worst managed fighters

[stujones]

I think must be a call for Kevin McBride - okay he was pretty damn poor, but Tyson was still a very very decent name at the time of their fight. Okay - not the same buzz as Danny Williams, but that victory got Danny Williams a world title shot in his next fight. Kevin McBride didn't fight for a year and then fought a journeyman and then in the fight after, lost to a no name.

Yes - it might have been a case of "damn if you do, damn if you don't" cos Klitschsko would have done some serious damage on him - but surely he could have cashed in a bit more - e.g. perhaps a fight with Williams.

[Eolaithe]

Martin Bakole?

[MasterG]

Do you know I've been racking my brains for a while over this topic.

Now I'm not suggesting this boxer had the worse manager, on the contrary, but his final fight was appalling.

I remember watching Fightnight back in the 90s, which was on Tyne Tees TV on a Thursday night after news at 10. The cetral area equivalent show escapes me now but there was a regular boxing show showing small hall fights.

Up north it was generally shows from the North East, Billy Hardy, Carl Crook, Najib Daho etc.

Anyway on this occasion it was an international bill, usually these shows where from Thailand with the Galaxy brothers fighting, but on this occasion the bill was from Madrid and top bill was Luis Mendoza fighting João Cardosa, for the WBA Super Bantamweight title.

On the undercard was a Doncaster lad, Kevin Plant, his record prior to the fight was 15 wins, 27 losses and 9 draws. He had fought Eamonn Loughran, Derek Grainger, Pat Barrett, Tony Swift, in his career.

So, back to the Madrid bill, 30th May 1991. I still remember this fight as if it was yesterday.

Kevin fough on the 4 card bill against debutant Thailand boxer Samsong. That was his name on the card

Samsong was actually called Homknokkor Son Sang. No one knew his previous background and with the looks of it no one did their homework to see who Kevin was actually boxing that night.

Honestly it was a torrid night for Kevin who was knocked out in the 8th round. Som Song turned out to be a Thai professional boxer and legendary muay Thai fighter.

It was the last fight Kevin had. He suffered a very bad loss that night. Inept management in my opinion.


Kevin Plant was from Doncaster, I can't find any information on him, I dont know if he's still alive or how his health is.

Anyone have any I do?

[a force]

Jack Catterall always springs to mind.

He had his breakthrough fight in late 2014 stopping unbeaten Thomas Stalker.

It took him until early 2022 to get a world title shot.

He wasted a lot of his best years fighting at British level & against random journeymen from abroad.

If he never wins a full world title he’ll blame it on the judging in the Taylor fight but he really should’ve had several shots by now.

[a force]

Martin Bakole?

I’d say he’s been brilliantly managed. He’s got no appetite to train & has had several big pay days. If he was born 10 years earlier he would’ve been a random African in the who needs him club. He’s one of many fighters who’ve dropped lucky that the Saudi’s are around.

[a force]

Michael Hunter, Hughie Fury, Demetrius Andrade, Opetaia

Probably have more talent than their resumes show, in varying amounts, but inactivity and can crushing will leave them forgotten.

Hughie Fury is a baffling one. You would think he would’ve got an opportunity with the Saudi’s who seem to love a heavyweight.

It’s hard to believe he’s not had a single meaningful fight in 7 years.

[mickey1975]

Michael Hunter, Hughie Fury, Demetrius Andrade, Opetaia

Probably have more talent than their resumes show, in varying amounts, but inactivity and can crushing will leave them forgotten.

Hughie Fury is a baffling one. You would think he would’ve got an opportunity with the Saudi’s who seem to love a heavyweight.

It’s hard to believe he’s not had a single meaningful fight in 7 years.

I think growing up in the training environment he did was counterproductive for Hughie. Constant world class sparring isn’t great when you’re a teenager. A bit like Dave Allen.

[Boxerbeetle]

Jack Catterall always springs to mind.

He had his breakthrough fight in late 2014 stopping unbeaten Thomas Stalker.

It took him until early 2022 to get a world title shot.

He wasted a lot of his best years fighting at British level & against random journeymen from abroad.

If he never wins a full world title he’ll blame it on the judging in the Taylor fight but he really should’ve had several shots by now.

He’s a tough sell though!

[margaret thatcher]

I think must be a call for Kevin McBride - okay he was pretty damn poor, but Tyson was still a very very decent name at the time of their fight. Okay - not the same buzz as Danny Williams, but that victory got Danny Williams a world title shot in his next fight. Kevin McBride didn't fight for a year and then fought a journeyman and then in the fight after, lost to a no name.

Yes - it might have been a case of "damn if you do, damn if you don't" cos Klitschsko would have done some serious damage on him - but surely he could have cashed in a bit more - e.g. perhaps a fight with Williams.

ya big kev capitalized absolutely 0 on the tyson win

[Riddick Bowie]

I think must be a call for Kevin McBride - okay he was pretty damn poor, but Tyson was still a very very decent name at the time of their fight. Okay - not the same buzz as Danny Williams, but that victory got Danny Williams a world title shot in his next fight. Kevin McBride didn't fight for a year and then fought a journeyman and then in the fight after, lost to a no name.

Yes - it might have been a case of "damn if you do, damn if you don't" cos Klitschsko would have done some serious damage on him - but surely he could have cashed in a bit more - e.g. perhaps a fight with Williams.

McBride was in the Don King orbit and him or his team priced himself out of a WBA title fight with John Ruiz.

[Riddick Bowie]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

[JamesPhilips]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

[mickey1975]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

The loss made Tillis. He marketed himself as the man who took Tyson the distance.

[Riddick Bowie]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

Not sure you followed boxing in 1986. Tillis emerged from that fight with a lot of credit. You can look up contemporaneous coverage from The Ring or Boxing Weekly.

Plus (from a promoter's perspective) you could use an alibi for the losses as prior to the Tyson fight he discovered he was allergic to the diet fighters typically consume and which he had been feasting on his whole career. Also, the losses had all come against highly regarded fighters, several of whom Tillis decked.

It would've been an easy sell had his manager tried to manufacture some mystique by feeding him tomato cans. In my opinion. Perhaps it is an eccentric one.

[JamesPhilips]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

Not sure you followed boxing in 1986. Tillis emerged from that fight with a lot of credit. You can look up contemporaneous coverage from The Ring or Boxing Weekly.

Plus (from a promoter's perspective) you could use an alibi for the losses as prior to the Tyson fight he discovered he was allergic to the diet fighters typically consume and which he had been feasting on his whole career. Also, the losses had all come against highly regarded fighters, several of whom Tillis decked.

It would've been an easy sell had his manager tried to manufacture some mystique by feeding him tomato cans. In my opinion. Perhaps it is an eccentric one.

I always liked Tillis. He was a character and decent fighter. I just don’t think a Tillis rematch would’ve been interesting to Tyson"s camp. He was being fast tracked to the title. Tillis was given a lot of credit for taking Tyson the distance but there were not many calls for a rematch. But he got a lot of matches against prospects on the back of that. I have no idea of his purses but I’m fairly sure James would’ve been paid well. You could argue that he was well managed by using his Tyson result as a story to get so many paydays against prospects. I’m not sure there was much mystique around his name . He’d been beaten by Coetzee, Biggs, Marvis Frazier, Carl Williams, Witherspoon, Greg Page, Pinklon Thomas, Weaver, by the time he faced Tyson, including a few stoppages.

It all depends on how much he was paid. I’d suggest there was more clamour for a Mitch Green fight because of the Harlem street fight.

Just my opinion of course but I genuinely don’t believe there was enough interest in a Tillis rematch especially from Mikes camp.

[JamesPhilips]

I always thought Quick Tillis was terribly managed after losing a close decision to Tyson. Perfect time to drop the level of opposition, feed him cans while Tyson performs a series of demolition jobs on the alphabet boys in the unification tourney.

The big money rematch would've been easy to sell.

Instead his manager opted to send him round the world to fight contenders in their back yards and match him short notice with hungry prospects at short notice. The boxing version of 'short-termism'.

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

The loss made Tillis. He marketed himself as the man who took Tyson the distance.

Right and that’s how he got so many fights against prospects

[Riddick Bowie]

Not sure about that. It wasn’t a disputed decision. And the Tyson loss was Tillis’ 5th out of 6 fights. He was in journeyman mode by than, had lost in almost all his big fights, and must’ve made some decent money flying around and fighting top prospects. There must’ve been some decent purses fighting all those names. Tillis was never gonna be in world contention again.

Not sure you followed boxing in 1986. Tillis emerged from that fight with a lot of credit. You can look up contemporaneous coverage from The Ring or Boxing Weekly.

Plus (from a promoter's perspective) you could use an alibi for the losses as prior to the Tyson fight he discovered he was allergic to the diet fighters typically consume and which he had been feasting on his whole career. Also, the losses had all come against highly regarded fighters, several of whom Tillis decked.

It would've been an easy sell had his manager tried to manufacture some mystique by feeding him tomato cans. In my opinion. Perhaps it is an eccentric one.

I always liked Tillis. He was a character and decent fighter. I just don’t think a Tillis rematch would’ve been interesting to Tyson"s camp. He was being fast tracked to the title. Tillis was given a lot of credit for taking Tyson the distance but there were not many calls for a rematch. But he got a lot of matches against prospects on the back of that. I have no idea of his purses but I’m fairly sure James would’ve been paid well. You could argue that he was well managed by using his Tyson result as a story to get so many paydays against prospects. I’m not sure there was much mystique around his name . He’d been beaten by Coetzee, Biggs, Marvis Frazier, Carl Williams, Witherspoon, Greg Page, Pinklon Thomas, Weaver, by the time he faced Tyson, including a few stoppages.

It all depends on how much he was paid. I’d suggest there was more clamour for a Mitch Green fight because of the Harlem street fight.

Just my opinion of course but I genuinely don’t believe there was enough interest in a Tillis rematch especially from Mikes camp.

I said they should have let Tillis fight cans for a couple of years while the unification tournament played out as Tyson was obviously going to come out on top. Basically the same thing Team Ribalta did, only Ribalta blew his rematch when he botched the Jeff Sims fight.

Tyson was a prodigy and Tillis got a major reputation boost by breaking his knockout streak. The performance aged better with each passing year.

There's a reason why Tyson fought Tillis in the exhibition fight in 88 rather than any other ex opponent. They literally sold him on his being 'the first man to go the distance with Tyson' (his gimmick to this day).

As far as Tillis earning well being fed to A Sides, Tillis was screwed out of his money by Beau Williford, who also appeared to be getting extra money under the table (see the Gary Mason fight).

[JamesPhilips]

Not sure you followed boxing in 1986. Tillis emerged from that fight with a lot of credit. You can look up contemporaneous coverage from The Ring or Boxing Weekly.

Plus (from a promoter's perspective) you could use an alibi for the losses as prior to the Tyson fight he discovered he was allergic to the diet fighters typically consume and which he had been feasting on his whole career. Also, the losses had all come against highly regarded fighters, several of whom Tillis decked.

It would've been an easy sell had his manager tried to manufacture some mystique by feeding him tomato cans. In my opinion. Perhaps it is an eccentric one.

I always liked Tillis. He was a character and decent fighter. I just don’t think a Tillis rematch would’ve been interesting to Tyson"s camp. He was being fast tracked to the title. Tillis was given a lot of credit for taking Tyson the distance but there were not many calls for a rematch. But he got a lot of matches against prospects on the back of that. I have no idea of his purses but I’m fairly sure James would’ve been paid well. You could argue that he was well managed by using his Tyson result as a story to get so many paydays against prospects. I’m not sure there was much mystique around his name . He’d been beaten by Coetzee, Biggs, Marvis Frazier, Carl Williams, Witherspoon, Greg Page, Pinklon Thomas, Weaver, by the time he faced Tyson, including a few stoppages.

It all depends on how much he was paid. I’d suggest there was more clamour for a Mitch Green fight because of the Harlem street fight.

Just my opinion of course but I genuinely don’t believe there was enough interest in a Tillis rematch especially from Mikes camp.

I said they should have let Tillis fight cans for a couple of years while the unification tournament played out as Tyson was obviously going to come out on top. Basically the same thing Team Ribalta did, only Ribalta blew his rematch when he botched the Jeff Sims fight.

Tyson was a prodigy and Tillis got a major reputation boost by breaking his knockout streak. The performance aged better with each passing year.

There's a reason why Tyson fought Tillis in the exhibition fight in 88 rather than any other ex opponent. They literally sold him on his being 'the first man to go the distance with Tyson' (his gimmick to this day).

As far as Tillis earning well being fed to A Sides, Tillis was screwed out of his money by Beau Williford, who also appeared to be getting extra money under the table (see the Gary Mason fight).

Wow. I didn’t know about that…. What a shame!

[Syntax Error]

Marvis Frazier was badly managed by his legendary father, Smokin' Joe Frazier.

Marvis was a talented boxer type, but Smoke sought to turn him into a mini-me, which he just wasn't capable of emulating.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Joe threw him in with Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson, the two best heavyweights of the 80s and poor Marvis was marmalised on both occasions.

No wonder Marvis retired from the sport at a young age and in hindsight, a very wise decision.

[JamesPhilips]

Marvis Frazier was badly managed by his legendary father, Smokin' Joe Frazier.

Marvis was a talented boxer type, but Smoke sought to turn him into a mini-me, which he just wasn't capable of emulating.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Joe threw him in with Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson, the two best heavyweights of the 80s and poor Marvis was marmalised on both occasions.

No wonder Marvis retired from the sport at a young age and in hindsight, a very wise decision.

Agree on all points

[Cent0089]

Not exactly worst, but Golovkin career should be definitely managed better. His resume is very weak compared to his ATG abilities. Should have Martinez, Quillin, Sturm, on his record between 2011 to 2015. When someone look at Golovkin after 10 years, he would be only remembered because of Canelo fights IMO

[Eolaithe]

Martin Bakole?

I’d say he’s been brilliantly managed. He’s got no appetite to train & has had several big pay days. If he was born 10 years earlier he would’ve been a random African in the who needs him club. He’s one of many fighters who’ve dropped lucky that the Saudi’s are around.

Billy Nelson is Martin Bakole’s manager and trainer, while Ben Shalom being his promoter.

The Tony Yoka victory wasn't properly exploited. Bakole went to Paris in May 2022, dropped the unbeaten Olympic champion twice and handed him his first professional defeat, yet didn't fight again for a year.

Bakole then spent most of 2023 ranked No.2 by the WBA and most of 2024 at No.1, without that position translating into him competing in an eliminator, earning mandatory challenger status or receiving a world-title fight.

Between beating Yoka in May 2022 and facing Joseph Parker in February 2025, he fought only three times.

His spectacular fifth-round stoppage of the unbeaten Jared Anderson in August 2024 should have been his breakthrough: it gave him US exposure, a major scalp, earned credibility and genuine momentum while already highly ranked.

Instead, six months later Bakole accepted the Joseph Parker fight on roughly two days' notice, being terribly overweight, without a proper training camp and after travelling 3,000 miles from the Congo to Saudi Arabia. An obviously underprepared Bakole was stopped in two embarrassing rounds.

Only ten weeks after being stopped by Parker, Bakole nevertheless fought Ajagba. He again appeared overweight and poorly conditioned... and could only manage a majority draw, with most observers favouring an Ajagba victory.

A proposed May 2026 fight with Guido Vianello then collapsed (with only seven-weeks notice) amid Bakole's contractual dispute with his handlers, despite terms being agreed and contracts signed.

Bakole hasn't fought for more than 15 months, hasn't done anything meaningful in the sport within the last two years and there are no plans for him to fight anytime soon.

That's a remarkable loss of momentum for someone who spent roughly two years ranked either No.1 or No.2 by the WBA. Whatever proportion of the blame belongs to Bakole or his handlers, his prime years have clearly not been converted efficiently into activity, major fights or world-title opportunities.

[JamesPhilips]

Martin Bakole?

I’d say he’s been brilliantly managed. He’s got no appetite to train & has had several big pay days. If he was born 10 years earlier he would’ve been a random African in the who needs him club. He’s one of many fighters who’ve dropped lucky that the Saudi’s are around.

Billy Nelson is Martin Bakole’s manager and trainer, while Ben Shalom being his promoter.

The Tony Yoka victory wasn't properly exploited. Bakole went to Paris in May 2022, dropped the unbeaten Olympic champion twice and handed him his first professional defeat, yet didn't fight again for a year.

Bakole then spent most of 2023 ranked No.2 by the WBA and most of 2024 at No.1, without that position translating into him competing in an eliminator, earning mandatory challenger status or receiving a world-title fight.

Between beating Yoka in May 2022 and facing Joseph Parker in February 2025, he fought only three times.

His spectacular fifth-round stoppage of the unbeaten Jared Anderson in August 2024 should have been his breakthrough: it gave him US exposure, a major scalp, earned credibility and genuine momentum while already highly ranked.

Instead, six months later Bakole accepted the Joseph Parker fight on roughly two days' notice, being terribly overweight, without a proper training camp and after travelling 3,000 miles from the Congo to Saudi Arabia. An obviously underprepared Bakole was stopped in two embarrassing rounds.

Only ten weeks after being stopped by Parker, Bakole nevertheless fought Ajagba. He again appeared overweight and poorly conditioned... and could only manage a majority draw, with most observers favouring an Ajagba victory.

A proposed May 2026 fight with Guido Vianello then collapsed (with only seven-weeks notice) amid Bakole's contractual dispute with his handlers, despite terms being agreed and contracts signed.

Bakole hasn't fought for more than 15 months, hasn't done anything meaningful in the sport within the last two years and there are no plans for him to fight anytime soon.

That's a remarkable loss of momentum for someone who spent roughly two years ranked either No.1 or No.2 by the WBA. Whatever proportion of the blame belongs to Bakole or his handlers, his prime years have clearly not been converted efficiently into activity, major fights or world-title opportunities.

How much of that is Bakole’s fault I wonder? I hear he’s not very motivated when it comes to training. Does anyone know how much he got for the Parker fight?

[Eolaithe]

How much of that is Bakole’s fault I wonder? I hear he’s not very motivated when it comes to training. Does anyone know how much he got for the Parker fight?

talkSPORT claims that rumours about Martin Bakole’s purse were greatly exaggerated, saying he was paid only £475,000 ($600,000), compared with Joseph Parker’s £1.58 million ($2 million).

Martin Bakole and his promoter, Ben Shalom of Boxxer, are currently involved in a public dispute.

Billy Nelson, as Bakole’s manager and trainer, should not have allowed him to enter the ring in such poor condition when he fought Parker and Ajagba. He should have advised Bakole to decline the Parker fight and arranged more bouts with proper training camps (keeping him active to maintain his fitness levels, his positive career momentum and also force the governing bodies to award him a title shot).

Ultimately, Bakole is responsible for his own lack of professionalism and poor decisions, but his career and reputation would be in a much better position today if he had been guided by better handlers.

[Riddick Bowie]

Any votes for Mike Perez? What has he been doing these last 10 years?