Ranking the 10 Biggest Underachievers in Boxing in the Past 10 Years

In truth, the biggest underachievers in boxing are guys almost nobody has ever heard of. Every boxing gym in the country probably has stories about guys who had limitless potential but could never get out of their own way long enough to cultivate it.

The guys on this list all at least had careers. A few of them have achievements that most pro fighters would cut off a finger to attain.

And I want to note that just because I don't think a particular fighter achieved as much as he could have, it doesn't mean he didn't fight as hard as possible every time he climbed into the ring. A lot of factors can contribute to a fighter underachieving. Not all of them are things he can control.

However, some of these guys truly were their own worst enemies.  

10. Celestino Caballero

There was a long stretch in the previous decade when Celestino Caballero looked like the type of fighter who might climb weight classes. He had a nice stretch where he held the WBA and IBF titles at super bantamweight, and with his 5'11" height, he certainly looked to have the frame to move up. 

In 2010, his career hit a huge roadblock when he dropped a split decision to unheralded Jason Litzau. In truth, the fight wasn't even very close. It seemed like a case where one judge simply couldn't believe he was watching the fighter with the bigger name lose. 

Litzau was knocked out in the first round by Adrien Broner in his very next fight. He fought once more, in 2012, and hasn't been heard from since. 

Caballero did briefly hold a belt at 126. His career is one many fighters might envy, but he seems to me like a fighter who should have done more. 

9. Mike Jones

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In October 2011, at a press conference announcing the card for Top Ranks' Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito pay-per-view, I heard promoter Bob Arum talk about Mike Jones as a potential future opponent for Manny Pacquiao. 

It's a promoter's job to hype fighters, even if that means employing a bit of hyperbole at times. But praising Jones didn't exactly seem outrageous. The Philadelphia fighter was a tall, athletic welterweight with excellent technical ability. 

Jones' momentum came to a crashing halt when he faced veteran Randall Bailey for the vacant IBF title in June 2012. In a fight Jones was winning with relative ease, he got dropped with a big shot in Round 10 and was finished off in the 11th. 

After that, he stayed out of action for over two years. When he returned to the ring last August, it was against 11-2, relatively unknown Jaime Herrera. 

Jones dropped Herrera hard in the second and third rounds, but then what looked like an easy comeback win turned into a war. Jones took a deep cut over the eye and was blistered by big shots in the middle rounds before being forced to retire in his corner after Round 7. 

8. Yuriorkis Gamboa

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Few boxers in the past 10 years have had a better combination of technical skill and athletic gifts than Yuriorkis Gamboa. A product of the elite Cuban amateur program, he was an Olympic gold medalist before turning professional. 

Gamboa has explosive power and cat-like agility. He's just 33, so there is still some time for him to achieve bigger things in boxing. But his TKO loss to Terence Crawford last year suggests he's not going to do those big things fighting at lightweight.

Gamboa does have achievements that most professional boxers will never approach. He was a dominant world champion at featherweight and held an interim belt at 130 pounds. 

But he has never put together the kind of sustained run that would truly prove his greatness. He has never beaten another elite-level fighter. 

If he were to retire now, I don't think he'd get into the Hall of Fame. And for a fighter with his gifts and technical ability, that is underachieving in a major way. 

7. Steve Forbes

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Maybe I'm overestimating Steve Forbes' talent to think he has been an underachiever. But I think he had too much skill to end his career earning his living as a guy who loses.

Forbes was a world title holder at super featherweight early in his career. He's got a win over current IBF light middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage.

For the last decade, he's been stalled out as a professional opponent. When he beat Bundrage almost exactly nine years ago, his record stood at 32-3.

In the years since, he's gone 3-11.

6. Grady Brewer

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The highlight of Grady Brewer's career came in 2006, when he won ESPN's Contender reality show, beating Steve Forbes in the final. He had already nearly established himself as a professional opponent by the time he appeared on the show, but the victory demonstrated the kind of potential he had. 

Brewer put together a pretty nice run between 2006 and 2009. He beat current IBF light middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage in 2008 and knocked out unbeaten contender Albert Onolunose in 2009. 

But in the past half decade, he's settled back into a career as a guy who loses to fighters on the way up. Since 2010, he's gone 6-9.

The fact that his six victories include a 2011 stoppage over future world title challenger and then-undefeated Fernando Guerrero is yet another hint at how much better Brewer's career could have been. 

5. Victor Ortiz

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I suspect some readers will object that Victor Ortiz was not an underachiever so much as he was over-hyped by his promoter, Golden Boy. But I think Ortiz's physical gifts were legitimate. He simply didn't have the mindset to achieve as much as he was expected to.

Ortiz has quit twice in fights—once against Marcos Maidana in 2009 and again against Josesito Lopez in 2012. In both cases, it could be argued that Ortiz made the smart decision in terms of his health. He legitimately had a broken jaw against Lopez.

But elite fighters are just not psychologically wired to quit like that. From Muhammad Ali to Arthur Abraham, plenty of fighters have gutted it out to the bell with busted jaws. That might not be a "safe" decision, but it's what true boxing champions are willing to do.

Ortiz's most famous meltdown came in 2011 in the biggest moment of his career against Floyd Mayweather. Frustrated by Mayweather's defensive tactics along the ropes, Ortiz threw a blatant flying headbutt that busted open Mayweather's lip.

Ortiz is hardly the first fighter to get dirty in a major fight. At the highest levels of prizefighting, it's frankly a tactic to do what you can to even things up against a more talented fighter and simply be willing to accept the consequences from the referee.

But if a fighter is going to use those tactics, he better be ready to stick by them with unapologetic resolve. Ortiz immediately back-pedaled and apologized. Rather than protecting himself against Mayweather, he dropped his hands and tried to "hug it out," leading to Mayweather knocking him out.   

After quitting against Lopez, Ortiz took off a year-and-a-half. He returned in January 2014 and was knocked out in two rounds by Luis Collazo. 

Ortiz fought again last December but was buried deep on the undercard of the Amir Khan-Devon Alexander fight. This time he won, knocking out a blown-up featherweight and club-level fighter named Manuel Perez in three rounds.

4. DeMarcus Corley

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A decade ago, DeMarcus Corley was a former world champion and one of the top contenders in the world at light welterweight. He'd lost just twice—to Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather. The loss to Judah was by split decision. 

In February 2005, Corley attempted to regain the WBO light welterweight belt in a huge fight against Miguel Cotto. Although Corley lost by Round 5 TKO, he gave Cotto the toughest round of his young career in Round 4. 

But after that fight, the bottom dropped out on "Chop Chop." Between 2006 and 2008, Corley dropped six straight fights. He had another six-fight losing streak in 2010-2011. 

Since the fight with Cotto a decade ago, Corley has gone 13-18. He's remained a dangerous journeyman capable of knocking off contenders like Gabriel Bracero and Paul McCloskey. 

But it's hardly the career that would have been reasonably imagined for him 10 years ago. 

3. Darnell Boone

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Darnell Boone has a record of 20-21-4. He's got to be the most talented boxer on the planet with a losing record. 

Boone is the only fighter to ever beat WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. He took WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev to a split decision. Boone also knocked down pound-for-pound superstar Andre Ward. 

Boone is a good example of a fighter who might have had a completely different career if he'd been matched more smartly and with more care. He faced 20 undefeated opponents in his career—almost half of his total resume—compiling a record of 6-11-3 against them. 

Current middleweight contender Willie Monroe Jr.'s only loss came at Boone's hands. When I interviewed Monroe last year, I asked him about the fight.

"That guy has world-championship talent," Monroe said. 

2. Emanuel Augustus

Emanuel Augustus did manage to become a folk hero of sorts in boxing due to his highly entertaining and unorthodox style. The Drunken Master is one of the most unforgettable fighters of this century.

For a guy with a professional record of 38-34-6, he has a great deal of notoriety.

But it's hard not to think that a fighter with Augustus' heart and talent should have had a bigger career. He's the man Floyd Mayweather has called his "toughest opponent."

Augustus is a classic case of a fighter who fought whoever, wherever, and he paid a price for it in the win-loss column. Augustus often fought rising stars in their own hometowns.

If I had to pick a single fight as the very worst decision I ever saw, it would be Courtney Burton's split-decision victory over Augustus in 2004. That, at least, was a fight Augustus was able to avenge by stoppage.

On a tragic note, Augustus was shot in the head last October by mistake and ended up spending time on life support. Few retired fighters with a record of barely .500 could have hoped to receive the outpouring of support that he enjoyed, which is a testament to the appreciation he earned from the fans.

1. Edwin Valero

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The other fighters on this list failed to achieve their full potential due to factors like poor management, lackluster training or insufficient mental toughness. Edwin Valero lacked none of those things.

Valero failed to reach his seemingly limitless potential because he destroyed his own life—after destroying his wife's life.

In April 2010, Valero was arrested for the murder of his wife. Shortly afterward, he committed suicide in his cell by hanging himself.

Valero had seemed destined to be one of the sport's biggest superstars. At the time of his death, he was the WBC world champion at lightweight with a professional record of 27-0 with 27 knockouts.

I don't think it's appropriate to mourn a man who ended another person's life violently. But it's impossible not to feel pity for such incredible talent being wasted in such a haunted personality.