10 Worst performances by a Defending Heavyweight Champion !!

1. SELDON vs Tyson

2. BRUNO vs Tyson

3. PATTERSON vs Liston

4. SHARKEY vs Carnera

6. WILLARD vs Dempsey

7. SMITH vs Tyson

8. BAER vs Braddock

9. DOKES vs Coetzee

10. WITHERSPOON vs Smith...............................Only gone up to the end of the Lewis era........Before it all became stupid........

Douglas v Holy obvious choice

It's one I considered my old friend.............However watching a coked up Dokes throw away the title against the mediocre Coetzee..........Watching Baer clown the belt away.....and watching a FAT Witherspoon keel over against a guy he played with two years earlier I considered worse.......

However maybe it belongs in there......and it's a good pick regardless....

cheers.

Frazier vs Foreman?

What about Wlad vs Povetkin. One of the worst fights ever to happen in a boxing ring

ShahenshahG wrote:Frazier vs Foreman?

It's a good pick Shah and one I thought of.......But I'm not sure Frazier could have done anything different Mate........

I might be wrong but I think foreman was all wrong for him....

You could be right.....Cheers for the offering.......I wouldn't argue too much...

Hide vs vitali

Louis v Conn

Louis should have steemrolled the smaller guy but was given a boxing lesson and eat some serious leather.

Only just won that fight

Forgot Hide was a heavyweight champion.........

I think I'll just keep forgetting.....

It's certainly a candidate.........The WBO back then was like the IBO is now.......

I don't regard Francesco Damiani as a heavyweight champ and I don't regard Hide as one either....

But a good pick from you nevertheless...cheers.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Louis v Conn

Louis should have steemrolled the smaller guy but was given a boxing lesson and eat some serious leather.

Only just won that fight

Thought about sticking it in at 10 just to wind Haz and Strongy up..........But alas Holmes v Spinks and a few others would have to precede it.....  

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Louis v Conn

Louis should have steemrolled the smaller guy but was given a boxing lesson and eat some serious leather.

Only just won that fight

Thought about sticking it in at 10 just to wind Haz and Strongy up..........But alas Holmes v Spinks and a few others would have to precede it.....  

Not sure I can think of a fight where a LH dominated a bonifide Heavy

Ruiz vs Jones was a terrible performance from Ruiz.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Louis v Conn

Louis should have steemrolled the smaller guy but was given a boxing lesson and eat some serious leather.

Only just won that fight

Thought about sticking it in at 10 just to wind Haz and Strongy up..........But alas Holmes v Spinks and a few others would have to precede it.....  

Not sure I can think of a fight where a LH dominated a bonifide Heavy

Jones vs Ruiz

Tunney against Dempsey also which was domination from start to finish unlike Conn edging the Louis fight.

Conn weighed 170 for Louis.............

Tunney weighed 189 to Dempsey's 190 according to Boxrec.........

Just to add a bit more perspective........

Spinks against Tyson, for his IBF title, i would say that's possibly one of the worst performances from any fighter I've ever seen, he pooed himself

yeah, but to be fair Truss, at the same time, he still won the fight, bad performance, but there's plenty of worse performances surely... It could be on the list for one of the worst winning performances by a HW champ.

Valuev against Holyfield.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Spinks against Tyson, for his IBF title, i would say that's possibly one of the worst performances from any fighter I've ever seen, he pooed himself

Spinks wasn't IBF champion........It would be a great choice Alex........Only Ring champion Mate..

AlexHuckerby wrote:yeah, but to be fair Truss, at the same time, he still won the fight, bad performance, but there's plenty of worse performances surely... It could be on the list for one of the worst winning performances by a HW champ.

That's why he's not on the list Mate........  

Duty always good to see you on the Boxing threads....Did you get lost Mate ???

To be fair to Valuev - that's how he fights!!

If punching kneecaps was allowed........I'd pick Donaire to beat Valuev...  

Bruce Seldon was an absolute disgrace. I know you've never been strong on Bruno Trussy, but at least he took his lumps when he was terrified. Brucey just fell over.

If we're going down the WBO route then Michael Bentt against Herbie Hide wasn't exactly a great performance. Shannon Briggs vs Sultan Ibragimov & Ibragimov again vs Wlad in one of the worst fights ever made.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

AlexHuckerby wrote:yeah, but to be fair Truss, at the same time, he still won the fight, bad performance, but there's plenty of worse performances surely... It could be on the list for one of the worst winning performances by a HW champ.

That's why he's not on the list Mate........  

Duty always good to see you on the Boxing threads....Did you get lost Mate ???

I'll be honest with you lad...this place terrifies me!

Duty281 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

AlexHuckerby wrote:yeah, but to be fair Truss, at the same time, he still won the fight, bad performance, but there's plenty of worse performances surely... It could be on the list for one of the worst winning performances by a HW champ.

That's why he's not on the list Mate........  

Duty always good to see you on the Boxing threads....Did you get lost Mate ???

I'll be honest with you lad...this place terrifies me!

I'm lucky Duty because everybody loves me on here !! .....Bouncy that's why Seldon is number 1.......The relief on his face when he knew he'd get to spend his million dollars in one piece.........Criminal performance...

I appreciate that I am in infrequent poster and lots of good suggestions have been made however whilst he "won" can I throw in George Forman v Axel Schultz, the fight after he ko'd Moorer?  If memory serves me well Forman was stripped of the title by refusing the rematch after a universally regarded terrible judging decision.

You can mate..........Not sure how much Georgey boy had much left then........But it's worth consideration....Schultz certainly sucked..

Cheers for the opinion....

As I have plans for the evening......I'll bid everyone adieu.........

Thanks for the contributions.......Been interesting..

Good shout Beast.

At the risk of being flamed how's about Lewis vs Rahman 1? Lazy, unmotivated champ thinks he can just turn up to win and gets canned by a fighter several leagues below him.

Weaver dokes (better fight after the stoppage than before it)
Ali spinks, bit controversial given Ali's decline, but he had no right losing to a novice cruiser
Wlad sanders (to be fair sanders was a banger)... but still fairly poor from klit junior

Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn wrote:What about Wlad vs Povetkin. One of the worst fights ever to happen in a boxing ring

Well Wlad did win by 119-104 including 4 knockdowns which is the widest winning margin ever in a HW title fight. Yes he held povetkin like a kid holding a teddy but he dominated that fight so easily.

Tsysu Hatton

Probably not that bad a performance actually.
Age I suspect played a role, plus a career best performance by Richard.

aja424 wrote:Probably not that bad a performance actually.
Age I suspect played a role, plus a career best performance by Richard.

Since when were they heavyweights in the ring aja???

The legend that was Bruce Seldon against Mike Tyson.

Morrison's title defence against Bentt springs to mind.
Sam Peter was pretty shocking against Vitali too.

For the umpteenth time Conn did not dominate Louis, he was slightly ahead , if people actually bothered to watch the fight they'd realise this.

What seems to be overlooked Louis actually won.

Cheers Rodders

Douglas v Holyfield has to be the worst in terms of effort or lack of it in losing the title.
Wlad v Povetkin was as poor a performance as i have ever seen from a supposedly highly rated and skilled Champion though, his constant cheating for 12 rounds was a disgrace to the name heavyweight champion.

I thought Conn was well on top personally, Rodney. The version I've got has action from all rounds, but none of them complete, and to my knowledge there isn't a full version with every minute of the fight available (correct me if I'm wrong!), but I generally have a hard time giving Louis more than three of the completed twelve rounds, or four at best.

So not a total clowning, of course, or a whitewash, but I do think that Conn was easily the better man for twelve rounds. But I suppose even for those who watched the fight unfold right before them in 1941, Louis getting the knockout shouldn't have been a massive surprise despite that, as some of the rounds he had managed to win (such as the second and fifth, for example) had seem him hurt Conn badly - he had the equaliser, and there was always a chance that he could pull it out at any moment.

Agree that the idea of Conn boxing cautiously for twelve rounds and then only losing because he suddenly got too brave for his own good is a myth, mind you. Conn dominated the two rounds which went before the knockout fighting right in the pocket, taking it to Louis and even forcing him back to the ropes in the twelfth. He looked almost Meldrick Taylor-like with some of the dazzling combinations he was throwing in close.

Anyone reckon Roy Jones beats Louis?

Rodney wrote:For the umpteenth time Conn did not dominate Louis, he was slightly ahead , if people actually bothered to watch the fight they'd realise this.

What seems to be overlooked Louis actually won.

Cheers Rodders

In fairness only ONETWO said it was domination.....and ....In fairness a lot of observers had it comfortably for Conn...........Though I dispute domination..

Also you seem happy to go with the judges interpretation of Conn-Louis when your favorite Louis is involved and benefitting..........and yet are forever moaning about the judges in Castillo-Mayweather..

Obviously Judges are competent when it suits............

Still a bad night for Louis however you interpret it...

A bad night yet he still won , you use the Conn fight as a stick to beat Louis won and he never lost it.

Can't agree with the well on top statement Chris, I concede Conn was ahead but Louis was still in the fight (looking exhausted aswell) but up to 8 rounds it was anyone's for me untill Billy began to edge in front.

Cheers Rodders

ShahenshahG wrote:Anyone reckon Roy Jones beats Louis?

I'm leaving this one for Truss and Rodney!

The judges had the fight closer than the myth perpetrated by the 606 propaganist ( you know who he is).  

They had Conn up 5-7, 4-7, 6-6.

88Chris05 wrote:

ShahenshahG wrote:Anyone reckon Roy Jones beats Louis?

I'm leaving this one for Truss and Rodney!

Cruelty to children if Jones is allowed to step in the ring with Louis.

Cheers Rodders

Leon Spinks /Ali rematch, the champ's terrible condition directly contributing to prolonging Ali's career.

The fact one judge had it even says it all for those scorecards mate, in my opinion Louis needed a KO to win which he did get. His struggles in that fight do get glamourised a bit too much.

I don't deny he struggled , it was one of Louis poorest performances, he didn't prepare and nearly payed for it , however the word dominated and outclassed if far off the mark.

As for the original thread , Bruce Seldon and Frank Bruno demonstrated the two poorest defences I've seen. Willard got raided by an express that night, similar how Berbick got done off Iron Mike.

Cheers Rodders

Hammersmith harrier wrote:The fact one judge had it even says it all for those scorecards mate, in my opinion Louis needed a KO to win which he did get. His struggles in that fight do get glamourised a bit too much.

Think the consensus has always been Louis was outboxed............Looks like the judging wasn't much better then...

Has to be said Louis himself thought he'd had a schooling........ The big worrying aspect of the fight is Conn sending his legs spaghetti when he weighed just 168...........A bit like Camacho rocking Michael Spinks.........and weighing in at 135 to do it.

After all there are types on here who reckon Louis stands his ground with a marauding Foreman and owns him with the jab.........Not sure how he stands his ground when big guys like Frazier and Norton get shoved back.......Or takes his shot..............

Louis is 2 on my list but like Dempsey and the Rock who are also top 10 would be well down on a fantasy matchup thread......Too small...

But it's all about opinions.....and agendas.

Rodney wrote:

88Chris05 wrote:

ShahenshahG wrote:Anyone reckon Roy Jones beats Louis?

I'm leaving this one for Truss and Rodney!

Cruelty to children if Jones is allowed to step in the ring with Louis.

Cheers Rodders

I think you are selling Louis short. He is the bigger man by twenty pounds and a precise powerful puncher and despite his rudimentary footwork could give Jones a decent scrap especially as he's got a marginal edge in height and Reach.

I thought about doing it. Shah actually did do it.