Naseem Hamed v. Antonio Esparragoza.

[Rover]

Esparragoza is often forgotten. After the famous WBA champs Pedroza and McGuigan, Cruz came along with his upset, and then Esparragoza restored some order, reigning for four years. I would go with Hamed by decision, but he'd have a tough fight.

[Woldemar]

Tough fight.I think Hamed would win by close decision.

[Noxy]

Esparragoza! There's a blast from the past. An excellent fighter, very slick. I still remember his win over Jean-Marc Renard. A top drawer stoppage. I've no idea how a fight with Hamed would have gone. If I had to call it, I'd go with Hamed on points as well.

[palooka]

These are two excellent boxers and both hard hitting and willing to take chances to place a hard punch. I'm not sure whether Named would nail Antonio with a massive shot in an exchange or whether Antonio with his relentless pressure and punch output would grind out a points win - where they boxed would be a factor I think but it would have been a big big fight and one remembered for a long time.

[Jpreisser]

Very interesting fight and hard to call. Esparragoza was a slow starter, but he would counter-punch effectively when pressed and his defense was quite good. Once he warmed up though, there weren't too many featherweights better than him in my opinion. He had superior technique, good hand-speed, big power, and was damn accurate. The way he threw the right hand reminded me of Hearns. However he wasn't iron-chinned and Hamed was a big puncher, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Esparragoza stopped. Forced to say what I think would probably happen, Esparragoza would have stopped him late. His classic boxing skills would have worked a bit like Barrera's, but his power was better.