BoxRec

Who are some fighters who for the most part made a name for themselves with only one big win throughout their entire career and never came close to a win of that magnatude before or after that. Here are a few off the top of my head.

Jimmy Young dec. George Foreman
Leon Spinks dec. Muhamed Ali
Buster Dougles KO Mike Tyson

Billy Backus stopping Joes "Mantaquilla " Napoles on cuts.
After that he was real inconsistent.
Napoles stopped him in the return go.
Interesting topic.

expug wrote:Billy Backus stopping Joes "Mantaquilla " Napoles on cuts.
After that he was real inconsistent.
Napoles stopped him in the return go.
Interesting topic.

Good one. I heard the odds of that fight were bigger than the Tyson upset.

That would be a tough one to top. Definatly his one shining moment. If not for that one win not very many people would know the name Billy Backus.

Decagon wrote:

generic screen name wrote:Good one. I heard the odds of that fight were bigger than the Tyson upset.

I highly doubt that, although I would be quite impressed by a source. The gaming industry of the 1970s wasn't able to hold odds that large, at least without limits. Someone bet $160,000 to win $4,000 on Tyson against Douglas.

Just by going equivelent wise you could make a case for Backus over Napoles as the bigger upset. Backus was such a no name fighter I think this is the first time I have seen him mentioned in this forum.

kick asner wrote:Who are some fighters who for the most part made a name for themselves with only one big win throughout their entire career and never came close to a win of that magnatude before or after that. Here are a few off the top of my head.

Jimmy Young dec. George Foreman
Leon Spinks dec. Muhamed Ali
Buster Dougles KO Mike Tyson

Actually, Jimmy Young "made a name for himself" more when he lost to Ali...
It might be a bit of a stretch...but...Kenny Norton's win over Ali might qualify...he never had another win of that magnitude...lost to Foreman fast, lost a great fight to Holmes, squeaked by Jimmy Young in a split decision...Norton's best fight was the 1st Ali fight...Norton's second best 3 fights were the Ali rematches and the Holmes fight, all of which he lost (close...but he still lost)

Decagon wrote:Ali-Norton III was a robbery.

Ali-Norton III was really a draw...not a robbery...boring, dull, action lacking...but not a robbery....you make it sound like Norton won 10 rounds...the most either guy won was 7, with 1 even...a draw, and an UGLY draw at that...neither guy points to this fight on his resume as one of his better fights, I'm sure...Did they give Ali the decision?...probably...Did Norton deserve it with that effort?...Hell NO! Neither guy did much in that fight, go watch the tape again...very unimpressive...nothing like their previous fight in Sept. '73...

Sweet Scientist wrote:

Decagon wrote:Ali-Norton III was a robbery.

Ali-Norton III was really a draw...not a robbery...boring, dull, action lacking...but not a robbery....you make it sound like Norton won 10 rounds...the most either guy won was 7, with 1 even...a draw, and an UGLY draw at that...neither guy points to this fight on his resume as one of his better fights, I'm sure...Did they give Ali the decision?...probably...Did Norton deserve it with that effort?...Hell NO! Neither guy did much in that fight, go watch the tape again...very unimpressive...nothing like their previous fight in Sept. '73...

Ridiculous. Norton DEFINETELY could've won 10 rounds. It's a fairly entertaining fight. Norton CLEARLY deserved the decision. Any other opinion is pure bias for Ali.

Ingemar Johansson (well not quite, because he also beat Machen)

dempseyfire wrote:

Sweet Scientist wrote:

Decagon wrote:Ali-Norton III was a robbery.

Ali-Norton III was really a draw...not a robbery...boring, dull, action lacking...but not a robbery....you make it sound like Norton won 10 rounds...the most either guy won was 7, with 1 even...a draw, and an UGLY draw at that...neither guy points to this fight on his resume as one of his better fights, I'm sure...Did they give Ali the decision?...probably...Did Norton deserve it with that effort?...Hell NO! Neither guy did much in that fight, go watch the tape again...very unimpressive...nothing like their previous fight in Sept. '73...

Ridiculous. Norton DEFINETELY could've won 10 rounds. It's a fairly entertaining fight. Norton CLEARLY deserved the decision. Any other opinion is pure bias for Ali.

Sorry...I sure as hell saw it as a dull, pathetically boring fight...with no clear obvious winner...neither one came close to double digits in rounds...Actually, you could make a better arguement for Norton in the second fight...he actually fought with sincere aggression in that 2nd fight, especially down the stretch-and that fight was razor close, too (and it actually was a great fight!)--...I don't see that in the 3rd fight...If you do, point it out to me...I must have missed it, even though I watched that fight over 100 times...what I did see much of the fight was a tenative Norton, who looked scared of taking risks, scared of getting hit...he had a few good rounds...easily could have been called a draw..."fairly entertaining" you say...OK, fairly entertaining...if you insist...for entertainment, I'll take the 2nd fight...

I would have to ask why you would want to watch a fight so many times which you considered boring?

kick asner wrote:I would have to ask why you would want to watch a fight so many times which you considered boring?

To try to figure out who actually won maybe...or nothing else was on TV those days...or just an old fight junkie...I just don't know, actually...but I did watch it many times...

Terence wrote:Off the old-timers topic but Joe Calzaghe is in with a great chance of gracing a similar thread in a few years times

Rubbish.
As well as Lacey, Calzaghe has beaten Chris Eubank.
Eubank has ranked 3rd in Boxrecs all time super middleweights!

hes also beaten former world champs such as Robin reid and Charles Brewer

Terence wrote:Off the old-timers topic but Joe Calzaghe is in with a great chance of gracing a similar thread in a few years times

What big Calzaghe win are you talking about?

How about the debatable win for Molinares when he KO'd Starling after the bell?

A few more off the top of my head

Danny Williams (vs Tyson)
Steve Cruz (vs McGuigan)
Irish Pat Lawlor (vs Duran)
Duane Thomas (vs Mugabi)
Michael Bentt (vs Morrison)
Sugarboy Malinga (vs Benn)

Jesse Furgeson dec. Ray Mercer

Sweet Scientist wrote:

kick asner wrote:Who are some fighters who for the most part made a name for themselves with only one big win throughout their entire career and never came close to a win of that magnatude before or after that. Here are a few off the top of my head.

Jimmy Young dec. George Foreman
Leon Spinks dec. Muhamed Ali
Buster Dougles KO Mike Tyson

Actually, Jimmy Young "made a name for himself" more when he lost to Ali...
It might be a bit of a stretch...but...Kenny Norton's win over Ali might qualify...he never had another win of that magnitude...lost to Foreman fast, lost a great fight to Holmes, squeaked by Jimmy Young in a split decision...Norton's best fight was the 1st Ali fight...Norton's second best 3 fights were the Ali rematches and the Holmes fight, all of which he lost (close...but he still lost)

No, not really. Young "made a name for himself" by beating Ron Lyle twice before he fought Foreman. And after pretty much shutting out the talented Lyle, no one should have been surprised when Young schooled George.

The Great John L wrote:

Sweet Scientist wrote:

kick asner wrote:Who are some fighters who for the most part made a name for themselves with only one big win throughout their entire career and never came close to a win of that magnatude before or after that. Here are a few off the top of my head.

Jimmy Young dec. George Foreman
Leon Spinks dec. Muhamed Ali
Buster Dougles KO Mike Tyson

Actually, Jimmy Young "made a name for himself" more when he lost to Ali...
It might be a bit of a stretch...but...Kenny Norton's win over Ali might qualify...he never had another win of that magnitude...lost to Foreman fast, lost a great fight to Holmes, squeaked by Jimmy Young in a split decision...Norton's best fight was the 1st Ali fight...Norton's second best 3 fights were the Ali rematches and the Holmes fight, all of which he lost (close...but he still lost)

No, not really. Young "made a name for himself" by beating Ron Lyle twice before he fought Foreman. And after pretty much shutting out the talented Lyle, no one should have been surprised when Young schooled George.

OK...Young did make a statement when he beat Lyle (in the fight right before Lyle fought Ali)...but, I still remember Howard Cosell interviewing Lyle before the Ali fight...and commented to Lyle about his recent loss to the "Unheralded Jimmy Young"...got the impression at the time they weren't giving Young much credit for anything more than an upset...when Young fought Ali a year later, he became very well known...with much of the media saying Young was robbed...

Sweet Scientist wrote:OK...Young did make a statement when he beat Lyle (in the fight right before Lyle fought Ali)...but, I still remember Howard Cosell interviewing Lyle before the Ali fight...and commented to Lyle about his recent loss to the "Unheralded Jimmy Young"...got the impression at the time they weren't giving Young much credit for anything more than an upset...when Young fought Ali a year later, he became very well known...with much of the media saying Young was robbed...

Howard Cossell may not have given him credit, but Cossell was hardly a knowledgeable boxing person. The first Lyle win was simply further evidence of the ability he showed when he was held to a HIGHLY disputed draw by Earnie Shavers in their rematch, and knowledgeable boxing observers had Young ranked pretty highly after he pretty much shut out Lyle twice. The Ali fight was more notable to the casual fan because it was on national TV, so I certainly see your point. Of course, Young got the most recognition from the Foreman win, but he was far from a one hit wonder as the original poster implied.

I don't see how Ken Norton who defeated Jerry Quarry, Duane Bobick, and Jimmy Young could remotely be considered for this category.

David over Goliath

tagjohnson wrote:I don't see how Ken Norton who defeated Jerry Quarry, Duane Bobick, and Jimmy Young could remotely be considered for this category.

Because he beat a washed up, brain dead Quarry, Duane Bobick proved to be a joke of a pretender...and...there are those who will tell you that Young deserved the decision in that fight...it was razor close...that's why!

How about Riddick Bowe? While he had 2 big wins, they were both over the same guy, and he really didn't have any other significant wins.

The Great John L wrote:

Sweet Scientist wrote:OK...Young did make a statement when he beat Lyle (in the fight right before Lyle fought Ali)...but, I still remember Howard Cosell interviewing Lyle before the Ali fight...and commented to Lyle about his recent loss to the "Unheralded Jimmy Young"...got the impression at the time they weren't giving Young much credit for anything more than an upset...when Young fought Ali a year later, he became very well known...with much of the media saying Young was robbed...

Howard Cossell may not have given him credit, but Cossell was hardly a knowledgeable boxing person. The first Lyle win was simply further evidence of the ability he showed when he was held to a HIGHLY disputed draw by Earnie Shavers in their rematch, and knowledgeable boxing observers had Young ranked pretty highly after he pretty much shut out Lyle twice. The Ali fight was more notable to the casual fan because it was on national TV, so I certainly see your point. Of course, Young got the most recognition from the Foreman win, but he was far from a one hit wonder as the original poster implied.

Cosell may not have been as knowledgable as a Nat Fleischer, but he certainly was knowledgable, he covered quite a few fights on both radio & TV in '50's through '80's...he turned a lot of people off, but that doesn't mean he wasn't 'knowledgable'...and when he refered to Young as "unheralded", Young's record was something like 12-4...so I don't think it was an out of line, 'unknowledgable' statement at that time...AND...the second Young-Lyle fight was after the Ali fight...so both boxing people, and the casual observer, knew who Jimmy Young was by then...