BoxRec

IKSRTFO wrote:Zab Judah was the biggest disapointment for me. In the early 2000s he was actually being compared as a formidable foe to Mayweather, now he's barely a gatekeeper.

Jeff Lacey. I was one of the dumb few who believed the hype. Its funny when you look back on it.

Don't worry everyone believed in Lacy even if they won't admit it now.

Grimm wrote:

IKSRTFO wrote:Zab Judah was the biggest disapointment for me. In the early 2000s he was actually being compared as a formidable foe to Mayweather, now he's barely a gatekeeper.

Jeff Lacey. I was one of the dumb few who believed the hype. Its funny when you look back on it.

Don't worry everyone believed in Lacy even if they won't admit it now.

i thought he would test calzaghe

I thought he was going to beat Calzaghe. Jeff accomplished a good deal for himself.Considering his limitations, that became crystal clear, he may have been more of an overachiever.

Dominick Guinn was one who I had pegged for the top of the HW division. An athletic southpaw with above average skill and power. He couldn't let his punches go though.

A lot of people were on guinn, I fell more for the Grant hype myself. But he isn't a southpaw.

i didnt take to lennox lewis for ages. he looked quite poor and limited for so long that i just couldnt imagine he'd ever be world champ.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:But he isn't a southpaw.

Not sure why I was thinking he was.

tzyuforever wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:But he isn't a southpaw.

Not sure why I was thinking he was.

I still think Guinn is a good fighter that may one day hold a title. ;;-)

i wrote off wlad after the brewster loss. the heavyweight division is bad but it was still a great comeback to get to where wlad is now.

My list is as long as granberry's medicaid bill.

Greg Page, I thought he was goin' Way way way farther than he did....he had the talent...but not the will

Ed Mahone, I thought he was going places, got sucked into the USA hype.

Joe Calzaghe, I thought he WASN"T goin places I thought he was too slappy, turns out he's not.

Jeff Lacey....I thought he was goin places other than to the hospital after the Calzaghe fight

John Ruiz....Never thought he was going to be a force in the HW division

Chris Byrd....way underestimated him.....and learned to like him.

Jeff McCracken....I thought he was headin' to the top. You never heard of him? Yeah I know

James Toney, I thought he'd implode after the Jones fight. Turns out this guy is very stable in terms of psyche.

Duane Bobick....boy was I wrong on this one

Joe Mesi......Thought he was going to be a household name

Marlin Starling.....same thing

Willie "the worm" Monroe....I honestly thought he was going to be as dominating as Hagler ended up being.

Mike Tyson.....I thought the party was going to last WAY longer than it did.

Riddick Bowe....I thought he was going to be Tyson's greatest nemisis, and honestly thought HE was going to have the career that Lennox ended up having.

Ike Ibeabuchi, I thought he was going to change everything

I remember watching Jeff McCracken as an amateur back when ABC showed USA vs the World on Sundays. That reminds me how much I loved Jimmy Clark, future Heavyweight champion.

I also have The Hit Man slicing Jeff up on DVD.

BoxBuzz wrote:My list is as long as granberry's medicaid bill.

Greg Page, I thought he was goin' Way way way farther than he did....he had the talent...but not the will

Ed Mahone, I thought he was going places, got sucked into the USA hype.

Joe Calzaghe, I thought he WASN"T goin places I thought he was too slappy, turns out he's not.

Jeff Lacey....I thought he was goin places other than to the hospital after the Calzaghe fight

John Ruiz....Never thought he was going to be a force in the HW division

Chris Byrd....way underestimated him.....and learned to like him.

Jeff McCracken....I thought he was headin' to the top. You never heard of him? Yeah I know

James Toney, I thought he'd implode after the Jones fight. Turns out this guy is very stable in terms of psyche.

Duane Bobick....boy was I wrong on this one

Joe Mesi......Thought he was going to be a household name

Marlin Starling.....same thing

Willie "the worm" Monroe....I honestly thought he was going to be as dominating as Hagler ended up being.

Mike Tyson.....I thought the party was going to last WAY longer than it did.

Riddick Bowe....I thought he was going to be Tyson's greatest nemisis, and honestly thought HE was going to have the career that Lennox ended up having.

Ike Ibeabuchi, I thought he was going to change everything

Maybe you should re-read Oliver's pre-requisites in his opening post.

I was certain that Kirkland Laing was going to be a World Champion but sadly it all fell apart.

Another one for me was Curtis Parker. I'm a sucker for Philly fighters and while I had no delusions of him beating Hagler. I damn sure thought he would be a top contender and give marvelous a good scrap.

Andrew Golota. I thought maybe the fights with Bowe were just two fucked up mistakes. Turns out he was just a natural when it came to quitting.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

BoxBuzz wrote:My list is as long as granberry's medicaid bill.

Greg Page, I thought he was goin' Way way way farther than he did....he had the talent...but not the will

Ed Mahone, I thought he was going places, got sucked into the USA hype.

Joe Calzaghe, I thought he WASN"T goin places I thought he was too slappy, turns out he's not.

Jeff Lacey....I thought he was goin places other than to the hospital after the Calzaghe fight

John Ruiz....Never thought he was going to be a force in the HW division

Chris Byrd....way underestimated him.....and learned to like him.

Jeff McCracken....I thought he was headin' to the top. You never heard of him? Yeah I know

James Toney, I thought he'd implode after the Jones fight. Turns out this guy is very stable in terms of psyche.

Duane Bobick....boy was I wrong on this one

Joe Mesi......Thought he was going to be a household name

Marlin Starling.....same thing

Willie "the worm" Monroe....I honestly thought he was going to be as dominating as Hagler ended up being.

Mike Tyson.....I thought the party was going to last WAY longer than it did.

Riddick Bowe....I thought he was going to be Tyson's greatest nemisis, and honestly thought HE was going to have the career that Lennox ended up having.

Ike Ibeabuchi, I thought he was going to change everything

Maybe you should re-read Oliver's pre-requisites in his opening post.

Hey goodnight, you really have a problem with me going beyond the scope of the orginal question in my reply?.....If so just breeze on by all that you feel is superflous to the core question. Maybe I just felt like sharing...lol.

Don't get in a tizzy now, Buzz. You take offense too easily, sometimes, & not easily enough, at others. There is no malice in my post.

I'm pretty sure Oliver precluded fellows like Judah, Bowe, Toney, Tyson, & several others listed.

This is going way back, but based upon the way Thad Spencer beat Ernie Terrell in their WBA heavyweight tournament match back in '67, I thought Thad was a pretty good favorite to ultimately win the tournament.

Instead, he got whipped by Quarry in the semi-final match of that tournament. I don't recall him being any kind of serious factor after that.

Spencer had some legit ability, too...

Hey Goodnight, sometimes typed words just don't convey the message well, I wasn't taking offense, just mullin' the thought.

yancey wrote:This is going way back, but based upon the way Thad Spencer beat Ernie Terrell in their WBA heavyweight tournament match back in '67, I thought Thad was a pretty good favorite to ultimately win the tournament.

Instead, he got whipped by Quarry in the semi-final match of that tournament. I don't recall him being any kind of serious factor after that.

A tad before my time, but Quarry pulled the plug on the Mac Foster hype as well.

Lonnie Smith

Watched him deconstruct the capable Billy Costello one lunch time on TV. I talked him up to all my mates but he just seemed to fade away after that.

Never thought Steve Collins had the skills to go as far as he did. He was always durable and strong but he had better skills than I appreciated.

Ali, as a young teen I bet 5$ he would beat Smokin Joe that first time. Later i bet a couple dollars with a sucker that he'd "whip" that uknown Norton(opps). Then I was sure Big George would murderize Ali. I bet 60 dollars on Norton in their third(but controversial) match. I was picking up a date and bet her poor kid brother 10 bucks that he'd beat Neon Leon(I felt bad for taking advantage of him til Ali lost).

Matter of fact I lost every bet on a Ali fight over the years. I began to think he'd only lose if I bet on him to win.
But I had my day, it was easy to find people to take him when he fought Holmes. I won about as much as I lost over the years that night. Of course I quit betting on fights after that(kinda).

Not exactly what you were looking for in this thread, but I thought I'd share it with you just the same.

The first part of your question was definately Michael Nunn for me. I hated his cockiness, but I was dead certain the man would have been an all-time great. But then he lost to Toney and Jones, and just fell off the radar.

The other question, I suppose it goes to Vitali Klitschko. Why? Before the Lewis fight, who really gave a damn about him, or knew who he really was. Then he had a hell of a fight with him, then kayoed Kirk Johnson easily int two rounds, had a hell of a slugfest with Corrie Sanders. Save the Danny Williams fight, his come back against Peter four years after retiring was tremendous---no heavyweight in history ever came back after that long a time with no tune ups to win a world title. He surprised me.