Ammys who won the Val Barket Trophy and their pro careers

[ironfist05]

THe Val Barker trophy is awarded every four years to the "pound for pound" best boxer at the olympics. It encompasses style, result, skill etc... Several of the guys who won it (mostly Cubans and ex-USSR fighters) were not able to go pro, but some did. Here are some of them and their results:

Lou Laurie (16-11-1 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/75504
never seemed to amount to much in the pros.

George Hunter (13-6-0 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/181364
Like Laurie, never seemed to amount to much, fought for a few regional titles, but that's it.

Nino Benvenuti (82-7-1 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/8999
generally considered an ATG. Had some great fights with Griffith and Rodriguez. Famous for a classy, elegant style and a deadly left hook to accompany his ranginess. Was never the most focused fighter out there, so he has some results that probably shouldn't be there, but overall a widely accepted great MW and JMW.

Waruinge Nakayama (14-10-1 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/13990
Wasn't actually the gold medalist in his olympics (represented Kenya), not sure why, but presumably there was some robbery involved. Not a great pro career, fought mostly out of Japan and lost to the only two titlists he faced (Riasco and the great Carlos Zarate). Still, a classy, skilled fighter, surprising he didn't amount to more.

Howard Davis Jr (36-6-1 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/554
Davis's career was something of a let-down. He lost every shot he had at a title and never beat a great fighter. For a man projected for greatness, he fell short, but always had a classy, versatile style.

Patrizio Oliva (57-2-0 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/4575
A good boxer, but not much of a puncher. Had good speed and toughness, and was able to put together a brief fun as a titlist, but never turned out great as hoped. Spent most of his career fighting local European style candidates, but did fight a Buddy McGirt and a few other good fighters.

Paul Gonzales (16-4-0 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/508
Lost his only shot at a title against Canizales, who was, to Gonzales's credit, a very good boxer (Gonzales would take a decision over him earlier on). Sadly, a pretty unremarkable pro career

Roy Jones Jr (65-9-0 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/774820
Not much needs to be said here. A certifiable ATG with one of the most spectacular highs in boxing history, period.

Vassiliy Jirov (38-3-1 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/7121
Jirov was a pretty memorable cruiser. A good pressure fighter with endless stamina and heart and combination punching skills, his war with James Toney will always stand out as one of the best fights of modern times. Legends surrounded Jirov and his intense training regimen and he had a decent amount of hype. Ultimately, he never lived up to it hype, but his career was a good one and one of the better ones in cruiserweight history.

Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1-0 (0))
http://boxrec.com/boxer/659771
well, I don't think he needs to be introduced. After a setback against Salido, he has turned his career around pretty well and now seems to be on most people's P4P list. We'll see where he goes, but his career has already been pretty good.

 

[Sharkey]

Leonard should have won it in '76 and easily at that. But they gave it to Davis Jr in large part of because of his story (his mother died just days before the competition, Davis Jr's pledge to honour her, etc) going into the Games.

 

[ironfist05]

Leonard should have won it in '76 and easily at that. But they gave it to Davis Jr in large part of because of his story (his mother died just days before the competition, Davis Jr's pledge to honour her, etc) going into the Games.

fair enough. Funnily enough, three of those guys (Waruinge Nakayama, RJJ, and Lou Laurie) didn't win gold in their divisions. Park Si-Hun robbed RJJ and I imagine roldan and kaiser were considered unworthy for some reason.

This is more just to see where these guys careers have gone. Some ended up ATGs and some ended up with mediocre records.

 

[Shoemaker]

fair enough. Funnily enough, three of those guys (Waruinge Nakayama, RJJ, and Lou Laurie) didn't win gold in their divisions. Park Si-Hun robbed RJJ and I imagine roldan and kaiser were considered unworthy for some reason.

This is more just to see where these guys careers have gone. Some ended up ATGs and some ended up with mediocre records.

You ain't foolin me, you just want to talk Loma with Seano some more.

 

[ironfist05]

You ain't foolin me, you just want to talk Loma with Seano some more.

lmao, the loma discussion actually did get me curious about the val barker trophy and who had it, but I was posting this out of genuine interest

 

[Sharkey]

fair enough. Funnily enough, three of those guys (Waruinge Nakayama, RJJ, and Lou Laurie) didn't win gold in their divisions. Park Si-Hun robbed RJJ and I imagine roldan and kaiser were considered unworthy for some reason.

This is more just to see where these guys careers have gone. Some ended up ATGs and some ended up with mediocre records.

I guess it is interesting, although a guy like Davis Jr was already showing some things in the Olympics that might mean he would come up short in the pros, as he was knocked down a couple of times during those Games and also showed the passiveness in those Olympics that would eventually hurt him in some of his pro fights. A guy like Paul Gonzales probably didn't really get a chance to develop into a great pro seeing as how he was matched so tough out the gate (understandable to some extent considering he was paid very well to begin his pro career), had a horrible management team, and also had to deal with numerous serious injuries which took place outside the ring.

 

[ironfist05]

I guess it is interesting, although a guy like Davis Jr was already showing some things in the Olympics that might mean he would come up short in the pros, as he was knocked down a couple of times during those Games and also showed the passiveness in those Olympics that would eventually hurt him in some of his pro fights. A guy like Paul Gonzales probably didn't really get a chance to develop into a great pro seeing as how he was matched so tough out the gate (understandable to some extent considering he was paid very well to begin his pro career), had a horrible management team, and also had to deal with numerous serious injuries which took place outside the ring.

yeah, generally tossing a guy against regional level pros is a bad idea, regardless of how well talented he is (to be fair, Gonzales already beat Canizales once). Shiming and Toledo are like that, though they're a bit older. Lower weight class guys have smaller windows of opportunity, most are done with their prime by 28.

I had no idea he was so badly managed, could you elaborate?

the lastest Val Barker winner (Hasanboy Dusmatov) also just announced he is turning pro. Thoughts?

 

[Sharkey]

yeah, generally tossing a guy against regional level pros is a bad idea, regardless of how well talented he is (to be fair, Gonzales already beat Canizales once). Shiming and Toledo are like that, though they're a bit older. Lower weight class guys have smaller windows of opportunity, most are done with their prime by 28.

I had no idea he was so badly managed, could you elaborate?

the lastest Val Barker winner (Hasanboy Dusmatov) also just announced he is turning pro. Thoughts?

Well, saying he had "horrible management" may have bee wrong on my part save for the way he was matched early in his career. Conflict in management might be a better way to put it with his lawyer managers having an unreasonable expectation of his worth (which Gonzales eventually becoming guilty of too) which made it tough for Gonzales promoter and the television networks to deal with. Then you also had Gonzales' trainer, Al Stankie, dealing with a lot of personal demons related to alcohol that could have been hurting his development as well at the time. Gonzales came up with Stankie, but due to the alcohol and things that stemed from it, the two eventually parted ways. Gonzales busted his hand, busted an ankle and damaged his knee when he ran over himself with his corvette, and then busted his hip while riding his bicycle, all between the 1st Canizales fight and the loss to Medal.

 

[Sharkey]

I had to remind myself who Dusmatov was. I watched a couple of his fights from the Olympics back when they were on, and yeah, I can remember liking what I saw from him. If I'm remembering right I think he showed a style that should suit him well in the pros. Not surprised he won that award. Beyond that, I can't say much else without a better refreshener of him.

 

[ironfist05]

I had to remind myself who Dusmatov was. I watched a couple of his fights from the Olympics back when they were on, and yeah, I can remember liking what I saw from him. If I'm remembering right I think he showed a style that should suit him well in the pros. Not surprised he won that award. Beyond that, I can't say much else without a better refreshener of him.

dustamov seems pretty promising. you're right that he has a more pro oriented style, he reminds me a little of Pac with a more body oriented attack and better lateral foot movement. I think his defense needs to tighten up, but I like what I see.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Nice work iron. Here's a piece from Boxing.com that covers it all, really. It covers every VB trophy winner from 1936-2012. It's definitely worth taking the time to read through it.

Concerning Louis Laurie, he won the inaugural (first) VB trophy in 1936 but not the Olympic gold medal as you noted in the OP. It wasn't a robbery or a gift decision, however. He was voted to have had the most scientific (technical) style back then which is how he won it.

The inaugural winner of the Val Barker trophy was Louis Laurie. The young American was only 18 at the time of the Olympics and surprisingly did not win a gold medal. Louis Laurie only won bronze but it was decided that his style was the most scientific and thus, the most impressive. He only had 22 amateur bouts but would make up for his lack of experience with his technical ability. He won three bouts at the Olympics, beating Rudolf Bezdek, Asbjorn Berg-Hansen and Edmund Sobkowiak. He would lose in the semi finals to the eventual silver medalist, Gavino Motta who was perhaps unlikely to come up against a home boxer. The loser from the other semifinal Alfredo Carlomango was not able to box Laurie for the bronze, so he won it by walkover. His style was so impressive that it was requested that he box an exhibition.

Concerning Philip Waruinge aka Waruinge Nakayama winning the VB trophy but not the Olympic gold medal as you also noted in the OP, his opponent Roldan was allegedly gifted a Split Decision as the home town favorite. This wasn't the first time in his amateur career that he'd been robbed, unfortunately.

In the semi final he would box Antonio Roldan, the home town favorite. Waruinge looked to get the better of Roldan but Roldan was gifted a split decision victory, consigning Waruinge to a bronze medal.

As for Roy, well, we all know what happened in 1988 and why he didn't win the gold medal at the Olympics. The judges were paid off ($200-$300) and it was payback time in Seoul.

The Val Barker Trophy — The Aftermath

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Claressa Shields is worth mentioning since she became the first female boxer to ever win the Val Barker trophy last year alongside Hasanboy Dusmatov. She also turned pro and is currently 2-0-0. Starting with the last Olympic Games in Rio, AIBA will be awarding both male and female boxers the VB trophy going forward.

So, here is my contribution to your thread. You can borrow anything that you like and stick it in the OP if you want.
-------------------------

1936 Olympic Games (8 divisions)

Louis Laurie from the US — Flyweight Bronze medalist

Participants: 179 boxers from 31 nations competed to produce 24 medalists


1948 Olympic Games (8 divisions)

George Hunter of South Africa — Light Heavyweight Gold medalist

Participants: 205 boxers from 39 nations competed to produce 24 medalists


1960 Olympic Games (10 divisions)

Nino Benvenuti of Italy — Welterweight Gold medalist

Participants: 281 boxers from 54 nations competed to produce 40 medalists


1968 Olympic Games (11 divisions)

Philip Waruinge aka Waruinge Nakayama of Kenya — Featherweight Bronze medalist (allegedly his opponent was gifted a SD in the semi-finals)

Participants: 307 boxers from 65 nations competed to produce 44 medalists


1976 Olympic Games (11 divisions)

Howard Davis, Jr. from the US — Lightweight Gold medalist

Participants: 266 boxers from 54 nations competed to produce 44 medalists


1980 Olympic Games (11 divisions)

Patrizio Oliva of Italy — Light Welterweight Gold medalist

Participants: 271 boxers from 51 nations competed to produce 44 medalists


1984 Olympic Games (12 divisions)

Paul Gonzales from the US — Light Flyweight Gold medalist

Participants: 354 boxers from 81 nations competed to produce 48 medalists


1988 Olympic Games (12 divisions)

Roy Jones, Jr. from the US — Light Middleweight Silver medalist (robbed of Gold in the finals)

Participants: 432 boxers from 106 nations competed to produce 48 medalists


1996 Olympic Games (12 divisions)

Vassiliy Jirov of Kazakhstan — Light Heavyweight Gold medalist

Participants: 355 boxers from 97 nations competed to produce 48 medalists


2008 Olympic Games (11 divisions)

Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine — Featherweight Gold medalist

Participants: 283 boxers from 77 nations competed to produce 44 medalists


2016 Olympic Games (3 women's divisions)

Claressa Shields from the US — Women's Middleweight Gold medalist

Participants: 36 female boxers from 25 nations competed to produce 12 women's medalists

As a pro she's now a 2-0-0 prospect → http://boxrec.com/boxer/777865


Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Barker_Trophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_Summer_Olympics#Nation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1936_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1948_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1960_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1968_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1976_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1984_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1988_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics
https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/boxing/51-kg-fly-women
https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/boxing/60-kg-light-women
https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/boxing/75-kg-middle-women
http://www.boxing.com/the_val_barker_trophy_the_aftermath.html