LIONEL

[JSA]

Just had the pleasure of watching the DVD Lionel. While the documentary itself was great the fact the bonus DVD had 4 fights of his in full was awesome.The Sakurai fight picture quality was a bit poor(may have been my shit DVD player) but the rest were good.

I am wondering,hypothetically,if the Harada fight would possibly have been an indication of a match between Lionel and Fenech. Harada,to me, seemed similar in style to Fenech(not quite as good though) ie aggressive/come forward/open to shots type. Lionel,while indeed copping a few,nearly always seemed to get the best of exchanges. Thoughts?!?!?!?!I wonder if Fenech may have been a little to ferocious and having at least an equal chin and,with good hands,better power MAY have had Lionel in trouble.But...........Lionel was so damn quick.

Also in watching the full fights it appeared to me some similar trend in toehr Aboriginal fighters of the modern era(Mundine and Kickett),
1)amazing speed
2)great footwork
3)not rockhard chins
4)a habit of relying on speed and continually keeping the left hand low.ALOT.

any thoughts fellas?????

[JSA]

Oh yeah- if you havent see it i suggest its well worth getting. I will say two things-great boxer and what a character. All things considered an icon of Aussie boxing who is hard to top.

P.S shame to see a drunk Harding in there. SUch a sad demise of a real gutsy fighter.

[Sweet P]

Id say if it went 15 Lionel would get the nod, Fenech would have needed to stop him to win. Id say its a 50/50. Lionel was a really talented boxer. His skills and reflexes excellent.

[JSA]

Reckon your right.Was fascinated by the Sakurai fight where initially Lionel lost,clearly,the first 4-5 rounds.BUT then he started coming back in to his own and IMO won by a few rounds. Plus the challenger was running all night.
Hypotheitcals are just that but gee it would have been a good fight. Lionel just seemed to deal with the agro body attack of Harada so well,countering/blocking/moving/beating him to the punch. Fenech would have needed to score a real brain wobbler and then capitalise with the relentless assault he was famous for.

[Brute]

Lionel lost discipline and his weight got away from him. After he lost the bantamweight title he became a bit of a tragedy. By the time he was 23 his best was behind him.

[Sweet P]

Actually the more i think about this fight the more i think Rose would win. Just watched the documentory again. His speed would probably be to much for Fenech and he would get a UD. Fenech was relentless but Rose would slip punches and really frustrate Fenech IMO.