BoxRec

Two categories:

First of all, who were you sure would do very well, but flopped? (I don't mean guys like, say, Naz, who may have underachieved but nevertheless was still an A-lister at one point. I mean promising ones who really flopped)

Second, who did you mark down as nothing special, who went on to greatly exceed your expectations?

On my end, God damn-it, a guy named William Guthrie made a fool out of me...anyone remember this guy? I touted him something big to all my mates, & believed we had something there --- didn't happen.

Robbie Peden really impressed me in one of his earlier bouts on some late-night card --- he was no one at the time, & I remember thinking he was going to set the world on fire, but I got a little carried away.

I also had really high --- too high, in truth --- hopes for Andrew Lewis. Yeah, ole, "Six Heads" had me going at one time, I admit. Thought he'd be mixing it with the top-crop for several years.

I'll give myself credit for one thing --- I called it from the start on the pretender who was Michael Grant, &, boy, did I ever cop sh!t for labelling him a limited fraud, right up until he was so badly exposed. That one was vindicating

Can't immediately think of someone who I under-estimated to a drastic point...maybe I thought at one time Kessler wouldn't amount to what he has. I still don't think of him as a great fighter, but he's become very good, indeed.

Hmm, Grant, good one. I know you got it right, but it reminded me he was one of my "next champs".

On the flipside, I remember being DEEPLY unimpressed by Firat Arslan in a couple of his early fights, so it was very surprising to me that he went on to become a WBA champion.

Audley harrison

Adamj1987 wrote:Audley harrison

That's like saying you were into Milli Vanilli back in the day...maybe so, but you don't ever say it out loud. See, I say Guthrie, & probably no one has heard of him, but you, LOL...

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:Audley harrison

That's like saying you were into Milli Vanilli back in the day...maybe so, but you don't ever say it out loud. See, I say Guthrie, & probably no one has heard of him, but you, LOL...

I admit i was wrong, theres been a few but i never said they would get beyond brit level so ive not counted them

I remember Guthrie but he did about what I thought he'd do.

Valuev has gone on to be a lot better than I originally thought.

oliverfennell wrote:Two categories:

First of all, who were you sure would do very well, but flopped? (I don't mean guys like, say, Naz, who may have underachieved but nevertheless was still an A-lister at one point. I mean promising ones who really flopped)

Second, who did you mark down as nothing special, who went on to greatly exceed your expectations?

- Most recently, Boom-Boom Rey Bautista was marketed as Manny Jr and had enough talent to be a champ, but they tried to bring him along too fast against a very underrated Ponce DeLeon. Still time for him to recover, but he may be permanently damaged goods.

Same deal with Vic Ortiz.

Stevie Luevano's been on a good run and won his title on a big upset. Guy doesn't have a muscle in his scrawny body and can't pop a soap bubble, but has proven now to have enough chin, heart, and technical, tactical boxing ability to be a short term title holder.

ive said Denis Boystov would be nothing but it looks like he will be

Adamj1987 wrote:ive said Denis Boystov would be nothing but it looks like he will be

I don't think you can say you were wrong about him yet, since he hasn't accomplished anything.

I'd say Marty Monroe really let me down. After his win over Lopez I thought he was going to make a lot of noise in the division, but merely dropped out of the picture after Page destroyed him.

When I watched Larry Holmes early on he certainly had skills, but at times looked too robotic to me to be able to get to a title with his rather simple jab-right hand style, and what didn't really look like an effective defense. I think I missed that one by quite a bit.

The Great John L wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:ive said Denis Boystov would be nothing but it looks like he will be

I don't think you can say you were wrong about him yet, since he hasn't accomplished anything.

i was meaning it looks liek going to be wrong about him

Eric Lucas is one that achieved a lot more than I ever tought with such limited power and natural boxing skills.

Howard Davis- he had some good wins and came within a whisker of beating Rosario. But I thought he was going to be a mini Ali in my youth.


One in each category from Tommorrows Champions on NBC. I thought Alex Ramos was a future champion and Bobby Czyz was nothing more than a hyped Middleweight Scott Ledoux.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Howard Davis- he had some good wins and came within a whisker of beating Rosario. But I thought he was going to be a mini Ali in my youth.


One in each category from Tommorrows Champions on NBC. I thought Alex Ramos was a future champion and Bobby Czyz was nothing more than a hyped Middleweight Scott Ledoux.

Good call on Czyz. I didn't think he'd accomplish anything either.

Guys I thought would accomplish alot. Andrew Golota, Michael Olajide, Kenny Gould and Richie Sandoval.

Guys who really surprised me. John Ruiz.

Rey Bautista when I saw him after his defeat against Ponce De Leon and thought he would bounce back and win belts and be a p4p top 10 but then 2 fights later he lost

I know its too early to write him off but it doesnt look like he'll exceed my expectations

Adamj1987 wrote:Audley harrison

Same here.
I had heard rumours about his chin but I just though it was a typical Boxing myth and that he just lacked a bit of confidence.
The Sprott fight put everything into place.

I met Audley out in Vegas back in 03 and he seemed a decent fella. He was delighted I recognised him and even though he was on the phone he told whoever he was talking to he had to go to have a chat!
I sometimes think this incident was why I backed him until the Sprott fight!

Hector Camacho Sr.

After watching Camacho versus Limon, Solis, and Ramirez I thought he was going to be a top 10 all-time p4p type of fighter. I mean his skills and speed were up there with the best of them. I don’t know what happen to him but he really let me down. IMO his accomplishments do not match his skills. He should have been better.

Ricardo Mayorga

One that exceeded my expectations was definitely Ricardo Mayorga. His two wins over Forrest were a complete surprise for me.

Vernon Forrest

Another great fighter that should have accomplished more than he did. Maybe his injuries have something to do with that. May he RIP.

Zab Judah

Another big disappointment. People were comparing him to Whitaker and I did fell for that. After the chicken dance he was never the same or maybe I did overrate him from the beginning.

Don Curry. Before the Honeyghan fight, I thought he would shortly dethrone Marvin Hagler and then go on to become of the greatest fighters, pound-for-pound, who ever walked the face of the earth.

Pinklon Thomas. After he beat Witherspoon, I thought he had everything he needed to take out the by then fading Larry Holmes and dominate the heavyweight division for years to come.

Hector Camacho. Early on, I didn't think he was tough enough to succeed long term.

Josh Clottey has done far better than I thought he would. His style just looked like crap to me and his stamina. I can't think of a fight I predicted him to win, including Alvarez, Chico & Judah. I had Quintana before that fight got scrapped, so I wont pretend I've learned my lesson.

"Hector Camacho Sr.

After watching Camacho versus Limon, Solis, and Ramirez I thought he was going to be a top 10 all-time p4p type of fighter. I mean his skills and speed were up there with the best of them. I don’t know what happen to him..."

By his own admission, that left hook...

BroughtonRulesRefuge wrote:

oliverfennell wrote:Two categories:

First of all, who were you sure would do very well, but flopped? (I don't mean guys like, say, Naz, who may have underachieved but nevertheless was still an A-lister at one point. I mean promising ones who really flopped)

Second, who did you mark down as nothing special, who went on to greatly exceed your expectations?

- Most recently, Boom-Boom Rey Bautista was marketed as Manny Jr and had enough talent to be a champ, but they tried to bring him along too fast against a very underrated Ponce DeLeon. Still time for him to recover, but he may be permanently damaged goods.

Same deal with Vic Ortiz.

Stevie Luevano's been on a good run and won his title on a big upset. Guy doesn't have a muscle in his scrawny body and can't pop a soap bubble, but has proven now to have enough chin, heart, and technical, tactical boxing ability to be a short term title holder.

Bautista, good call. I was pretty high on him too.

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.

Mr E wrote:Pinklon Thomas. After he beat Witherspoon, I thought he had everything he needed to take out the by then fading Larry Holmes and dominate the heavyweight division for years to come.

- Correct on the first front. Fading Mr. Larry ditched his WBC belt rather face his mandatories, Spoon/Thomas.

Bought enough time for Mr. Larry to pad out his career some more and approach Rocky's record.

Zab Judah is probably just a little too well-qualified, if you read Oliver's post, to make mention of in this thread.