Has any fighter ever made a bigger impact on their Debut?

[gilgamesh]

So even though Francis Ngannou didn't get the decision, the fact that the internet is abuzz with discussion of him being robbed, and all of us would say he did far better than expected.

All that coupled with the prestige of the match, and the hype surrounding it. Can any of you think of anyone making more of an impact on the Sport in their very 1st bout? I can't.

[Monzon83]

Ivan Drago.

[The Asleep Lamps]

He wasn't allowed to fight for the title because it was his debut. I don't know if anyone has ever thought of attempting that before as it seems unwise. The vastly experienced amateur Lomachenko lost his attempt to win a title in his second fight. (a fight in which Salido landed 52 low blows w/o being deducted a point)
Saensak Muangsurin did it in his third fight and I thought to look him up. He started as a Muay Thai fighter and was a famous Muay Thai champion prior to entering boxing.

[Syntax Error]

Thomas Rademacher challenged HW Champion Floyd Patterson for the title on his debut.

He did manage to floor Patterson, but Floyd recovered and gave him a good pasting in the end.

[jwfg]

Pete Rademacher challenged HW Champion Floyd Patterson for the title on his debut.

[Syntax Error]

Pete Rademacher challenged HW Champion Floyd Patterson for the title on his debut.

Thank you.

My bad.

[JCS]

Lomachenko had a hell of a debut fight... though not quite at this level...

[Evander]

^

[Redback Rasta]

Whether he was robbed or not is a matter of opinion - the opinion of these forums is he wasn't - but I can't think of a fighter making a bigger impact on debut. Sensational performance.

[funso banjo baby]

It was a dull fight with a surprise kd...that's all

Look at some of the top level heavyweight bauble fights and ask yourself whether the money you pay is worth it. At least some of the bills are starting to have ok undercards, it's desperately needed.

Joshua v Ruiz 2 dull
Joshua v Usyk dull
Joshua v Usyk 2 dull
Joshua v Parker dull
Fury v Ngannou dull with one surprise kd
Fury v Whyte dull , big ko
Fury v chisora 3 pointless
Usyk v Dubois. Dull, pretend low blow controversy

The majority of these I watched later on YouTube

[The Asleep Lamps]

I doubt anyone here betted on Ngannou but they were asking you to bet the cost of admission on Ngannou, unless you bought it expecting a one-sided wipeout. Now he is more proven but is he really PPV worthy? Someone said this is the place where celebrity boxing and real boxing met. DAZN puts on PPV's of youtubers.
I can see now that I was OK with Ngannou cutting in line before guys like Zhang ang Hrgovic but I don't want him to jump ahead of Joshua and Wilder facing each other.

[jwfg]

David Bey beat Buster Douglas in his debut.

[SportsRatings]

Thomas Rademacher challenged HW Champion Floyd Patterson for the title on his debut.

He did manage to floor Patterson, but Floyd recovered and gave him a good pasting in the end.

Pete Rademacher was Olympic champ though. As was Loma x2. Ngannou had zero pro or amateur boxing matches, very different. Though his combat sports experience was extensive, it's like a triathlete focusing just on swimming and winning a silver medal his first time competing in a pool!

Rademacher ended up losing his first TWO fights, KO'ed both times

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Andy Cruz made a huge impact on me!

[AngryGoon38]

The 6'9 American football player "Ed Too Tall Jones" made quite a buzz when he decided to give it a go with Boxing.
Too bad "Wilt Chamberlain" didn't take the next step and have A televised pro boxing bout.
Apparently he was only interested in boxing against Ali. And Ali declined the bout apparently.
Olympic Weightlifter and Feats of Strength specialist, "Paul Anderson" actually had 6 pro Boxing bouts, and lost all of them. I'm sure that his pro debut created a good buzz for some boxing fans.
Then, also, you had "Lyle Alzado" taking on Ali in that 1979 eight round exhibition bout, which very well could've been made into A Pro Sanctioned Boxing Bout.

Boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr, and Oscar Delahoya. And to a lesser degree, Ali. The first three all had Highly Anticipated Pro Debuts in Pro Boxing. Ali as well, but just not quite the same as the first three that i mentioned.
They were All Highly Marketed/Publicized Boxers. On the contrary, with Boxers like Duran, Monzon, Marciano, and many other future Legends of Boxing, it was crickets in comparison.
Marketability is the foremost factor in the Enabling of a Boxer making a Huge Impact, or at least a Big Buzz provided to the Fans in they're Pro Boxing Debut. Yes, of course being an Olympic Champ Can help a Ton, as well as being A Champ in another Fighting Sport, or just an entirely other type of Sport(Ex- Ed Too Tall Jones).

[AngryGoon38]

Also, obviously you have "Conor McGregor", who made it to the 10th round versus "Money Mayweather".

Then there's The YouTube Boxer Stars, such as "Jake Paul" and "Ksi".