The most overhyped boxers of all time
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (left) takes one on the nose from Andrez Fonfara during their international light heavyweight title fight. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire)
March 9th, 2020
In a game so enveloped in promotion, the hype is ever-present boxing. But there are cases, like the ones below, where fighters get more attention than what’s good for them.
These are the five most overhyped boxers of all time.
Amir Khan
Amir Khan was positioned as the next big fighter out of the United Kingdom and became the hottest prospect in the sport, even after an upset loss early in his career.
Khan’s hype suggested he was always next in line for a major fight with Floyd Mayweather. Back-to-back losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia killed the hype, though Khan still got the big fights he clamored for. By then, though, it was more about him being the best of what was left.
Jermain Taylor
When Jermain Taylor twice defeated Bernard Hopkins to end his historic middleweight title run, HBO was convinced it had a star in the making. Taylor never became the lightning rod in ratings the network hoped he would be, and HBO was quick to abandon him after Kelly Pavlik knocked him out in his fourth title defense.
Samuel Peter
During the dark ages of the heavyweight division in the late 2000s, many rallied over the hard-punching Samuel Peter. While Peter won the title after he stopped Oleg Maskaev, Peter was decimated by Vitali Klitschko in one of the most gruesome, one-sided beatings of all time. Peter was never the same after that night, and those who believed so much in him vanished into the night.
Adrien Broner
The only four-division champion who will never enter the Hall of Fame, Adrien Broner commanded an enormous amount of attention that he could have been confused for one the sport’s biggest talents. After Marcos Maidana relieved him of his welterweight title and confidence, Broner went from being the real deal to a total hype job. He never again reached the heights of his early career.
David Price
David Price was named “Prospect of the Year” by ESPN in 2012, when he faced the aging Tony Thompson, but Thompson knocked him out in the second round, then stopped him again five months later. All seven of Price’s losses have come by stoppage and all have come when he’s faced above regional-level opposition.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had the networks and boxing power players doing what they could to prop him up. Too lazy to break out from the shadow of his legendary father and too coddled to care, Chavez came undone after Sergio Martinez beat him in 2012. Since then Chavez has unapologetically embraced mooching off of his last name to get big fights and failed to win any of them.
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