5 British Fighters Whose Stock Has Fallen in 2015
It is summertime in Britain, and it's not just the schools that are on holiday.
Boxers also like to take a bit of a break, giving us a chance to assess what has gone on over the first seven months of the year.
Having already looked at the fighters who have seen their stock rise in 2015, it is now time to assess those who have had a downturn in their notability.
To be clear—this is not saying that these five boxers have had bad results, or have performed poorly, but their reputations have taken a hit since January.
Ricky Burns
1 of 5
In August 2013, Ricky Burns was the WBA lightweight champion of the world. He was also on a 21-fight winning streak.
Since then, however, things have gone downhill for the Scotsman.
He has won just two of his last six bouts, with a defeat to American Terence Crawford in Glasgow last March seeing him surrender his grip on the world title.
The 32-year-old was also declared bankrupt in March of this year, per Stuart MacDonald of the Daily Record.
Burns had a brief foray up at light welterweight in 2015, taking on Omar Figueroa Jr. in May. He turned in a battling display in Texas but still lost on the scorecards.
Now back down at lightweight again, the Rickster is not short of domestic rivals in a division that also includes his gym-mate Kevin Mitchell, reigning WBO champion Terry Flanagan and Olympic gold-medal winner Luke Campbell.
But, once top of the pile, Burns now finds himself in the middle of the pack. It will be fascinating to see if he can climb back towards the summit.
Adam Etches
2 of 5
Middleweight Adam Etches saw his perfect record disappear in March when he was knocked out by Sergey Khomitsky.
After 19-straight wins in the paid ranks, the Sheffield fighter was stopped in his home city in the fourth round.
It was a right hand over the top that finished off the Bomber, who was left in a bad way on the canvas. Take a look at the finish for yourself here.
Khomitsky was no stranger to ruining a young English talent's unbeaten record—he had done the same to super middleweight Frank Buglioni in 2014.
Etches admitted afterwards he had been too cocky in the ring, per David Anderson of the Mirror: "I think I got too super confident and that all I had to do was stand in front of a fighter, trade blows and I would always come out on top. Maybe that's because I had knocked out 15 out of 18 opponents before Khomitsky."
He returned to action in July, stopping Victor Jesus Rosales inside three rounds.
Amir Khan
3 of 5
Amir Khan suffered a defeat in 2015. It wasn't in the ring, though.
The silver-medal winner at the 2004 Olympics actually won his only fight during the first half of the year, beating Chris Algieri on points at the end of May.
However, the result Khan really wanted was to win the race to be Floyd Mayweather's next—and potentially final—opponent.
The 28-year-old had pushed hard to face Money on September 12. Instead, though, the American has opted to face Andre Berto.
Khan hit out at the decision, per BBC Sport: "I'd fight Mayweather any time. But Mayweather is scared. One thing about Amir Khan is, he's never afraid of anybody."
The thing is, Khan is doing too much talking and not enough fighting. He laboured in beating Algieri, someone who had been floored six times by Manny Pacquiao.
Now, Pacquiao and Khan—former gym-mates under the stewardship of trainer Freddie Roach—could face each other early next year, according to Gareth A Davies in the Telegraph.
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David Price
4 of 5
David Price was once the big heavyweight prospect in Britain.
After picking up a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, the Liverpudlian reeled off a 14-fight win streak at the start of his professional career.
However, the early promise has disappeared with three harrowing defeats.
He was twice beaten in his own backyard by American veteran Tony Thompson, forcing him to head to mainland Europe to try to rebuild both his confidence and his reputation.
Things seemed to be going well for Price—he won four on the bounce under the promotion of the Sauerland brothers—paving the way for a shot at the European title.
Yet, the road to recovery hit a large stumbling block in the form of Erkan Teper.
Price was knocked out inside two rounds by the unbeaten German, leaving his career in tatters. He has yet to confirm if he will carry on fighting.
Anthony Ogogo
5 of 5
Anthony Ogogo's inclusion on the list is not down to anything other than bad luck.
The middleweight is 8-0 as a professional, including a points triumph over Ukrainian Ruslan Schelev in July.
However, injuries have held up the 26-year-old's progress since he joined the paid ranks after claiming a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.
He had an operation to deal with issues in both Achilles tendons—a second surgery then delayed his plans to make a return to action in February.
When he did finally get back in the ring, beating Schelev in Germany, Ogogo suffered another setback.
He revealed to BBC Suffolk (h/t BBC Sport) that he had twice dislocated his shoulder in the six-rounder: "I had to kind of wiggle to get the shoulder back in its socket, I was in a serious lot of pain."
Ogogo—who is co-promoted by Golden Boy and Sauerland—still has time on his side, but he is being left in the shadows of fellow London Olympians Luke Campbell and Anthony Joshua.
Have we missed an obvious candidate on the list? It's a matter of opinions—feel free to share yours via the comments section!
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