BoxRec

A fighter who takes boxing up in his late 20s early 30s has very little amateur background but goes on to win a world title in the pro ranks?

Michael bennt wrote:A fighter who takes boxing up in his late 20s early 30s has very little amateur background but goes on to win a world title in the pro ranks?

yes

Adonis Stevenson had a relatively short but successful amateur background (33-5) and turned pro when he was 29 years old.

jccII turned pro at 23 with only 2 amateur exhibitions.
hopkins got out of jail and turned pro at 23 i think with no amateur experience.
mundine i think converted from rugby or soccer at like 25 with no amateur background.
dwight muhamad qawi got out of jail at like 25 and turned pro with no amateurs.
i'm not sure who is the best to turn pro with no amateur background starting late.

The Law wrote:Adonis Stevenson had a relatively short but successful amateur background (33-5) and turned pro when he was 29 years old.

Sounds like this is the mfer you're looking for.

I believe Bonecrusher Smith turned pro late into his 20s & held a hw belt for a minute. Not sure if his amateur pedigree but I don't think it was substantial w/e the case.

ReggieDiggs wrote:

The Law wrote:Adonis Stevenson had a relatively short but successful amateur background (33-5) and turned pro when he was 29 years old.

Sounds like this is the mfer you're looking for.

I believe Bonecrusher Smith turned pro late into his 20s & held a hw belt for a minute. Not sure if his amateur pedigree but I don't think it was substantial w/e the case.

but 38 amateur fights is actually a lot for the bigger fighters.
foreman, holmes, wilder and lots of pro heavy champs had less amateur experience than that,
but got their start in their early 20's.

Nate Campbell turned pro aged 28 with little amateur experience and went to to become the linear lightweight champion.

wilder.

man wrote:wilder.

Think Deontay turned pro @ 23 give or take a year. He didn't have much experience though.

sucracristo wrote:

ReggieDiggs wrote:

The Law wrote:Adonis Stevenson had a relatively short but successful amateur background (33-5) and turned pro when he was 29 years old.

Sounds like this is the mfer you're looking for.

I believe Bonecrusher Smith turned pro late into his 20s & held a hw belt for a minute. Not sure if his amateur pedigree but I don't think it was substantial w/e the case.

but 38 amateur fights is actually a lot for the bigger fighters.
foreman, holmes, wilder and lots of pro heavy champs had less amateur experience than that,
but got their start in their early 20's.

Yea I guess 38 fight is a pretty solid number for amateur experience regardless of the division tbqh.

fergusg wrote:

man wrote:wilder.

Surely Deontay Wilder doesn’t count, does he? He doesn’t match the criteria defined in the first post in this thread. :??

His amateur record was 29-5 and also won the National Golden Gloves and US Championships, as well as being an Olympic Bronze medallist, before turning professional only three weeks after his 23rd birthday.

What's your source on his amateur record? I know of only four losses (Zimnoch, Romanov, Acosta, and Russo) and believe that he closer to 40 wins.

He didn't have much experience though.

Wilder hadn't boxed for long prior to turning pro but he fought very good opponents in the amateurs. I imagine that only a small proportion of pros fight such good amateur opposition.

crusader wrote:

fergusg wrote:

man wrote:wilder.

Surely Deontay Wilder doesn’t count, does he? He doesn’t match the criteria defined in the first post in this thread. :??

His amateur record was 29-5 and also won the National Golden Gloves and US Championships, as well as being an Olympic Bronze medallist, before turning professional only three weeks after his 23rd birthday.

What's your source on his amateur record? I know of only four losses (Zimnoch, Romanov, Acosta, and Russo) and believe that he closer to 40 wins.

He didn't have much experience though.

Wilder hadn't boxed for long prior to turning pro but he fought very good opponents in the amateurs. I imagine that only a small proportion of pros fight such good amateur opposition.

The amateur stuff is debatable & I would lean towards your opinion but Deontay is DQ'd from this debate based on age. Not to mention he hasn't won a belt yet.