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Nastiest boxers ever


BoztheMadman
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I already did a thread on the most controversial fighters-but that's not the same as nasty. These guys were BAD TO DA BONE! Here is my list:

 

1. James Butler

This guy was as thug as thug gets! He is of course most infamous for sucker punching Richard Grant in 2001, after losing to him on points. Grant went over to give Butler a sportsmanly hug, but Butler took that as an opportunity to "get even" for losing and hit him straight on the jaw! Grant went down and out with a broken jaw. Butler did time for that misdeed and came back in 2004, but his career was unsuccessful and he retired at the end of that same year, after losing to Omar Sheika by decision in August. Before that, he fought Sven Ottke for the IBF belt and lost to him by a wide UD in Germany and he also won the USBA super middle title by KO7 against Bryan Brannon and previously also stopped the past-prime Merqui Sosa by TKO2. Pity he was such a thug, for he was actually a rather good fighter. His story got an even worse ending after he was convincted for manslaughter and arson in the death of Sam Kellerman, brother of Max, in October 2004, which actually was the reason for his retirement. He was sentenced to 29 years and is still serving time. His nickname was "Harlem Hammer".

 

2. Clifford Etienne

This guy is bad to the bone, no doubt. Early on, Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne showed promise as a heavyweight contender and beat Lamon Brewster on points in 2000. He also stopped Cliff Couser by TKO3 and beat Lawrence Clay Bey by UD10. However, he was first exposed against Fres Oquendo and humiliatingly put down seven times before he was stopped by TKO8, in March 2001. He is also famous for being the last person Mike Tyson knocked out, and in only 49 seconds, in February 2003. But, before becoming a pro, Etienne did time for armed robbery in a Louisiana prison, where he started to box. In March 2006, he was convicted of attempted murder and several other charges, such as stealing more than 1900 $ from a check-cashing business and then stealing a car with two small children inside before crashing it! He even tried to shoot the policemen that came to the scene, but his gun jammed. On 22 June 2006, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison with no possibility of parole.

 

3. James Scott

Whom I've already written about. The light heavyweight contender who spent most of his life behind bars, Scott is most infamous for the robbery and murder that occured on 7 May 1975, when Scott and an accomplice first beat up a man called Leo Skinner, who had promised to help them obtain some drugs in the building where he lived. A man who accompanied them there but waited outside the building and had no part in the crime, called Everett Russ, was later found dead, shot by either Scott himself or William Spinks, his partner in crime. Scott was sentenced to life after being on trial for this murder, but was later paroled and got out in 2005. While inside, he beat fighters such as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Yaqui Lopez, showing he had world class-talent. He died on 8 May 2018, aged 70.

 

4. Rubin Carter

Known as "Hurricane", Carter's image as an innocent victim of racial hatred and injustice was painted by Hollywood in the wildly inaccurate "Hurricane" film from 1999. In reality, this middleweight puncher who knocked out Emile Griffith in 1 round, but was beaten down to size by Dick Tiger and outboxed by Joey Giardello, had a real mean streak, a dark side-DARK. According to the article of Michael Kelley, son of Carolyn Kelley, who was a bail bondsman and was asked to help out with Carter's release by Muhammad Ali, like many others believing him to be innocent, Carter physically attacked his mother in a hotel room after they had a minor discrepancy over the phone concerning who would pay for his hotel room. It was in March 1976, after Carter was released on bail, awaiting his retrial. Carolyn went over to clear up what she thought was a misunderstanding on Carter's part, but quickly realized it was a mistake. After opening the door and seeing her, Carter let out a manical laughter and then went over to the bathroom, where he made gurgling sounds. As she went for the door, he suddenly appeared and blocked her path, knocking her unconscious to the floor. It also is noted that the man who was supposed to give Carter alibi for the night of the triple murder in 1966, which he was convicted of, looked very frightened of Carter. It is therefore very likely that Carter WAS indeed guilty and was at least involved in those murders, and was probably the perpetrator. However, he was in the end convicted not guilty and released in November of 1985, dying at home of prostate cancer in 2014, at the age of 76. He had them all fooled.

 

5. Tony Ayala jr

This formidable knockout artist who fought at junior middlweight, seemed headed for a bright future and world championship reign, when he was convicted of rape in 1983 and sent to prison. People say he always had a "bully chip on his shoulder" and liked trash talking, once even spitting on an opponent he had knocked out. He went 22-0 with 19 ko's between June 1980 and November 1982 and in his last fight knocked out Carlos Herrera in 3, the man who would later stop Wilfred Benitez. On January 1 1983, after a night of drinking to celebrate the new year's eve, Ayala returned to his apartment complex in West Paterson, New Jersey and broke into the apartment of a 30-yearold schoolteacher, where he tied her to her bed and raped her at knifepoint. A roommate of the woman who was in another room arrived and confronted him, but he threatened her with the knife and got away. She called the police and they arrested Ayala after finding him stripped down to his waist and wandering around the complex in drunken stupor. He was of course convicted in April of that year, to 35 years with the possibility of parole in 15. What made it worse is that he already was on probation from 1978 and had comitted a burglary in San Antonio in 1982. He was eventually paroled in 1999 and made his comeback to the ring on 20 August that year. He won 5 fights by knockout, before fighting his biggest fight ever against Yori Boy Campas on 28 July 2000. He did well early on, but later faded and took a beating before retiring on his stool after the 8th. He wept bitterly after the fight was stopped, perhaps realizing how much damage he did to his life and career with that moment of madness. That same year, he was again arrested after being shot at by an 18-yearold woman for trying to enter her home, after having dinner with her and then returning, uninvited. He won 4 more fights while awaiting trial, beating Santos Cardona among others by UD10, before he was knocked out in his last fight in 2003, by TKO11 against Anthony Bonsante. He was again in trouble in December 2003, after being accused by a 14-yearold girl of twice having sex with her. He was however not jailed this time, as the girl proved to be an unreliable witness. He was however imprisoned the next year for driving under influence and possession of drugs. On April 10 2014, his father Tony sr died and shortly thereafter, Tony jr was released for the last time. He died only a year later, on May 12 2015, aged only 52. He was found dead in the family gym, with a syringe in his hand, apparently from overdose. Tony Ayala jr was a victim, having been molested as a boy between the age of 9 and 11 by a family friend. He started drinking and using heroin in his early teens. His promoter Dan Duva once said:"Tony needs help. He definitely has emotional problems. He is not a criminal. He doesn't need to be put in jail."

 

6. Herbie Hide

Trouble was never far away from this guy. Despite his last name, he wasn't very good in hiding from it. Or from bad publicity. Despite having a rather good career and winning the WBO heavy title twice, in 1994 and 1997, Hide had problems controlling his temper, not so much in the ring as out of it. In 2003, he instigated a ringside incident after being provoked by Audley Harrison, who had just finished a fight. He clashed with members of Harrison's entourage and some fans, and among other things, shoved a woman to the floor. In December that year, he got into a fight with six men in a Norwich nightclub and was later found by the police with a switchblade in his hand, at the parking lot. He was arrested and convicted of "possession of a bladed article" and had to pay a fine of almost 1000 £. In September 2004, he was again arrested for repeatedly not showing up at court hearings concerning various driving-related offenses. In 2013, he was again arrested, this time for conspiracy to supply Cocaine and sentenced to 22 months. In 1999, he had charged bankrupcy after failing to pay several bills. Also, in March 1994, just before he won the WBO title from Michael Bentt, he was involved in a short scuffle with Bentt before the press conference. Recently, he has stayed away from trouble.

 

7. Jorge Luis Gonzalez

This guy is not so infamous for his private life escapades, but more for his incidents involving boxing or during boxing matches. I must say, with all due respect, Gonzalez always came across as an arrogant POS. Both in the way he egotistically gave interviews and bragged about being the best, while he in reality was nowhere near that as a pro, and in the way he treated his opponents. Especially while undefeated. He was known for deliberately prolonging the suffering of his opponents, despite being able to finish them off sooner. He preferred dishing out punishment over longer time, such as against the faded Renaldo Snipes in 1993. He would also taunt his opponents after inflicting punishment on them, standing there in front of them and raising his arms while yelling "come on!". It was this sadistic delight that made him make this list. It was Riddick Bowe that finally ended his unbeaten streak and the thirst for cruelty, when he knocked him viciously out in 6 rounds in 1995. Before that fight, the two guys clashed several times and Bowe even threw a glass at Gonzalez in a hotel lobby, after Gonzalez provoked him with insults. Gonzalez had defeated Bowe in the amateurs and since then, Bowe hated him and the feeling was mutual. Gonzalez's best wins were over washed up former contenders, such as the aforementioned Snipes, Greg Page and Alex Stewart-people who even at their peak never could achieve too much. He was knocked out and stopped by Tim Witherspoon, the trialhorse Ross Purritty and most embarrassingly, Michael Grant in 1 round. He also ended his career with a three-knockout-loss streak. JLG was an arrogant guy who never wanted to listen to his American trainers, thinking he knows enough already, and therefore did never develop his skills enough as a pro, relying instead on his great 6'7 frame and punching power to put him through. Which it did not, in most important fights.

 

8. Scott Harrison

And he makes this list as well! Scott Harrison was infamous, or became infamous, for a serious of incidents involving fights in nightclubs in Glasgow and Spain, between 2006 and 2008. What he did there was so bad that it got him a prison sentence of 4 years. He was also charged with drunk driving and assault in 2008 and attempted auto-theft. It was the influence of alcohol and problems with making the weight which led his career astray, that caused all this. He managed to get back into the ring in 2012, but in 2013 he had to go back to serve his 4-year sentence, first in Spain and then in UK. It is obvious he has struggled with psychological problems during 2006 which led to all the violence. Thus, like Tony Ayala jr, he is more a victim than a beast, but a professional boxer fighting outside the ring is always a no-no. Another fine fighter ruined by alcohol and inner demons.

 

9. Mehdi Sahnoune

A WBA light heavyweight champion who beat Bruno Girard for the title but lost it shortly thereafter to Silvio Branco, Sahnoune was known as a hard hitter, but his career fell apart after losing again to Zsolt Erdei by TKO12 in 2005, in a fight for the WBO title. In 2010, he was involved in an altercation outside a nightclub in Aix-en-Provence in France, where he beat up a man. For that, he received a 3-year sentence which effectively ended his career, as he was already 34 at the time of the incident.

 

10. Zab Judah

No matter how much he achieved in the ring and is respected by various boxing lovers, Zab Judah was a menace in his worst days. As people like Jay Nady got to experience firsthand. Or Floyd Mayweather. He had temper issues and just could explode sometimes, unable to control himself and had to be brought under control by force. Luckily for him, he always had his father Yoel there to restrain him. Judah was never a stranger to trash talk and dirty fighting, but it was against Kostya Tszyu on 3 November 2001 that he really reached his boiling point. After being stopped in only 2 rounds, Judah went berserk and tried to physically attack referree Jay Nady, who in his mind stopped the fight prematurely. He put a glove under his chin, indicating he wanted to strangle him. He also threw a chair out of the ring and kept screaming and yelling and trying to get loose from his father's grip. Also, a number of policemen had to assist with holding him back. He was fined for this. But few thought he would outdo himself in the 2006 fight against Floyd Mayweather jr. Judah was defending his IBF belt and had enjoyed some success with his attacks in the first 4 rounds. But, like so many times before and after, he started fading after round 6 and Mayweather took over completely. Late in round 10, pissed and frustrated by his inability to come up with the right game plan, Judah first hit Mayweather below the belt and then as Mayweather doubled over, hit him on the back of the head. This provoked Roger Mayweather to enter the ring and get into it with both Zab and Yoel Judah, and a short melee errupted. During it, Zab also hit Leonard Ellerbe on the back of the head. He was fined 350 K and had his license revoked for a year. In his previous fight, where he lost in a huge upset to Carlos Baldomir, he hit Baldomir on the beltline as the referee was explaining them the rules about how high the trunks can sit. Judah also instigated a street altercation in Miami sometime around 2012, after discovering he was being cheated in a game of dice with some random people. He knocked out the guy responsible for setting up the dice and his bodyguard took care of the others and beat them up. In October 2016, he was charged with domestic violence after getting rough with his wife after getting drunk. Zab Judah just has a mean streak about him.

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