Successful boxers with no amateur background?

[10000 Days]

Are there any elite boxers who never fought in the amateur ranks at all? Not even in the olympic qualifiers?

 

[treelo]

Not no experience, but very limited:

Roberto Duran
Larry Holmes
James Toney
Julio Cesar Chavez

All less than 25 bouts

 

[Snowball]

Canelo
Pacquiao

 

[Snowball]

Canelo
Pacquiao

Chris eubank Jr instead of Pacquiao

Cant edit comments for some reason

 

[treelo]

Chris eubank Jr instead of Pacquiao

Cant edit comments for some reason

Not sure when Chris Eubank jr became elite, hes not even a proven european champion

 

[Marc A]

Wasn't that handsome Argentinen guy Maravilla a cyclist with no ammy

 

[HardasNAILZ]

Conor Anthony McGregor

 

[Snowball]

Not sure when Chris Eubank jr became elite, hes not even a proven european champion

He's elite at middleweight.

 

[mozfonky]

dwight qawi is one, there have been others that i can't think of right now.

 

[mozfonky]

Not no experience, but very limited:

Roberto Duran
Larry Holmes
James Toney
Julio Cesar Chavez

All less than 25 bouts

i think tyson had less than 40, liston had limited experience too i've heard. It seems to have mixed results, Liston never was taught a lot of things, experience itself is so important, not skillwise, situation wise. I was watching a bit of the davey moore/duran fight the other day and I thought of how full of confidence Moore looked, and he always looked that way before the duran fight and after it he was shot. He had talent of course, just not enough seasoning or experience to deal with Duran who happened to put on one of his best performances. Usually doesn't work to cut corners like that, moore had like 9 fights before he won the title, leon spinks was also not served by making a name for himself with such limited pro experience, he became a stepping stone after the second ali fight.

 

[realdealgeale]

jcc jnr had zero ammy fights I think.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Anthony Mundine had 4 amateur fights I believe, then went and played rugby and turned pro straight out of rugby.

 

[Prefect]

Not no experience, but very limited:

Roberto Duran
Larry Holmes
James Toney
Julio Cesar Chavez

All less than 25 bouts

Larry Holmes was a sparring partner with Ali and I want to say Foreman and maybe Frazier. Ali I know for sure. Larry Holmes was very cognizant of his talents before he won a championship belt. In interviews, he has said that he just had to wait for the top guys just to slip a little and he would be the champion.

My favorite story about Holmes sparring is that one day Larry was getting all righteous and talking about how he should be the champ since he was getting the best of Ali in sparring. Ali hearing this took sparring to the next level against the wide eyed young Holmes and showed him who was the champ.

From video I have seen, I think almost anyone of note would dominate Ali in sparring. It is like he couldn't be bothered to get worked up and was content with lesser fighters putting leather on him.

 

[Queen B]

David Benevidez whos the youngest world champion had 8 fights, and just beat a guy whos amateur record was 165-15, twice.

 

[Breakfast Bar]

I think that a lot of the best fighters from Mexico and Thailand would qualify.

 

[mozfonky]

durans' kind of a funnny case, hardly any amateur fights but supposedly a natural street fighter who admits that he was terrible when he started boxing up until about his eighth fight then he blossomed and blossomed.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Jameel McCline

 

[Fluffernutter]

Billy Conn

 

[mozfonky]

Billy Conn

really? I could see it in the 20's and 30's because i don't even know when the ammies actually started but it couldn't have been much before that.

 

[Yourstepdad]

i think tyson had less than 40, liston had limited experience too i've heard. It seems to have mixed results, Liston never was taught a lot of things, experience itself is so important, not skillwise, situation wise. I was watching a bit of the davey moore/duran fight the other day and I thought of how full of confidence Moore looked, and he always looked that way before the duran fight and after it he was shot. He had talent of course, just not enough seasoning or experience to deal with Duran who happened to put on one of his best performances. Usually doesn't work to cut corners like that, moore had like 9 fights before he won the title, leon spinks was also not served by making a name for himself with such limited pro experience, he became a stepping stone after the second ali fight.

Tyson went to the olympics. Less than 40 or not, that's a big ammy experience