Most true boxing fans know mike tyson is a tragic figure in boxing what other boxers started out good and had?

Question

tragic ending

Answer 1

Out of all the tragedies I would go for Salvador Sanchez.  He was on the brink of a very promising career it would have been great to see what would have developed and where he would have gone following his break through fight with Wilfredo Gomez.  Unfortunately his career was tragically cut short.

Mark-Andrew M.  Well done, you obviously put a lot of time and effort into your answers.  Carlos Monzon and the rest of the guys well I would have to say accountability or lack of it on their behalf.

Kid Mc Coy is one fighter who I would call a tragic figure.

Answer 2

alotta boxers dont make it or come close and have "tragic endings"

dickie ecklund, micky wards half brother, was the star of a documentary on lowell mass. "high on crack street" and looks all f*cked up on crack and says "i fought sugar ray leonard on HBO"

Answer 3

Many boxers didn't not have happy endings. You probably could go through the history of the middleweight division and find many examples.

I'll give you one name, though: Sonny Liston. Here was a guy who was one of more than 20 children. He never knew how old he was, and didn't get much schooling. Liston worked for the mob. Still he worked his way up the ladder and became heavyweight champion ... at a time when civil rights were in the news and no one wanted an African American champion who was illiterate and represented something of the darkest fears of many Americans. After losing to Muhammad Ali, Liston went back into the ring, won six of seven fights or so, and then was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Drugs may or may not have been involved.

Answer 4

I don't consider a admitted wife beater, and convicted rapist a "tragic figure". We are all responsible for the choices we make.

Mark Andrew. I respect your answers here on this forum, but in this case the term "tragic figure" implies a figure that had something tragic in their life or to end their life. Ex:Sal Sanchez, Du Ku Kim, Gerald McClellan, Willie Classen, Davey Moore as well as Ali, Jerry Quarry, etc for the unfortunate and unforseen result of head trauma. There are unfortunately many other examples. I don't consider someone that is on top the world (Heavyweight Champ) and throws it all away due to his poor choices, a tragedy!

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Answer 5

Ike Ibeabuchi was seen by many as "the next big thing" in the heavyweight division.  He had quality wins over David Tua and Chris Byrd.  But he ended up going to prison after kidnapping his ex-girlfriends child and permanently injuring the boy, and then raping a stripper and barricading himself in the hotel bathroom.  He is still in prison today and has been denied parole numerous times.

Tony Ayala was seen as a future champion by almost everybody, but he too ruined his career and went to prison for 16 years for sexual assault.  He tried to make a comeback, but couldn't...

Billy Collins, Jr. was an undefeated prospect, but his career and life were cut short because his opponent and his trainer- Luis Resto and Panama Lewis, removed padding from the gloves and fought the whole 10 round fight that way.

Salvador Sanchez was a world champion in his prime at the age of 23 and just coming off a great win over Azumah Nelson when he tragically got into a car accident and died.

Carlos Monzon is regarded as one of the best middleweights of all time, but the end of his life was tragic.  He was convicted of killing his second wife and sentenced to prison.  He was on his way back to the prison after being allowed to visit his children and he got into a car accident (many believe he committed suicide by purposefully crashing the car).

Edit to cjt0912: no one is saying that we're not responsible for the choices we make.  But the fact of the matter is that Monzon has a similar story to Tyson in that his personal life was so effed up that his life in general ended up becoming a tragic tale towards the end.  No one is stating that you have to feel sorry for him, because he did what he did on his own accord, but if you don't think that the end of his life is tragic, then I don't know what is...

The term "tragic" can refer to both types of examples such as Sanchez, Gerald McClellan, or Tyson.  The reason why I mentioned guys like Monzon and Ayala is because the question stated Tyson as a tragic figure who started out with a great career, but ruined it due to his bad decisions.  I wouldn't have mentioned them if the question didn't mention Tyson, but to be relevent, I gave the examples of their tragic personal lives.  I also mentioned guys like Collins, Jr. and Sanchez to shed light on the other side where the fighter had everything going for them, but something unfortunate happened to them.  Tyson or Monzon are tragic cases in the sense that their careers were so great, but because of the actions they made, their lives became pathetic.  I guess we can agree to disagree, but I personally consider BOTH types of fighters as tragic, just in different categories.  I understand where you're coming from though, and I respect your opinion, and thanks for saying you respect my answers on this forum.

Bru- thanks for your compliment.