I admit I had to go back and look, but I remembered a brute (almost) journeyman named Demitrice King who upset a couple of "up and comers,"
An Undefeated Bowie Tupou 18-0
An undefeated Bermane Stiverne 12-0

I had wondered what this guy might have been with any sort of proper handling.

http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/219753

[Nightmare Roy]

Carl Thomson v David Haye, Carl wasn't a journeyman but he was at the tail end of his career. What a fight that was, the Cat was a tough tough dude!

[oogiebe]

Surprised no one mentioned Buster Douglas. A journeyman in every sense of the word.

[tobyh5]

Surprised no one mentioned Buster Douglas. A journeyman in every sense of the word.

No. Just no.

Huge underdog but not a journeyman under any definition

[bigjack]

Surprised no one mentioned Buster Douglas. A journeyman in every sense of the word.

Journeymen usually have a string of defeats and generally show up to make up the numbers and happy to lose so they get regular work,that doesn't really fit the bill for Douglas

[oogiebe]

Surprised no one mentioned Buster Douglas. A journeyman in every sense of the word.

Journeymen usually have a string of defeats and generally show up to make up the numbers and happy to lose so they get regular work,that doesn't really fit the bill for Douglas

I will submit...

[bigjack]

Surprised no one mentioned Buster Douglas. A journeyman in every sense of the word.

Journeymen usually have a string of defeats and generally show up to make up the numbers and happy to lose so they get regular work,that doesn't really fit the bill for Douglas

I will submit...

Good man,you know we are right.