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 Ruined
by Marty Mulcahey (June 2, 2004)
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What turns a red hot champion into a good name on a prospect's resume overnight, or a can't miss contender into yesterday's news? Boxing is a cruel master that turns today's pound for pound champ into tomorrow's sad comeback attempt. In exploring the 'ruined by one fight' phenomenon, you will find many reasons for the fall from grace boxers experienced. Some were mental, while others were never the same after an insanely grueling fight. Most retained their physical skills after the fateful bout, but the performance level, or willingness to employ them, dissipated.
I chose 10 boxers whose star shone brightly as champions or top contenders, and whose decline in form can be traced to one fight (some right down to a single punch) where something went horribly wrong. Losing, or the manner in which they lost, was not always cause for the downturn. In fact, four of the ten boxers selected won (or should have won) their calamitous bout. Yet, the damage incurred in the win was too much to overcome. I limited my search to the last 25 years, so no fight before 1980 (Zamora vs. Zarate, and Bobick vs. Norton come to mind immediately) was considered.
Case Study # 1 - Davey Moore vs. Roberto Duran
Things got off to a horrible start for Moore when a Duran jab missed it's mark (or did it?) in round one, and Roberto's thumb landed squarely in the eye of Moore. The eye began to swell, and close, almost immediately. It was an opening which Duran capitalized on with fervor, throwing combinations from every angle. By the beginning of the third round, Moore's left eye was completely closed. In the fourth, Moore was noticeably flinching as Duran's body shots impacted with sickening accuracy. The agony began to show on the face of Moore, and by the seventh round, even hardcore fight fans were asking for a stoppage. It was a surprise, to most, when Moore was allowed to come out for round eight. Moore, too proud to quit, again walked into power shot after power shot. Press row shouted for the bloodbath to be stopped, and at ringside, Moore's mother fainted. Finally, Davey's corner threw in a towel to end the torture. Duran was born again as a fighter, and Moore was virtually finished. Moore never recovered from the Duran fight, going 6-4 and losing every time he stepped up his level of competition (a freak win where Wilfred Benitez broke his ankle after a knockdown was the notable exception). Eventually, Moore was reduced to fighting on local cards, and met a tragic end when he died in a freak auto accident at age 28.
Davey Moore's fall is simple to dissect in retrospect, as his was a classic tale of too much too soon. After only nine fights, Davey Moore was a title holder. The
problem came when Moore was faced with adversity for the first time against a fighter who had more title fights than Moore had total bouts. Coming into the
Duran bout, Moore, whose mix of athletic ability and vast NYC amateur boxing pedigree allowed him to beat very good opposition, was 12-0. Ability is a double edged sword because it also prevented Moore from being tested against lesser boxers who were not as adept at capitalizing on openings. Moore's lack of experience (an inept corner did not help) left him unable to defend himself against a legendary fighter when adversity hit him in the form of a thumb.
Case Study # 2 - John Tate vs. Mike Weaver
Forty five seconds and a hellacious left hook from Mike Weaver is what separated John Tate from potential greatness. Did one left hook erase all the physical gifts and finely honed talent within John Tate? The irony of the Weaver fight is that Tate (20-0) was showing everyone how good he was. Tate was dominating the fight, hitting Weaver with any punch he chose (most notably a jab and right hand combo Lennox Lewis would be proud of) in front of his hometown fans.
But in the 12th round, Tate wobbled from a hook. A sign ignored. In the 15th round, Weaver connected with a great left hook, and it sent an unconscious John Tate face first to the canvas. There Tate lay, motionless, seemingly forever. That is where Tate's career remained, motionless on a Tennessee canvas. After the loss to Weaver, Tate came back against future champ Trevor Berbick, who knocked John out in the ninth round. Did Tate, who withstood Gerrie Coetzee's bionic right hand, become chinny in one Tennessee night?
Over the next seven years, Tate won 14 fights (a proposed Holmes fight fell through), but they came against very soft opposition. Even in those wins, (almost all in Tennessee) Tate looked shot enough to be denied a fight against a boxer of any substance. Substances were also a problem, as Tate fell into a life of alcohol andcocaine addiction, and later died in a truck accident at age 43.
Tate had showed no chin problems in beating the capable Coetzee (on Coetzee's home turf in front of 80,000 people) one fight earlier, to win the WBA heavyweight title, and was good enough to win the Silver Medal at the 1976 Olympics. In 1980 nearly everyone thought Tate, a 6'5, 230 pound hulk, was the bright future of the heavyweight division. The Weaver punch was one for the ages, but could it have driven all the skill and ambition from Tate? Maybe Tate had a glass jaw all along? Perhaps the punch was so psychologically damaging that Tate became reluctant to take the chances his physical skills allowed him to employ before the knockout loss. In the end, one has to surmise that a combination of drugs and negative mental mindset, both in boxing and life, kept Tate down until his death.
Case Study # 3 - Jeff Fenech vs. Azumah Nelson I
Most anyone who has seen this fight will tell you that Jeff Fenech won a minimum of nine (out of twelve) rounds from the backpedaling Azumah Nelson. Fenech consistently forced Azumah to cover up on the ropes with his aggressive attacks. Only the first two rounds, in which Fenech had not found the range yet, could be given to Nelson. After hearing the judges verdict, Fenech, holding his son, cried openly. Watching a video replay of the fight, Fenech said what everyone thought, "What more could they want me to do?" Fenech got a rematch with Nelson a year later, but was knocked out in the eighth round. More confusing than the result was the way Fenech acted and fought. Fenech looked like a totally different fighter. Gone was the ferocity that marked his ascent, now his chin seemed vulnerable (something not exhibited before), and it hastened his descent from the pound for pound polls. After the Nelson draw, Fenech was knocked out in three of six fights, nearly unthinkable for a world class fighter such as Fenech. In subsequent steps up in competitions, Calvin Grove and Philip Holiday, who are not known for their power, starched Fenech.
This is one of those rare cases where the fighter that won a fight (forget what the judges scored) was the worse for wear. Not only did those judges rob Fenech of a win, more heinously, they took Fenech's (25-0, going for his fourth weight division title) will to fight. The passion with which Fenech fought, and that made him great, was gone after the first Nelson bout. At age 27, Fenech was far from old (Nelson was 32), so subsequent losses must be chalked up to mental fatigue. It was a loss for everyone. Anyone who doubts a man can mentally push himself to victory has not seen a before (the first bout with Nelson), and after (the first fight with Nelson) tape of Jeff Fenech.
Case Study # 4 - Oba Carr vs. Livingstone Bramble
This is the only case in the recorded history of boxing where boxing fans were directly responsible for the downfall of a boxer. A horrible managerial decision forced Oba Carr to fight a tough former champion before his time. Carr was not matched against Livingstone Bramble by his promoter, manager, or self confidence. Instead, a phone in poll held by The USA Network's Tuesday Night Fights program selected Carr's opponent. Naturally, the eager and educated viewers wanted the most competitive fight, so they chose former champ Livingstone Bramble as Oba's next opponent. By the time the bell sounded to end the first round, Carr had been knocked down twice, and sported a look of shock and awe on his face. Carr should be commended for finishing the round, and doing exceedingly well to fight his way back from the disastrous first round to score a split decision 'win'. A win made possible by a late round rally, but nevertheless a win no one outside of Detroit agreed with. Most magazines and fans had Bramble winning by three points or more. Carr went on to lose world title shots against the welterweight triumvirate of Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, and Oscar De La Hoya. But he never looked comfortable when put in the ring with a puncher after the Bramble bout.
Maybe Carr was pushed too fast, or just as importantly, too often, as he streaked out of the gate to a 21-0 record in less than two years as a pro. There is no refuting Carr's skills, but he lacked the blazing speed to turn into the phenom his team suggested Carr was. Also, I believe doubt crept into Oba Carr's young mind after the Bramble affair. Doubt combined with an unrelenting schedule ate away, from opposite ends, at Carr's mental and physical psyche.
Case Study # 5 - Gabe Ruelas vs. Jimmy Garcia
Tragic. It is the only word that can describe the outcome of this fight, and in a much lesser sense the subsequent downfall of Rafael Ruelas. Jimmy Garcia (who had taken a lopsided 12 round pounding at the hands of Genaro Hernandez six months earlier) died two weeks after an operation to relieve bleeding and swelling of the brain was performed on the night of his title bout against Ruelas.
The fight was dominated by Ruelas, and not many were generous enough to give Garcia a round, not for lack of effort, as Garcia threw punches in the face of a hard hooking Ruelas, who consequently initiated more return fire.
It was the most vicious of cycles. After learning of Jimmy's death, Gabriel was very emotional, and remained so in countless interviews done years after the fight. Ruelas was knocked out in his next fight by Azumah Nelson, and in subsequent steps up in competition against Arturo Gatti, John Brown, and Courtney Burton.
'It' wasn't there anymore for Gabe. The fire and determination that drove Ruelas to wins over Azumah Nelson and James Leija, was now tainted with split seconds of hesitation. A second of hesitation is enough to keep a man from the win column at the very highest level of athletics. You can also draw a good conclusion from a post-fight comment Gabe made. "I'd rather lose than have something happen to a guy like that. You can always come back from a loss." After the Garcia fight, Gabe would rather lose than dish out the punishment needed to stop some opponents.
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