tell me about Tony Tucker...

[Illmatic]

I see from boxrec he beat McCall and Douglas and seems to have done pretty well against Lewis and Tyson...what can you tell me about one of the many 80s titlists?

[DamonD]

Big guy, decent boxer all-around, variety of punches, good power, very good chin.
Sometimes guilty of going into his shell a bit, and his head movement was pretty lacking.

Had a long battle with personal drug problems, and finding out his dad had been skimming off big chunks of money from his fight purses. Ended up kicking the habit and becoming a born-again Christian sometime around '89-'90.

Held the IBF title for 3 months. The McCall fight was a very close one, the usual 'soak up the punches then rally late' effort from Oliver I seem to remember...and the Douglas fight was dead even, until Tucker managed to put together a big series of shots and Douglas didn't retaliate. Gave Tyson a first-round punch to remember and got in several good whacks on Lewis too, lasting the distance with both. Foreman dropped his WBA title rather than fight him.

Remained a viable contender until his late thirties, when a stoppage loss to Seldon (due to eye swelling) and a wide points loss to Akinwande signalled the beginning of the end. Last notable fight was in '98, getting stopped in 11 by Ruiz, at the age of 39.

Had the tools to be a pretty decent champion, more than a 3-month guy...unfortunately for him Tyson and Lewis were around at the same time.

[Illmatic]

I found these videos

pHrX_b_qCKE
against Lewis rnd 8

okh0_clK5nc
against Tyson rnd 12

[DamonD]

he won about 5 rounds against lewis and about 1 round against tyson. He had a granite chin and decent power. He also had acceptable boxing ability. run of the mill contender who's only really known for stunning tyson momentarily.
Sorry?
You had Tucker winning 5 rounds...? Could I ask for a scorecard, I've never heard of anyone giving him that many...I thought he had 3 rounds at best.

And 1 round against Tyson also seems a bit wacky, I thought he won 3 there as well...1st, 3rd and...either the 10th or 12th I seem to remember...

[My dinner with Conteh]

I overrate Tony Tucker. :good

[DamonD]

Thanks Illmatic! That's my favourite bit of Lewis-Tucker :)

[Illmatic]

Big guy, decent boxer all-around, variety of punches, good power, very good chin.
Sometimes guilty of going into his shell a bit, and his head movement was pretty lacking.

Had a long battle with personal drug problems, and finding out his dad had been skimming off big chunks of money from his fight purses. Ended up kicking the habit and becoming a born-again Christian sometime around '89-'90.

Held the IBF title for 3 months. The McCall fight was a very close one, the usual 'soak up the punches then rally late' effort from Oliver I seem to remember...and the Douglas fight was dead even, until Tucker managed to put together a big series of shots and Douglas didn't retaliate. Gave Tyson a first-round punch to remember and got in several good whacks on Lewis too, lasting the distance with both. Foreman dropped his WBA title rather than fight him.

Remained a viable contender until his late thirties, when a stoppage loss to Seldon (due to eye swelling) and a wide points loss to Akinwande signalled the beginning of the end. Last notable fight was in '98, getting stopped in 11 by Ruiz, at the age of 39.

Had the tools to be a pretty decent champion, more than a 3-month guy...unfortunately for him Tyson and Lewis were around at the same time.

:good:goodThanks mang, seems like he was a very good fighter who fought down to his level of comp sometimes.

[My dinner with Conteh]

He wasn't a very good fighter, he was just very tall with a good chin. He never convicingly beat any decent fighter- ever. He had decent basic boxing skills but was basically a black Joe Bugner.

[DamonD]

A fair few people would say Joe Bugner was better than his reputation too, so I guess that might cover it ;)

[My dinner with Conteh]

A fair few people would say Joe Bugner was better than his reputation too, so I guess that might cover it ;)


Yeah, they're both in the 'could have done more' category, but they didn't, so they'll always be in the 'just glad to be here' category. The amount times Tucker seemed to be the #1 contender amazed me. Don King 'trickerations' are usual.

[DamonD]

I had no problem with his title shots against Tyson and Lewis...34-0 for the first, 49-1 for the second...but how he was still WBA #1 come '95 was certainly a bit dubious. Gave Seldon some problems but couldn't deal with his jab.

I don't know why Foreman didn't take him on, but old George tended to have very cold feet about any live opponent after he beat Moorer...

[My dinner with Conteh]

I had no problem with his title shots against Tyson and Lewis...34-0 for the first, 49-1 for the second...but how he was still WBA #1 come '95 was certainly a bit dubious. Gave Seldon some problems but couldn't deal with his jab.

I don't know why Foreman didn't take him on, but old George tended to have very cold feet about any live opponent after he beat Moorer...


I'm surprised he didn't take him on either, although he was hardly a 'live' opponent. He never beat anyone of note since the one-sided Lewis sleepwalk...and he was hardly a box-office attraction. No wonder title are constantly fragmented if totally underserving people like him are #1 contenders.

[lefthook31]

He fought Lewis at the end of his career really. He fought Tyson with a serious hand injury, so he basically was a one handed fighter, which made it a horrible hold fest. Tucker did manage to land a really clean uppercut on Tyson that rocked him in the 12th.

[heerko koois]

He wasn't a very good fighter, he was just very tall with a good chin. He never convicingly beat any decent fighter- ever. He had decent basic boxing skills but was basically a black Joe Bugner.

Douglas ? ...

[My dinner with Conteh]

Douglas ? ...


He was being totally outboxed until Fatty Buster got tired.

[Muchmoore]

I see from boxrec he beat McCall and Douglas and seems to have done pretty well against Lewis and Tyson...what can you tell me about one of the many 80s titlists?

Tucker was a good fighter who was a big under achiever. He fought best when he was fighting someone who was regarded as better than him (Lewis, Tyson) He had a big drug problem and didnt train well for many fights.
Tucker fought good against Tyson and won a few rounds in what was one of his better performances.

[Titan1]

I see from boxrec he beat McCall and Douglas and seems to have done pretty well against Lewis and Tyson...what can you tell me about one of the many 80s titlists?

He was a former amateur star who was highly touted, but due to drug problems and a knee injury that took him out for 13 months early in his career, didn't fufill that promise.He beat a faded Jimmy Young in 1984, James Broad in 1986 for the USBA title, and beat Buster Douglass to win the vacant IBF title.After losing to Tyson, those drug problems really took over and I understand his father ruined him financially.

[The Kurgan]

He fought Lewis at the end of his career really. He fought Tyson with a serious hand injury, so he basically was a one handed fighter, which made it a horrible hold fest. Tucker did manage to land a really clean uppercut on Tyson that rocked him in the 12th.

1993 was not the end of his career. However, once he had tasted a true war and visited the canvas, Tucker lost interesting in boxing very quickly.

[lefthook31]

1993 was not the end of his career. However, once he had tasted a true war and visited the canvas, Tucker lost interesting in boxing very quickly.
It was the end of his career as a serious contender. He basically became a gatekeeper after that.

[Sonny's jab]

Tony Tucker

A good amateur, turned pro in 1980.

He fought a string of bums, out-of-shape journeymen and tomato cans and somehow got ranked as the IBF number 1 contender to fight Michael Spinks in 1987.

Well, actually he beat James Broad in a dreary 12-round "eliminator" for in 1986 the number 1 ranking. Anyone who remembers James Broad will know he wasn't top worthy of being 2 among contenders ever.

Then the IBF stripped Spinks for not fighting Tucker, (or more likely for spoiling Don King's and Cayton/Jacobs fun with the HBO heavyweight unification tourney) and Tucker was matched with Buster Douglas in 1987 (same bill as Tyson-Thomas).

1987 was the begininning and end of Tony Tucker as an important world class heavyweight, IMO.
He beat Douglas then went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. This was progress. Tucker had arrived as a world class fighter.

Then he went AWOL for a year or two, and then fought a string of bums and tomato cans, often looked dreadful, barely scraped past Orlin Norris and Oliver McCall and somehow got ranked number 1 by the WBC.

He challenged Lennox Lewis, looked old and unethused, got beaten easily by a sloppy Lewis, but went the distance.

The legend of "Tucker Tony" had been born.

I think he went back to fighting bums and tomato cans. Became ranked number 1 by the WBA this time, and then when George Foreaman refused to fight him he was matched with Bruce Seldon for the vacant WBA title.
Seldon beat him, then so did Akinwande a few months later.

A couple of years later Tony Tucker was matched with Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title ! Hide thrashed him.
:lol:

Tony Tucker is the all-time great beneficiary of boxing rigged-ratings.
Imagine all the brown envelopes and presents from Don King being passed around with little post-it notes saying "Tony Tucker" being delivered to the crooks who run the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO.

A case study in corrupt rankings and the "miracles" delivered by Don King.
Tony Tucker.

:lol:

[lefthook31]

Tony Tucker

A good amateur, turned pro in 1980.

He fought a string of bums, out-of-shape journeymen and tomato cans and somehow got ranked as the IBF number 1 contender to fight Michael Spinks in 1987.

Well, actually he beat James Broad in a dreary 12-round "eliminator" for in 1986 the number 1 ranking. Anyone who remembers James Broad will know he wasn't top worthy of being 2 among contenders ever.

Then the IBF stripped Spinks for not fighting Tucker, (or more likely for spoiling Don King's and Cayton/Jacobs fun with the HBO heavyweight unification tourney) and Tucker was matched with Buster Douglas in 1987 (same bill as Tyson-Thomas).

1987 was the begininning and end of Tony Tucker as an important world class heavyweight, IMO.
He beat Douglas then went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. This was progress. Tucker had arrived as a world class fighter.

Then he went AWOL for a year or two, and then fought a string of bums and tomato cans, often looked dreadful, barely scraped past Orlin Norris and Oliver McCall and somehow got ranked number 1 by the WBC.

He challenged Lennox Lewis, looked old and unethused, got beaten easily by a sloppy Lewis, but went the distance.

The legend of "Tucker Tony" had been born.

I think he went back to fighting bums and tomato cans. Became ranked number 1 by the WBA this time, and then when George Foreaman refused to fight him he was matched with Bruce Seldon for the vacant WBA title.
Seldon beat him, then so did Akinwande a few months later.

A couple of years later Tony Tucker was matched with Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title ! Hide thrashed him.
:lol:

Tony Tucker is the all-time great beneficiary of boxing rigged-ratings.
Imagine all the brown envelopes and presents from Don King being passed around with little post-it notes saying "Tony Tucker" being delivered to the crooks who run the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO.

A case study in corrupt rankings and the "miracles" delivered by Don King.
Tony Tucker.

:lol:

He certainly was a Don king fighter,but I think your being a little tough on him. He had a few decent wins even after the Tyson loss, and is one of the few to go 12 with a prime Tyson.
By the way, arent most fighters beneficiaries of their promoters corruptness? Who the hell has actually earned every win and title shot they've gotten?

[Sonny's jab]

He certainly was a Don king fighter,but I think your being a little tough on him. He had a few decent wins even after the Tyson loss, and is one of the few to go 12 with a prime Tyson.

He did well against Tyson. He wasn't a bad fighter. But check his record.
He fought from 1980 to his title fight with Lennox Lewis in 1993, how many times ? FIFTY.
And he's often described as one of the top heavyweights of the 80s.
But few names of other top 80s heavyweights are among those fifty.
Guys like Tubbs, Witherspoon, Page, Thomas, Dokes, Berbick.



By the way, arent most fighters beneficiaries of their promoters corruptness? Who the hell has actually earned every win and title shot they've gotten?


To some extent most fighters benefit from being connected to the right promoters, yes.
Tony Tucker benefitted at the highest level more than most heavyweights I can think of.

[Executioner]

He was decent, tall with a real good chin and all right boxing skill. Even though he lost clearly to Tyson he gave a good effort, tagging him lots in the first round with a number of right hands and a good uppercut that seemed to stun Tyson for a secnd.

[TIGEREDGE]

Tucker was a good fighter who was a big under achiever. He fought best when he was fighting someone who was regarded as better than him (Lewis, Tyson) He had a big drug problem and didnt train well for many fights.
Tucker fought good against Tyson and won a few rounds in what was one of his better performances.

sums him up perfectly. good fighter

[lefthook31]

He did well against Tyson. He wasn't a bad fighter. But check his record.
He fought from 1980 to his title fight with Lennox Lewis in 1993, how many times ? FIFTY.
And he's often described as one of the top heavyweights of the 80s.
But few names of other top 80s heavyweights are among those fifty.
Guys like Tubbs, Witherspoon, Page, Thomas, Dokes, Berbick.




To some extent most fighters benefit from being connected to the right promoters, yes.
Tony Tucker benefitted at the highest level more than most heavyweights I can think of.

Think John Ruiz:hey

[Rollo]

Another name on the list of could-have-achieved-a-lot-more-if-he-was-not-a--drug-addict of the 80´s.

[lefthook31]

Another name on the list of could-have-achieved-a-lot-more-if-he-was-not-a--drug-addict of the 80´s.

Too much Geri Curl, and too much cocaine....Ahh the 80's

[Rollo]

Too much Geri Curl, and too much cocaine....Ahh the 80's

Yes, he looked just like Miles Davis........:good

[Titan1]

Yes, he looked just like Miles Davis........:good

He looked much different in the early 80's, where he had a mini-fro thing going, than the late 80's.He also was very fast early on.