Most of us have held jobs in our lives at one time or another that were tough. It could be the work task itself, the workplace in general, or a personality clash with a co-worker. All could be indicators that this may not be the work for you. There is also a performance factor, we were not particularly good at it and were wise enough to get out before we were asked to leave, and never come back. Today we recognize professional prizefighting, boxing to be specific, with our bottom seven boxers, history’s worst professional prizefighters.
Boxing had survived for centuries before television first introduced ‘Fight of the Week’ in 1960. During the next 4 years fights aired regularly, each Friday or Saturday night on network television. Years later came cable television and twenty-four hours of sports entertainment available each day. With cable TV every night could now be a fight night.
Boxing then expanded into multiple divisions, creating new sets of title belts available, in effect creating new jobs for fighters. But the increase in opportunities available was greater than the total of professional fighters available to fill those positions. That is where some of these new jobs were created. ‘Professional Fighters Wanted’ ads must have gone out en masse and our list is filled with men who took those jobs and held onto them, some for too long.
As a prelude to our list, we quote former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Michael Bentt, who retired at the age of 30 with an 11-2-0 record professional record. With his 11 victories sandwiched between two knock-out defeats that began and ended his career. After his retirement, Bentt said, “I always hated getting hit in the head”. So, he got out and stayed out, which makes perfect if not common sense.
All right let’s get on with it. The following fight records, and many others, can be verified at boxerlist.com.
First, our honorable mentions, these three fighters just missed the bottom seven list and could have competed for the number 8 spot if, there were any interest in a bottom eight list.
Honorable mention #1- Lightweight Simmie Black fought for 25 years, from 1971-1996, finishing 35-165-4. Simmie won 17% of his fights and retired as the most defeated boxer in history. Now he is just above the “Mendoza Line” as to the fighters being included on this list.
Honorable mention #2- Peter Buckley was classified as a welterweight between 1989-2008, with a lifetime record of 32-256-12 and a 10.6% winning percentage. His career had started at 6-1-1 before slumping terribly, and often. Buckley finished before reaching his stated goal of achieving 300 defeats in the ring. A wise man once said that you should have goals, aspire to reach for them, and work to eclipse your goal unless your goal is getting knocked out… or moderation (ok I added that last part).
Honorable mention #3- James Holly was a heavyweight with a career spanning 18 years from 1983-2000 before retiring with a 5-55 record in the ring and a 9% winning percentage. Holly also fought under the aliases of Virgil Holly and James Robinson. This choice was close, Holly just lost out in breaking into the bottom seven lists, but he’s not even the worst professional heavyweight in Ashtabula, Ohio. Holly lost out on his chance to a neighbor. More on that is right around the corner.
These three honorable mentions lost 486 fights between them and none of them make it to our bottom 7 listing.
With that preamble, here are the seven worst professional fighters of all time, men who by the numbers made a career out of… being bullied in the workplace.
Now, let’s get ready to tumble!
#7 George Harris was a heavyweight who finished his 9-year career (1991-1999) with a 2-37 record in the ring, lasting 74 rounds (almost 2 rounds a fight) and winning 5% of his bouts. Harris lost his first 33 fights before winning 2 of his next three by knockout. Did this indicate an upturn in his career? Hardly.
Harris lost 35 of his bouts by knockout, giving this boxer also from Ashtabula, Ohio, an 89.7% chance of being KO’d every time he entered the ring. It should be noted that the town of Ashtabula must have some tough neighborhoods. However, Harris and the previously mentioned honorable mention James Holly were not from that part of town.
#6 Doug Davis was a welterweight from 1991-2004, finishing with a 0-25 mark in the ring and a 0% winning percentage, let me double-check my math, yep 0 percent. Davis was knocked out in each fight, each time, and every time, 100% KO’d. Never making it past the second round Davis, at 0-22, fought for a World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Welter Weight Title fight, where he was knocked out in the first round. 23 of his 25 fights did not go beyond the first round, and Davis finished with 29 rounds fought in his career to get to his 25 defeats. Okay, that was a long way of saying, this guy got beat up in a hurry.
#5 Jesse Clark, a heavyweight with a 12-year (1973-1984) record of 0-30, 0% winning percentage, and 90% knocked out rate, twenty-seven times in his thirty fights. Finished with a total of 54 rounds fought. Does one get into this sport and decide, “I am giving it 30 fights, win or lose, and then re-evaluate my career choice at that time.”
#4 Ed Strickland, another heavyweight, who fought from 1989-2003 and finished 0-30, with 47 total rounds fought, a fighter with a 0% winning percentage and 100% knocked out rate. Strickland lost all his fights by knockout, 13 first-round KO losses, the other 17 times he was knocked out before the end of the second round. Barely making boxings version of the 30-30-30 club, 30 fights, 30 losses, 30 knocked outs.
A brief time-out and reminder, we are covering the worst professional boxers in recorded history, some could argue the worst fighters of all time. Sure, there could have been worse fighters who fought as underground, fight club types, or even street fighters, but it just does not seem likely those careers would have the same longevity. Also consider that in pre-recorded history, even the worst Roman Gladiators would finish with a career mark of 0-1. Think about it.
Now, let’s move onto our top 3 of this bottom seven list.
#3 Eric Crumble fought as a middleweight between 1990-2003, 0-31, 0% winning percentage. Lost all 31 by KO, 100% rate. He stayed in the ring long enough to surpass #4 Strickland and create his fights, and losses, and knocked out the 31-31-31 club. It is unknown if he fought with a nickname, but any name you put in front of Crumble for a fighter is just bad marketing. One can almost hear Michael Buffer announce, “Let’s get ready to Crumble”.
The fact that Crumble was terrible in the ring makes him the complete package. His choice may be disappointing for some of the more knowledgeable boxing listeners who were thinking to themselves “I bet they’re going to have Eric Crumble at the #1 spot.” Well, Psych!
#2 Robert Woods, the only featherweight to make the list had a 10-year career from 1986-1995, 1-49, losing 43 by KO, and 142 total rounds fought, for a 2% winning percentage. Woods fought for the North Carolina state lightweight title with a record at the time of 0-19, and he won that state title with a 12th-round KO! Of course, he lost his first and only title defense, and thirty more fights afterward. His state title victory was not only embarrassing for the state of North Carolina, but it also cost him a shot at our number one position, as with that title victory he is the only fighter among the bottom 6 on this list with a victory in the ring.
Here he is, at the top of our bottom list. Or is it at the bottom of our top list? The most bullied man in boxing history.
#1 Alexandru Manea was a cruiserweight from Romania who fought from 2000-2011 and lost each of his 53 fights. Manea suffered only 13 KOs and fought a total of 264 rounds. Forty times Manea fought an entire fight, only to be told that the judges scoring the bout felt he had his butt kicked. Manea fought more rounds than the 5 fighters directly behind him on this list, combined. Making him the most experienced and securing the #1 ranking among our worst boxers in recorded history.
Confetti parade! No?
Thanks for going the distance with us, as we reviewed the bottom 7 professional prizefighters of all time.
The combined boxing record of this 7-fighter list is 3-255-0 with 204 of those losses by knockout.
I would like to note that Manea and the other boxers included on this list were unable to join us in person. We did not even attempt to reach out to any of the fighters on this list. I did not want to be the one to tell any that we had compiled this list, or that they were on it. That would feel like bullying, didn’t they get enough of that at work?
These seven men have since retired from boxing. Father time caught up to each fighter before any of them could get their gloves up in self-defense.
7, 8, 9, 10. It’s over. That’s it. They’ve had enough.
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