Fighters That Let You Down

What I mean is guys you think have what it takes to be great but on more than one occassion let you down.

I'd go for Victor Ortiz - has good power, speed, decent enough chin and very big & strong at LWW and WW.

But falls at the final hurdle including fights he isn't expected to lose, although I still expect him to reach a higher level.

He's now signed up for US' Strictly Come Dancing while his jaw repairs.

Who else do you think is perhaps better than their record shows.

Naz, simply because whenever I hang with my American or Canadian mates who know about boxing they say the following about him:

"He was that big mouthed Brit who got his a*s handed to him by Barrera."

Naz was so much more, but to a large degree, this is his legacy.

I've put more faith in Zab than just about anyone over the past few years, and every time he's found a way to disappoint me! The last straw was his meek capitulation against Khan after I backed him to upset the odds and nick a points decision, and now I have zero faith left.

I can forgive the losses to Mayweather, Cotto etc, but Baldomir, Spinks and Clottey? The young Judah (who was with Main Events before going under his dad's terrible tutelage was such a talent that it's hard to imagine him being beaten by those guys had he had the focus and mind set to match his physical talent.

Bernard Hopkins. I want him to go away but he just keeps winning...

I know you said multiple times, but on the basis I had to accept Azania was something close to right I'd say David Price based on the pure devasting personal gravitas of his ko loss to TT.

Do have to agree with Naz to some extent. As I have argued countless times his achievements are nowhere near as poor as many would have you believe on here, he was the premier featherweight for a good few years I am still left with the feeling he could have achieved more and in my opinion had the raw materials to be if not a legend of the sport then certainly amongst the top five this country had ever produced, a status I cannot afford him now.

Whilst I am not claiming he would not have had an unbroken run against the likes of Barrera, Morlaes, Manny and Marquez I genuinely believe had he stayed focused, fit and committed to the sport he would have certainly held his own and would have had more than his fair share of wins against these.

Despite that I am sure the comeback will set the record straight soon enough.

I thought Hamed overachieved......The kid did everything wrong...hitting off the wrong foot... hands down...and relying completely on his reflexes..........

His career is to be applauded.....No surprise really when he didn't fancy coming back...

He was a bully boy who didn't like it up him.............The Kelly fight was more pride than anything.. being decked like that...But after he'd been convincingly slapped..

He didn't like it...............

Tony Tubbs...........Followed his career from the amateurs to the pros...never seen quicker hands...top quality footwork and a good chin.....

Lost to the freezer..............

TopHat24/7 wrote:I know you said multiple times, but on the basis I had to accept Azania was something close to right I'd say David Price based on the pure devasting personal gravitas of his ko loss to TT.

Cotto vs Pacquaio was a let down in the sense that i thought cotto would win and bet £100 on cotto to do just that.
More disappointed than let down by Hatton against Mayweather. Just wished he could have seen the final bell at the time.

RanjitPatel wrote:Cotto vs Pacquaio was a let down in the sense that i thought cotto would win and bet £100 on cotto to do just that.
More disappointed than let down by Hatton against Mayweather. Just wished he could have seen the final bell at the time.

And deny us all that check hook with Ricky head butting the ring post? I'd pay £100 just to see an ending like that.

Yeah was a great shot. From the midway point a stoppage was looking guaranteed. Liked Hatton back then so, as i said, was more disappointment, seeing him down and out for the first time.

I liked Hatton but preferred Floyd. The consummate pro won.

I thought De la Hoya beat Floyd so gave Hatton a chance i suppose. Shouldn't have but, at the time, I'd obviously underestimated how good he really was. The Collazo fight should have sent alarm bells ringing really.

RanjitPatel wrote:I thought De la Hoya beat Floyd so gave Hatton a chance i suppose. Shouldn't have but, at the time, I'd obviously underestimated how good he really was. The Collazo fight should have sent alarm bells ringing really.

You thought what?

Ortiz, Naz and Judah are terrific shouts

Normally my scoring goes with the consensus but always give it to dlh. Very much against the grain but that's how i saw it. Gave Bradley the pacquiao fight too.

On what basis did you score that fight to De La Hoya?

Well VC, your name reminded me of one: Edwin Valero. I know people saw him as a raw power puncher only, but the way he cut through DeMarco (who went on to win a title) was impressive. He'd have been a monster at LW or LWW and I'd have really fancied him to terrify many of the top guys. Alas, he let everyone down be turning out to be a complete psychopathic murderer.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:On what basis did you score that fight to De La Hoya?

For me, Mayweather vs ODLH was one of the those very close fights in which there was still a clear winner. I was surprised Oscar got it on one of the cards. A close UD for Floyd all the way.

Ricky Hatton in his last 2 fights.

I realise it was close but scoring each round separately i scored more rounds to Dlh. Dlh pushing the action and Mayweather countering with singles. Just didn't do it for me.

I agree just about word for word with Boxtthis' take on De la Hoya-Mayweather. Not one of Floyd's best performances and he didn't run away with it, but he won it beyond any doubt all the same. A competitive fight but I suspect that if I watched it a hundred times over I'd have Mayweather around three points up at the end every time. Oscar just let the fight get away from him a little between rounds nine and eleven as he began to tire and he fell in to that trap of coming forward without really throwing anything.

Given how De la Hoya looked as if he was really turning the tide from rounds six to eight, I was alarmed at how straightforward the remainder of the fight was for Mayweather.

Was De La Hoya effective pushing the action though, Mayweather was the one landing all the significant shots, not a great performance but a comfortable victory nonetheless.

Rowley wrote:Do have to agree with Naz to some extent. As I have argued countless times his achievements are nowhere near as poor as many would have you believe on here, he was the premier featherweight for a good few years I am still left with the feeling he could have achieved more and in my opinion had the raw materials to be if not a legend of the sport then certainly amongst the top five this country had ever produced, a status I cannot afford him now.

Whilst I am not claiming he would not have had an unbroken run against the likes of Barrera, Morlaes, Manny and Marquez I genuinely believe had he stayed focused, fit and committed to the sport he would have certainly held his own and would have had more than his fair share of wins against these.

Despite that I am sure the comeback will set the record straight soon enough.

Exactly as Rowley says with Naz.

I felt Hatton was a let down too. No shame in his losses to Pacquiao and Mayweather as they are far better fighters, but losing his head and fighting like an idiot was poor. Got way too involved emotionally.

Pacquiao was a let down in the second half of the Bradley fight. Great credit to Bradley for hanging in there but he was toast after 6 rounds than Pacquiao let him off the hook through what seemed like sloppyness by taking his foot off the gas and letting it go to the scorecards. That fight should not have lasted 12 rounds.

Haye? Poor performance against Wlad, makes the 'toe' excuse and then has a brawl with Chisora.

It wasn't Naz being beat by Barrera which let me down, it was the way he threw in the towel and quit boxing.

Andre berto seen him after his 8th or 9th fight and thought he was the best big thing, unfortunately he fell at what was meant to be an easy defence against Ortiz!

The Calvo fight was the tip of the iceberg rather than the Barrera one, a comfortable victory but one that showed no desire or ambition, he'd lost it.

Diamond in the rough wrote:Andre berto seen him after his 8th or 9th fight and thought he was the best big thing, unfortunately he fell at what was meant to be an easy defence against Ortiz!

Great fight though. One of the best over the last few years.

Edwin Valero.

The guy was an animal in the ring, great pressure fighter, scared people as much (if not more) than Tyson did in his time. Great chin, great variety of punches and one of the best KO runs for a long time...

It's a shame it's not what he did in the ring that let me and a number of other fans down.

Ortiz is a great shout, he's had Oscar De La Hoya gushing and throwing down the carpet for him for years now. Loses mental focus in one fight yet looks tough as hell in another... repeat this sequence.

I only got into Valero just before the Demarco fight so didn't appreciate him that much but his known mental state, KO record and stupid tattoo would make him intimidating for most foes. Ok, we'll maybe not the tattoo!

Berto is a good shout. I always liked his style and seemed quick with good pop but his last two fights he just seemed to completely switch off at times, odd!

Howard Eastman in his fights with Joppy and Hopkins. Howard just drifted in and out of the fight with Joppy when he was winning handily and then drifted out of the fight with Hopkins and never bothered to drift back in again.

Clinton Woods disappointed against an over-the-hill Tarver and the woeful Cloud. Sadly, the big occasions (certainly overseas) got the better of Clinton and he never reproduced his performances against the likes of Hoye and Gonzales

derick chisora, not saying his a great but his far better than his record suggests, had he been fitter he wouldnt have had some of those losses.

also not really a let down as i have no idea where he has gone or if he has faught since prize fighter but mike perez, after seeing him on prize fighter i remember thinking this guys going to get somwhere but no idea whats happened with him

Makaveli wrote:derick chisora, not saying his a great but his far better than his record suggests, had he been fitter he wouldnt have had some of those losses.

also not really a let down as i have no idea where he has gone or if he has faught since prize fighter but mike perez, after seeing him on prize fighter i remember thinking this guys going to get somwhere but no idea whats happened with him

Give him a break. 4 losses included 2 against the best in the division. One against Fury and a total robbery which shouldn't count against him. Not that bad really. And who knows, Fury may be the saviour of the division.

Sort of agree with Cotto. He didn't so much as let me down, Marge just seemed to beat the fight out of him, he showed much the same side of himself to Clottey, Manny.
He was on such an impressive run and I thought after Mosley he was going to separate himself from the welterweight pack and show greatness (although I still had him losing to Floyd).Margery ruined him though, I think his actual Floyd fight was one last hurrah of a performance.

Boxtthis wrote:

Diamond in the rough wrote:Andre berto seen him after his 8th or 9th fight and thought he was the best big thing, unfortunately he fell at what was meant to be an easy defence against Ortiz!

Great fight though. One of the best over the last few years.

Excellent fight indeed! I'm looking fwd to the rematch