rosario-randall 2 (1993)

[Autobarn]

I've never seen this fight. it says on boxrec both were down. was it a good, exciting matchup?

their first bout, in 1985 London, was superb - a brisk contest featuring a high level of skill. randall seemed to gain an early lead, started to pin the more compact Rosario on the end of cute right hands. after tough exchanges, Rosario went down to the body, getting back in the fight midway. rosario's groundwork to the body set up the heavier head shots; he was able to finally start putting his shots together in the late stages of their ten-rounder, threatening to overwhelm randall, who rallied well in the last minute or so. a non title fight better than many championship contests.

Rosario-randall 2 was significant because Rosario, after 2 stints as lightweight champ, had just lost the light welter title in his first defense - a classic "crossroads" fight. Rosario had also lost by stoppage his rematch vs juan nazario: Rosario won a thrilling contest in 1987. so randall would be the 2nd rematch of an opponent he'd beaten, that he'd lose (inside the distance)...randall meanwhile was making his entrance to the world scene: controvertial rivalries with chavez & juan martin coggi would follow.

so, how did randall-rosario 2 go? how steep was rosario's decline and what accounted for this? was the fight itself a good one? I'm thinking Rosario must've had something to drop randall, a cute operator seemingly in his prime...

[orbtastic]

Randall could always be hurt, just ask Primo Ramos.

Rosario was gone by this point, his decline steady but dramatic. Drugs and alcohol eventually killing him only a few years later.

[Autobarn]

But orb, did Edwin produce anything of worth in this fight? anything, to make it worth checking out? last few title fights, he was hot And cold, terrible one fight, brilliant the next (granted, this was non title but very important & continued a tough rivalry(.

[orbtastic]

It's not a bad fight, not as good as their first, but still worth watching.

[Autobarn]

better than Rosario v nazario 2 then - that was horrendous, a travesty of their first fight.