Best amatuer fights before they were pros

Just seen this video from 1988 of Wayne McCullough vs Arturo Gatti in the amatuers. Wayne actually stops Gatti which is mad when you consider that he stuggled to get opponents out of there as a pro and Gatti was reknowned for his toughness.

https://twitter.com/BoxToffee/status/829790888830312448/video/1

What are the best fights you've seen by top pros who went met in the amatuers? The ones I can think of off top of my head are GGG vs Bute, Groves vs DeGale, Joshua vs Whyte (although that's somewhat stretching the 'top pros' bit).

Watched that fight a few weeks ago, think Gattis toughness is clear to see in the fight, McCullough snapped his head back a times and he still kept coming.

McCullough clearly more developed at that stage and the more rounded boxer

Pryor Hearns was a lively tussle in the amateurs. Pryor the same all action style we saw as a pro... Tommy as a teenage lightweight!

milkyboy wrote:Pryor Hearns was a lively tussle in the amateurs. Pryor the same all action style we saw as a pro... Tommy as a teenage lightweight!

With the same physical dimensions?? What an absolute freakshow!!

Not a lot of fat on him toppy no,

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ThUhD_g48_Q

milkyboy wrote:Not a lot of fat on him toppy no,

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ThUhD_g48_Q

Pryor doesn't look that short compared to Hearns. I think there was about 6 inches difference.

Jorge Luis Gonzalez vs Lennox Lewis was a pretty good scrap for big men (Gonzalez got a debateable decision). JLG also knocked Riddick Bowe TFO (KO punch is on YouTube somewhere).

There's plenty of Kostya Tszyu out there (what an amateur he was): vs Vernon Forrest and Terron Millett for example.

David Haye vs Jim Twite is a personal favourite!

Roy Jones vs Gerald McClellan (won by the latter) is the one that got away.

... yeh meant to have been a good tussle that last one. It's one that got away in the pro's too - what a fight that would have been, were it not for the fateful benn fight.

... and as for the twite fight, any fight where haye gets flattened is ok by me too!

[quote="hazharrison"]Jorge Luis Gonzalez vs Lennox Lewis was a pretty good scrap for big men (Gonzalez got a debateable decision). JLG also knocked Riddick Bowe TFO (KO punch is on YouTube somewhere).

Here's the Bowe KO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR3k71ogKmY

And there's two parts of the Lewis - Gonzalez fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1wg8BCgDmE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCap3m4hnE8

GGG v Bute