BoxRec

As we all know now, Edwin Valeros boxing career is all but over, and it got me thinking about other wasted talents in the sport. Valero could well be one of the biggest ever wastes in the history of the boxing, 27-0 with 27 KO's speaks for itself. So I wondered what other wasted talents there has been in the sport before him. For criminal reasons an obvious name is Ike Ibeabuchi, first to beat Tua and first to KO Byrd aren't bad stats to have on your record. I'm interested to hear any thoughts as to other wasted talents? Whether it be after a couple of dozen pro fights or simply extremely gifted amateurs who have strayed off course.

For those of you who haven't heard by the way! http://www.fightnews.com/?p=43230

It is something that police say he has confessed to as well.

He has hung himself in jail.........

Since this is almost by definition about boxers that are no longer competing, it's going to BOTP. Shadow topic has been left in CS.

Livingstone Cole wrote:

MatthewS wrote:Since this is almost by definition about boxers that are no longer competing, it's going to BOTP. Shadow topic has been left in CS.

He's barely even cold Matthew, and you shipped him into BOTP?

I don't want to make light of it, by any means... as the title says, Valero and others...

Valero's destruction of his wife and himself is so tragic. People will forget that he was well liked here in southern cal and in Japan.

On the topic...

Tony Ayala - alcohol lead him to dark places no one could ever understand (or want to understand).

Champions who have pushed it till the bitter end:

Stanley Ketchel - a true wild man

Johnny Tapia - may he some how live through his demons

RIP Valero. Sad day for boxing but the truth is as some say he may have been mentally ill and as someone who has dealt with those who suffer from mental illnesses it is true to say that the line between reality and illusions can be blurred. That being said, as a fan of his boxing style and not his personal life, we will never truly know how good he was. Other wasted talent I think of at the moment is Clifford Etienne (Spelling?) whom most knowledgeable boxing fans know spent life in and out of prison. Some say he never had the chin to be something great, but others can only wonder how good of a fighter he would have been had he not gone back in. There is another prospect who recently went to jail though his name escapes me. Any time a boxer leaves his craft because he is in trouble with the law it is generally a waste of talent considering they rarely return as good. Somehow though, it feels unfair to compare Etienne's talent with the talent Valero seemed to possess according to his record and the power in his fists.

Solid post Dancin' Dan, I agree with those fighters you named especially the part about Valero's life being a tragic one.

Sad day for their children. I think they had 2 young girls. To lose both your parents is something most adults never truly get over and as a father of 4 young, young children, I just hope the children are safe and mentally strong enough to get on with their lives.

Very, very sad for them :(

Really terrible for those kids and awful handling by the authorities. He should have been locked up for beating up his mother, or for recently collapsing his wife's lung. It all could have been avoided if that coward was rotting in a cell.

On the Boxing side of it, hello Ibeabuchi territory. This guys legend will grow by the hour when he was a decent opponent away from getting exposed.

Burn in hell Edwin!

Sadly, Michael Dokes did a number on himself.

Hard not to mention John L here as well.

When we lose a great fighter its a sad day for all sport fans. here are some fighters we lost over the years and how we miss them.

Edwin Valero - Suicide
Arturo Gatti - Suicide??? Murdered??
Salvador Sanchez - Car Crash
Alexis Argurerro - Suicide
Vernon Forrest - Murdered
Diego Corrales - Motorcycle Crash
Ricky Womack - Suicide
Kid Akeem - Hurt in ring died years later
Julian Letterlaugh - Murdered
Robert Quigura - Ended Kid Akeem career - Murdered
Darryl Chambers - Life in Prison
Keiko Bejines - Killed in the ring

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Really terrible for those kids and awful handling by the authorities. He should have been locked up for beating up his mother, or for recently collapsing his wife's lung. It all could have been avoided if that coward was rotting in a cell.

On the Boxing side of it, hello Ibeabuchi territory. This guys legend will grow by the hour when he was a decent opponent away from getting exposed.

Burn in hell Edwin!

You were not there and no one knows all the details so keep your sadistic comments to yourself your moron.

greenmonkey wrote: Alexis Argurerro - Suicide

Who :??

On the Topic.

Joseph Serrano 1-0(1KO) 2004 Olympian and highly regarded as a top prospect and future champ from PR along with Juanma Lopez. A few days after his Pro debut he was shot several times. He survived but his young career as pro, sadly ended. I know many of you didnt have the oportunity to see him or even hear from him but this is one of those Wasted Talent. He was that good.Hard hittin Southpaw and a vicious body puncher. There's no doubt in my mind that by this time. He would of been a World Champion already.

James Kirkland 25-0 (22KO) was a fast-rising prospect who derailed himself twice by criminal arrests. I havent heard from him no more.. Idk if his coming home or not.

Edwin "Chapo" Rosario 47-6(41KO) Died as a result of an overodose. Throughout his career He was dealing with drugs problems.

greenmonkey wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Really terrible for those kids and awful handling by the authorities. He should have been locked up for beating up his mother, or for recently collapsing his wife's lung. It all could have been avoided if that coward was rotting in a cell.

On the Boxing side of it, hello Ibeabuchi territory. This guys legend will grow by the hour when he was a decent opponent away from getting exposed.

Burn in hell Edwin!

You were not there and no one knows all the details so keep your sadistic comments to yourself your moron.

I didn't have to be there, he admitted it. I'll comment wherever I please and you should look up sadistic before offering insults about intelligence.

Carlos Monzon wasn't a saint.

According to news wires, Valero was only licensed in Texas and other states had turned him down for physical reasons related to a motorcycle accident suffered years ago.

He had three incidents in the past few years of wife beatings and one beating of his mother and sister. In the last beating his wife suffered a broken rib that punctured a lung but claimed -as in all incidents- that she had fallen down the stairs.

This Sunday he killed his wife with three fatal stab wounds to the neck, confessed the murder and hung himself with his sweatpants.

greenmonkey wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Really terrible for those kids and awful handling by the authorities. He should have been locked up for beating up his mother, or for recently collapsing his wife's lung. It all could have been avoided if that coward was rotting in a cell.

On the Boxing side of it, hello Ibeabuchi territory. This guys legend will grow by the hour when he was a decent opponent away from getting exposed.

Burn in hell Edwin!

You were not there and no one knows all the details so keep your sadistic comments to yourself your moron.

Give me a break

Were you there by Adolf Hitler's side to see what made him tick? Are you going to defend him against anyone who tarnishes his name? How about Fred West, or Ed Gein? Them, too?

Get real.

Darren Sutherland is another wasted talent in my eyes, I think he had improved so much since the loss to Degale in Beijing, and looked possibly the best of all the Irish/GB olympians who turned pro. Shame we didn't get to see how good he could of been.

greenmonkey wrote:When we lose a great fighter its a sad day for all sport fans. here are some fighters we lost over the years and how we miss them.

Edwin Valero - Suicide
Arturo Gatti - Suicide??? Murdered??
Salvador Sanchez - Car Crash
Alexis Argurerro - Suicide
Vernon Forrest - Murdered
Diego Corrales - Motorcycle Crash
Ricky Womack - Suicide
Kid Akeem - Hurt in ring died years later
Julian Letterlaugh - Murdered
Robert Quigura - Ended Kid Akeem career - Murdered
Darryl Chambers - Life in Prison
Keiko Bejines - Killed in the ring

Pancho Villa - Tooth Infection
Masao Ohba - Car accident

Greg Page
Michael Dokes
Johnny Bumphus
Riddick Bowe
Davey Moore
Donald Curry
Howard Davis Jr.

The-Artist wrote:Darren Sutherland is another wasted talent in my eyes, I think he had improved so much since the loss to Degale in Beijing, and looked possibly the best of all the Irish/GB olympians who turned pro. Shame we didn't get to see how good he could of been.

He had an off day against DeGale in the Olympics. I think he had beaten him five times previously to Beiing. We, in Ireland could see he had the talent to become a top pro years ago. What could have been.

Billy Collins is another boxer who I don't think has been mentioned.

greenmonkey wrote:Kid Akeem - Hurt in ring died years later

Robert Quigura - Ended Kid Akeem career - Murdered

a very sad story as a postscript to one of the greatest fights I've ever seen