By Wil Patino: Have you ever watched a fighter and became a fan only to see them disappear out the blue? Leading you to wonder what ever happened to them? Well in this article I will touch upon exactly that subject. Some fighters had legitimate reasons to disappear and/or retire without warning. Others left us scratching our heads as to what happened and why’d they stop boxing. Here is a look back at some of these champions gone M.I.A. along with one current fighter depending on who you ask.
Its just a look back at the sudden end to some future stars and past stars that never gained the fame or accomplishments they were thought to achieve. Some of you know why their careers came to an end, but others might not know or remember.
I’ll begin with a fighter I’m sure many of you know of or at least heard of. Former WBO, WBC, IBF and Lineal Featherweight champion, and European Bantamweight Champion Prince Naseem Hamed. Beating the likes of Wilfredo Vasquez, Kevin Kelley, and Augie Sanchez. In his 36th professional fight he stepped into the ring as an undefeated champion facing Marco Antonio Barrera in a fight the Prince was heavily favored to win. He ended up losing the lineal championship via Unanimous Decision. Not looking very good in the process. Just over a year later he beat Manuel Calvo in what was supposed to be the beginning of a come back which never really came into fruition because after that win he vanished from the boxing scene. As so it appeared. He retired 36-1-0 (31Ko) at the ripe age of 28! So what happened? Where is he now and why did he stop fighting? To briefly answer this question Hamed says he left the sport due to commitments to his family and chronic hand problems (because of boxing). He has gained some substantial weight since his days as a champ and was recently seen at the Froch vs Groves fight.
Here’s a link to a radio interview in which Prince Naseem explains why he left at such a young age. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBTMGPuiIj4
More recently Paul Williams was on the rise of possibly becoming a big star in boxing. His notable wins came against Antonio Margarito, Carlos Quintana (in a rematch), Winky Wright, Sergio Martinez and Erislandy Lara ( Undeservedly so). Paul Williams Through most of his career looked very impressive and his sheer size for the divisions in which he fought made him somewhat of a physical anomaly. He was scheduled to fight Canelo Alvarez in the first test of Canelo’s career. Then we heard the fight was cancelled when we were informed that Paul Williams was in a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed. Unfortunately we never saw Paul Williams bounce back from that brutal 2nd round knock out from the left hand of Martinez, but you can see him in an interview with Jim Gray to see what he’s up to now
Here’s a link to an interview with Jim Gray as Paul Williams explains what happened and where life will take him next. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJUnt8k3is
Some of you may not be aware of a fighter named Joan “little Tyson” Guzman a 2 time champion who had an impressive amateur record of 310-10. As a professional had a record of 33-1-1 and 1 no contest with 20 KOs. Some of his most notable wins were against Jorge Rodrigo Barrios, Antonio Davis, and Humberto Soto. Joan Guzman fought in a sensational style of speed, power, and used slick movement. Now I’m not saying he was this absolute beast of a fighter but he was one on the rise and he was supposed to face Nate Cambell but failed to make weight thus cancelling the fight. His winning streak came to an end when he entered as an undefeated fighter to face Khabib Allakhverdiev. On November 30, 2012, Guzman challenged Khabib Allakhverdiev for the IBO and vacant WBA super lightweight championship. The bout ended in the 8th round as Guzman hurt his knee which resulted from an accidental foul. The verdict was a technical decision in favor of Allakhverdiev. Since then He has been promoted by “Iron Mike Productions” and every so often there was mention of a come back but to this day we haven’t seen it. What happened to Joan “little Tyson” Guzman? No one seems to be too sure.
Here’s a link to Guzman speaking honestly about entering the ring and some highlights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAjmr_wILQ8
To view the links just copy and paste my friends. So once again I thought I’d bring up a refreshing topic to boxingnews24.com and have us go through memory lane and speak on some of our favorite fighters that have seemed to just disappear leaving us wishing we can see more. Do you have any favorites you had hoped to watch more of before they left? I’ve listed just 3 examples of fighters who many may feel like they haven’t seen enough of.
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