Carmen Basilio vs. the Duran of the first Leonard fight
Undercard: Julian Jackson vs. Rocky Graziano at 157 lbs
Basilio weathers a furious early barrage by Duran and then wears him down with his size, strength, and bodypunching. A strong finish secures a fair decision win for Basilio.
Jackson uses his superior (and underrated) boxing ability to score points and avoid an all-out slugfest with Rocky. Rocky manages to slip inside and score a knockdown with a big right hand, but Jackson manages to avoid being knocked out and then comes back to KO Rocky a round or two later.
Jackson then goes on to fight Iran Barkley at 160.
Echols fights hard, often pushing the action but Kessler's one-two is just to good and busts Echols up over the distance. Kessler wins a wider than expected decision.
Morrison won't be around long enough to test Golota's will. Both were reachable, but the shots Golota nailed Bowe with (particularly in their second fight) would've put Morrison out in four. Golota proved he could take punishment from Bowe for a while before cracking. Morrison can't hang once hit. Golota, TKO4.
Jeffries recuperates from a hat-trick of losses to Marciano, & lines up in a twenty-rounder against Dempsey...
Dempsey manages to stop Jeffries in fight mared with lots of
wild blows and lots of clinching. Dempsey stays low and
stops Jeffries after himself being on the canvas.
Dempsey KO 15.
Jeff Harding vs Iran barkley LHW peak match 12 rounds
Barkley wins a split decision in a terrific, exciting affair. That'd be a very watchable fight, IMO. Harding wants a rematch upon announcement of the decision.
James "Lights Out" Toney (1992) vs. Tommy "Hitman" Hearns (1985) at Middleweight over twelve rounds...
Toney in '92 was very mediocre at Middleweight. Hearns by a decision... if he doesn't get robbed like Tiberi and McCallum did.
Sumbu Kalambay vs. Arthur Abraham at 160 for 12 rounds
Nice skills on display and initially a good chess match, in which Kalambay starts fast, sweeping the first 3 rounds.
Abraham, now warmed up, begans to time and lauch some decent body shots. After 10 rounds its pretty tight but Kalambay is still quiet fresh and with Abraham tiring as the fight draws to close, stick's and moves to earn a close, but fair, UD.
Next:
Luis Angel Firpo vs David Tua (Heavyweight Undercard - 12 Rounds)
Ezzard Charles vs Bob Foster (Undisputed Light Heavyweight World Title - 15 Rounds)
Tua KO 1. Firpo does his best to stay in it, but is sent down twice
until he finally stays down.
Foster and Charles have a great fight, both taking turns leading on
the cards. Foster wobbling Charles in the 5th, and Charles rocks Foster
in the 8th. Both take turns stalking, it is Charles who manages to land
some telling combinations and right hands on Foster he starts to lean
into range more and more as the fight comes to an end.
Charles SD 15
The rematch...
Ezzard Charles vs Bob Foster II 175lbs 15 rounds
and
Harold Johnson vs Thomas Hearns @ 168lbs, 15 rounds.
and
Floyd Patterson vs Mike McCallum @ 168lbs, 15 rounds.
Charles would probably stop Foster in 12 rounds. Foster was arguably the best Light Heavyweight champion of all time, but Charles was the best Light Heavyweight of all time.
Johnson stops Hearns in five
Patterson gives Mike McCallum his first TKO loss... Why not have Vitali Klitschko vs. Rafael Marquez...
Next: Terry Norris vs. Felix Trinidad at 154 in a 12 rounder
Azumah Nelson vs. Juan Manuel Marquez at 130 lbs in a 12 rounder
Because Vitali never fought at MW, or LHW like Patterson did.
So the size thing is a bit retarded for you to bring up Rafael Marquez
vs Vitali.
Do you honestly think Floyd was not a SMW-LHW ? He fought at
HW because that was where the money was and because you
could be his size and hang career wise at that weight. Floyd had
a good chunk of his early fights at around the SMW mark.
Floyd Patterson 6' and 164-200lbs
Mike McCallum 5'11 1/2 and 155-182lbs
So is that really a size mismatch ? and it is not as though that McCallum
did not have some decent skills.
Terrific battles you nominated there, IFF, but it's doing my head in trying to determine a winner in each of them. I can visualise both Norris & Trinidad on the canvas, for instance, with their seconds removing the gumshield. Nelson & Marquez is an engaging & tight chess match.
I am a huge admirer of Mike McCallum. I think based on accomplishments he is the best champion that 154 has ever seen, though I do wonder if he could have beaten Hearns. I think McCallum beat Toney twice, and that as a result the only real loss he had under 175 was Kalambay, and McCallum reversed that loss in a close but I thought clear decision victory the second time. McCallum is one of the greatest fighters ever to fight at 154-160. But people have been watching the Sonny Liston fights a bit too often if they think that Floyd Patterson was some mediocre fighter. He was a wrecking ball, especially against fighters his size. McCallum with a size disadvantage has little chance.
Sorry to disrupt the flow of this thread.
BUT.... I am one of the Patterson cheerleaders here mate, I know he
was a force. I also feel he was a decent guy at a lower weight and
would be hard to beat. But I do not think McCallum would be over
powered as such, as the guy had some damned fine skills.
My contention with you is that you likened my match up as being
the equivalent of Vitali vs Marquez...which I thought to be daft.
Daft? Well, from what I have seen, I haven't found any of your posts in this thread to be lacking in "daftness." Mayweather gets a draw with Leonard at 147... I have to laugh at that, even as a very big, long time Mayweather fan. Floyd gets a bit too much grief from people, he is a great fighter, but would he draw with Welterweight Leonard? No chance in hell. And of course it is automatic that seemingly anyone who fights Ali in 1976 or later will apparently get robbed, because Joe Frazier hadn't just lost two fights to Ali, and because Joe did so much with himself after Manila. Joe of course did not get his own gift against Cummings either.
Anyone who can think their way out of a paper bag can probably understand my Klitschko-Marquez hyperbole. It does a disservice to both Patterson and McCallum to put them head to head. Pound for pound McCalum rates higher, but Floyd is hardly out of his league in that sense. Considering, however, that Patterson is the bigger man, even at 168 pounds, where he was crushing people and where McCallum was older and past his best, it is not the most competitive fight I can think of and Patterson should not be underrated in this way. It is even more unfair to McCallum, because he should get a shot against someone more in his range.
I don't need to be lectured by you about McCallum's skills or abilities. He was one of the most multi-dimensional fighters of his era, and it wasn't a bad era, to say the least. Patterson was not exactly a dumb fighter, however, and he hit a wee bit harder than Herol Graham.
Dearest? That must be your name for those who give you a good spanking, I suppose.
The difference between McCallum and Patterson in terms of skill and ability is not the difference between Valuev and Ketchell, my friend, but anyone who believes that Patterson was not too big and too good for McCallum might as well believe that Leonard was not too big and too good for Mayweather. But it is not for me to explain, it is for you to learn, and you have quite a great deal to go apparently. "Worlds apart" or not, you're talking about fighters who fought in different realms. One guy was fighting 200+ pounders for the majority of his years and one was fighting men his own size, 154-160, for most of his. As I said, I thought McCallum beat Toney twice, but even a weight drained James appeared to be the bigger man with the bigger punch and he was able to stun McCallum which is likely why he got those rip off decisions. That Patterson hit a lot harder than a Middleweight Toney I think needs no explanation, but given your performance here I should probably point that out. Thomas Hearns late in his career was probably not a lot smaller than Rocky Marciano his career, but I will leave it for you to decide if this would be a legitimate fight to bring up for discussion.
