Salvador Sanchez! How great could he have been?

[yays51]

Just wanted to hear some of your thoughts on Salvador Sanchez. Do you think he could have been one of the all time greats? I love watching old tapes of this guy, he was awesome. Do you think he would have built a bigger legacy than JCC?

[tonyevs]

One only has to look at Nelson and what he achieved to get a general idea what his conquerer could have also achieved.

[KOJOE90]

Just wanted to hear some of your thoughts on Salvador Sanchez. Do you think he could have been one of the all time greats? I love watching old tapes of this guy, he was awesome. Do you think he would have built a bigger legacy than JCC?

There are some interesting thoughts on this subject on this thread mate.

http://www.boxrec.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14754&

[silkov]

I think he deserves to go down as an all time great even though his career was cut short... he's one of the best most complete fighters I've ever seen and he had the physical frame to move up at least to Lightweight... I think he ouls have been a 3 weight champ and had he faced Arguello as was being talked about before his death I could see him beating ARguello... he beat Nelson despite being weight drained... in fact he was having trouble at the weight through most of his reign which really underlines how great he was. A sad loss.

[yays51]

thanks for that link KOJOE. Some great stuff there.
I agree with you silkov, I think he could have been a champ in three different divisions and could have beaten Arguello, but I have difficulty believing he would have gotten past Chavez. Chavez took out another rising star at the time, Mario Martinez and he basically went down hill after that. That is definatlely a fight I would have loved to see!!! But I guess we will never know A sad loss indeed

[silkov]

I think Sanchez would have beaten Chavez.... he would have been too fast and would have out-thought him.

[yays51]

Very true, Sanchez was quite a bit faster than Chavez, but so was Meldrick Taylor. I just wonder how Sanchez could have faired against the body attack of Chavez. One thing is for sure...Both had great chins and would both take a beating before one of them would go down from a head shot.

[silkov]

Sanchez had a great chin as did Chavez so it would probably go the distance with Sanchez winning on points with his extra speed and boxing skills the difference.... Sanchez would also have been able to slug with Chavez when he wanted to... a great fight it would have been!.... 8)

[joneslt]

My contention is that if Sanchez had such a difficult time with Azuma Nelson's attacking style before finally knocking him out in the 15th, how would he have offset Chavez's attack who (with the exception of pure hand speed) was considerably better than Azuma in just about every conceivable way that you can judge a fighter.
I would pick Chavez in a very close decision.

[silkov]

Personally I wouldn't rate Nelson Below Chavez... if you look at their careers Nelson rates very favourably with Chavez... if anything I'd say Nelson was the more versatile fighter.... Chavez won more world titles but that doesn't mean he was neccesarily the better boxer.
Sanchez was the only man to Ko Nelson, no one else came close... and while this was an inexperienced Nelson Salvadore was severely weight drained in that fight.

[KOJOE90]

My contention is that if Sanchez had such a difficult time with Azuma Nelson's attacking style before finally knocking him out in the 15th, how would he have offset Chavez's attack who (with the exception of pure hand speed) was considerably better than Azuma in just about every conceivable way that you can judge a fighter.

I'm not so sure mate, I really don't think as fighters there is much between Chavez and Nelson in terms of ability etc. Chavez was the better body puncher, Nelson had the better jab. Chavez may have been stronger but Nelson was quicker etc.

If I had to pick between the two I would edge (just) towards Nelson and only becuase I believe he was a more adaptable fighter.

They were both great fighters though.

[yays51]

I don't think you could place Chavez above either Nelson or Sanchez skills wise. But that was made Chavez such a great boxer and champ. He did not posess natural speed and ability but he had the grit of a true champ and always gave everything he had. I truly think he would have wore both of them down as what he was known for. I would take Chavez over both in a close decision or possibly even a late KO.

[Gordon]

Hard call

I think Chavez may have just beaten Nelson.

Salvador Sanchez, we will never know. The man had so much talent that I think he may have just edged JCC.

But what a matchup.

[elmersalsa]

I remember the day this Boxing Little Giant died...It was for me, one of the saddest days of my life in the sport when he died so young and still had a lot to offer and many fights and years ahead of him.

I would have pick Sanchez over Chavez by a close 15 round decision because between the two, Sanchez was better in the late rounds. It seems that Sanchez used to get stronger as the fight went, so did Chavez, but Sanchez would have had that EXTRA MILE.

[joneslt]

I agree that Sanchez could be an equal to Chavez, but to say that Azuma Nelson is as good as Chavez is far fetched IMO. Chavez clearly had better defensive skills, better durability and chin, was a more precise puncher, had heavier punches, cut the ring better and was more effective at close quarters than Nelson. The one and only advantage Nelson would have is speed, and that alone would not be enough.
I have seen dozen's of "pound for pound all time greatest fighters" lists and I have never seen [/i]any boxing expert rate nelson higher than Chavez and probably never will, and for good reason.

[zurdo]

Having seen most of Sanchez championship career..I think Sanchez was a terrific boxer who may have been on his way to a great career But his life was cut short ..

Because he died so young, and had such promise I think Sanchez tends to be romanitcized

He was a very good fighter But I'm not sure he was an all time great..
Sanchez was slick and quick as they come but he was not a particularly strong puncher Which would have hurt him if he tried to move up.
The Lopez and Gomez fights are impressive .
Laprote and Nelson were both novice professionals at the time they lost to Chavez
However he wasn't as dominant as people make him out to be..
Sanchez was in a number of close calls during his championship run. He often tended to fight to the level of his competition .
Ruben Castillio, Patrick Ford and Pat Cowdell all gave him close distance fights .And lastly he never beat the other guy in his division at his time .

Eusebio Pedroza might have taken him to school if they had ever fought

RememberThe 126-130 -135 pound divisions were loaded with tough fighters during the 80s..Limon , Chacon, Camacho, Edwards Mayweather Arguello,Nelson,Chavez Rosario,Ramirez Lockridge Whitaker just to name a few ..If he could have won more than he lost against that crew he would be considered an all time great

[KOJOE90]

Ruben Castillio, Patrick Ford and Pat Cowdell all gave him close distance fights .And lastly he never beat the other guy in his division at his time .

I have the Sanchez V Cowdell fight on tape and it was a close competative fight, Sanchez won no doubt but is was close. I seem to recall that after the fight Sanchez said he found Cowdells style a little awkward to figure out at first and that he may have underestamated him a little and that he had been distracted by the late change of opponent.

Cowdell was a late replacement for this fight.

Cowdell of course got another shot at the world title a few years later but was brutally KO'd in one by Ghanas finest Azumah Nelson.

[lumpymo]

It's true that against some fighters Sanchez looked less then spectacular, but when it came to the big fights ie. Wilfredo Gomez, Danny "little red" Lopez, he excelled. I was looking forward to seeing Sanchez fight alot of great fighters out their ie. Arguello, Eseubio(sp) Pedroza, rematch with Nelson (who had only 13 fights when they first fought), moving up to challenge for the junior lightweight, the lightweight title, he may have even gone up against Pryor at some time. This guy could have been around for a long time, It was a very sad day in Mexico and up here in vancouver, Canada when he died.

cheers M.O.

[silkov]

Ruben Castillio, Patrick Ford and Pat Cowdell all gave him close distance fights .And lastly he never beat the other guy in his division at his time .

I have the Sanchez V Cowdell fight on tape and it was a close competative fight, Sanchez won no doubt but is was close. I seem to recall that after the fight Sanchez said he found Cowdells style a little awkward to figure out at first and that he may have underestamated him a little and that he had been distracted by the late change of opponent.

Cowdell was a late replacement for this fight.

Cowdell of course got another shot at the world title a few years later but was brutally KO'd in one by Ghanas finest Azumah Nelson.

Cowdell would have beaten a lot of champs with the form he showed against Sanchez... his only weakness was a lack of punch power but he had everything else and I think he would have beaten Mcguigan had they met at their peaks...... he was just too fast and shifty imo.
The Nelson bout came after Cowdell had been in retirement a bit and then come back as Junior-Lightweight.... I think he was noticeably a little slower at this point and just caught cold by Nelson... as he was a little while later by Daho.... but at his best Cowdell was one of our best boxers I think but often seems underrated and almost forgotten which is a shame.

[KOJOE90]

Ruben Castillio, Patrick Ford and Pat Cowdell all gave him close distance fights .And lastly he never beat the other guy in his division at his time .

I have the Sanchez V Cowdell fight on tape and it was a close competative fight, Sanchez won no doubt but is was close. I seem to recall that after the fight Sanchez said he found Cowdells style a little awkward to figure out at first and that he may have underestamated him a little and that he had been distracted by the late change of opponent.

Cowdell was a late replacement for this fight.

Cowdell of course got another shot at the world title a few years later but was brutally KO'd in one by Ghanas finest Azumah Nelson.

Cowdell would have beaten a lot of champs with the form he showed against Sanchez... his only weakness was a lack of punch power but he had everything else and I think he would have beaten Mcguigan had they met at their peaks...... he was just too fast and shifty imo.
The Nelson bout came after Cowdell had been in retirement a bit and then come back as Junior-Lightweight.... I think he was noticeably a little slower at this point and just caught cold by Nelson... as he was a little while later by Daho.... but at his best Cowdell was one of our best boxers I think but often seems underrated and almost forgotten which is a shame.

The Nelson V Cowdell fight was at Featherweight mate.

But the Cowdell V Daho where at Super-Featherweight.

[zurdo]

I think Sanchez was a very good champ..
But its hard for me to fathom putting him among the 25 best fighters of all time. His record, while very good, simply does not merit that lofty ranking. A lot Sanchez reputation seems to be based on speculation about what he might have done had he not died so prematurely.

If you rank Sanchez in the top 25 you would also have to rank Eusebio Pedroza there too because Sanchez never proved he could beat him.


True his victories over Lopez and Gomez were quite impressive But a guy like Sandy Saddler (who really does belong on the list) probably had at least 25 wins over guys who were at least equally as tough as Lopez or Gomez

[Nile4000]

I think Sanchez was a very good champ..
But its hard for me to fathom putting him among the 25 best fighters of all time. His record, while very good, simply does not merit that lofty ranking. A lot Sanchez reputation seems to be based on speculation about what he might have done had he not died so prematurely.

If you rank Sanchez in the top 25 you would also have to rank Eusebio Pedroza there too because Sanchez never proved he could beat him.


True his victories over Lopez and Gomez were quite impressive But a guy like Sandy Saddler (who really does belong on the list) probably had at least 25 wins over guys who were at least equally as tough as Lopez or Gomez

Salvador definitely would've left him mark on the featherweight division if he had not died.However, I don't see him beating a strong boxer like Bernard Taylor, especiallly if he had enough experience.He could probably edge Chavez thought and even that in itself is not certain.

[vagabundo55]

Sanchez is still regarded in the eyes of many boxing fans the greatest fighter to ever come out of Mexico. There has not been a fighter like him and there might never be. The same with Sugar Ray Robinson and all those all time greats. He'd beat Pedroza, Chavez, and Arguello in my opinion. I feel he'd beat Nelson in a rematch. As i've told a friend, all of Mexico cried when Sanchez passed away. And much of the boxing world felt the pain. Howard Cosell almost shed tears for the great Mexican boxer. He was taken too soon from us and we'll never know exactly how great he could have been, but we do know that in the last few years of his short life, he defeated the best of the best at the time.

[ShoeShine]

I loved this guy, my favorite fighter ever!!!!!!!!

[silkov]

Sanchez is still regarded in the eyes of many boxing fans the greatest fighter to ever come out of Mexico. There has not been a fighter like him and there might never be. The same with Sugar Ray Robinson and all those all time greats. He'd beat Pedroza, Chavez, and Arguello in my opinion. I feel he'd beat Nelson in a rematch. As i've told a friend, all of Mexico cried when Sanchez passed away. And much of the boxing world felt the pain. Howard Cosell almost shed tears for the great Mexican boxer. He was taken too soon from us and we'll never know exactly how great he could have been, but we do know that in the last few years of his short life, he defeated the best of the best at the time.

I agree. I have over a dozen Sanchez fights and never tire of watching him. He actually reminds me a little of Robinson in the way that he had perfect balance and he could do everything, box and slug, just like Robinson. I also think Sanchez had the physical frame to go up at least to Lightweight and with his speed I'd have given him a good chance against the great Arguello. Sanchez would possibly been an even better fighter at the higher weight as he was having weight trouble for much of his featherweight reign. One of the great tragedies of Sanchez's death is that we never got to see how great he would have become. He was only 23 and with his style and skills he probably still had another 2 or 3 years before he would have reached his peak.