How good was Lucien Rodriguez?

[scorpio83]

I would please like to know how good was French heavyweight boxer Lucien Rodriguez, who fought Larry Holmes, Michael Dokes, Frank Bruno and Alfredo Evangelista. What was his boxing skills and how good was his jab?

[hhaehre]

I would please like to know how good was French heavyweight boxer Lucien Rodriguez, who fought Larry Holmes, Michael Dokes, Frank Bruno and Alfredo Evangelista. What was his boxing skills and how good was his jab?

He was a good Euro heavyweight when the Euro heavys sucked. Decent boxer who was never top 20 and never beat a ranked fighter. His greatest achievement was probably lasting the distance with Holmes.

[Onetimeonly]

He was the old standard upright euro heavy. No power, not fast, average chin and not difficult to hit. However good you consider that is how good he was.

[oogiebe]

He was the old standard upright euro heavy. No power, not fast, average chin and not difficult to hit. However good you consider that is how good he was.

Not very. Curious how the OP came to ask about such a mediocre fighter.

[oogiebe]

Here he is vs Evangilista (unsure which of their many fights).

[goose 5]

I'm actually a fan of Rodriguez, Zanon, Evangelista, Coopman and Urtain. Rodriguez was very limited on the world class level. He went the route with Holmes cause he wasn't in there to try to win, only to last.

[Ambling Alp II]

Zanon had some pretty good boxing skills. He just had no chin. The rest of the guys pretty much sucked.

[goose 5]

Indeed they did.

[Flump]

Zanon had some pretty good boxing skills. He just had no chin. The rest of the guys pretty much sucked.

This is fair comment. I have always had a soft spot for Evangelista for some reason, he did go in with a lot of the era's top fighters and certainly was not afraid to fight on the road.

[bennie]

There was another Frenchman in the early 1980s, Dominique Nato, who never lost a pro fight, although he never really fought anyone. Good amateur.

[JohnReed]

Well, I know that Joe Bugner tried to get a European title fight with Rodriguez in 1983, when Joe was making his comeback. But as I understand matters, Rodriguez wanted nothing to do with Bugner. I personally believe that if the fight had come off, Bugner would have won easily.

I don't think Rodriguez was a world-level fighter. He was more of a top-20 clubfighter. A good clubfighter at best. That's just my opinion though, and I admit I could be wrong.

[JohnReed]

I'm actually a fan of Rodriguez, Zanon, Evangelista, Coopman and Urtain. Rodriguez was very limited on the world class level. He went the route with Holmes cause he wasn't in there to try to win, only to last.

I can understand that. I remember I was always intrigued by these Euro heavyweights too, even though I knew they were mediocre. The ones who tended to beat the others (for example, Evangelista) usually got themselves a legitimate top-15 or top-20 rating, at least temporarily.

Zanon may have been the best of this lot, except that he couldn't take any kind of punch whatsoever. Also, the guy had no power.

Interestingly, for a while Urtain was ranked in almost everyone's worldwide top-10. That was when he was undefeated, before he lost to Henry Cooper. Ring Magazine even featured Urtain on one of its covers. But after losing to Cooper, Urtain fell rapidly, all the way down to the level of a third rate fighter. He was beaten regularly by mediocrities.

IMO, Bugner and Cooper were the only European heavyweights in the 1960s and 1970s who were legitimate top-10 fighters. They rated somewhere in the lower end of the top-10. You could say that both guys qualified as being world-class. Both of them also ruled Europe for years and years without any competition.

[wouter]

Interestingly, for a while Urtain was ranked in almost everyone's worldwide top-10. That was when he was undefeated, before he lost to Henry Cooper. Ring Magazine even featured Urtain on one of its covers. But after losing to Cooper, Urtain fell rapidly, all the way down to the level of a third rate fighter. He was beaten regularly by mediocrities.

Urtain was hyped beyond belief in Spain and many of his early knockout victims were, in the words of cartoonist Lank Leonard, 'seals'. Had everything been on the level, he probably would have lost to mediocrities early in his career too.

[Chuck1052]

The likes of Lorenzo Zanon, Jean Pierre Coopman, Alfredo Evangelista and Richard Dunn didn't belong in the ring with the top heavyweights. Zanon did have fine boxing skills and could make it interesting with a top heavyweight for a time, but his inability to take punch let him down consistently. The others didn't even have enough skills to make it interesting.

Joe Bugner was a talented fighter with fine skills and good durability. However, he seemed to lack desire.

- Chuck Johnston

[drunkenpiper36]

Evangelista wasn’t that bad. He hung in there with some pretty tough dudes. Urtain had incredible strength and power. Another Euro fighter that I think had potential but never materialized was Steffen Tangstad. Very good amateur who had a good pro record but just never got it together.

[Ambling Alp II]

I'm actually a fan of Rodriguez, Zanon, Evangelista, Coopman and Urtain. Rodriguez was very limited on the world class level. He went the route with Holmes cause he wasn't in there to try to win, only to last.

I can understand that. I remember I was always intrigued by these Euro heavyweights too, even though I knew they were mediocre. The ones who tended to beat the others (for example, Evangelista) usually got themselves a legitimate top-15 or top-20 rating, at least temporarily.

Zanon may have been the best of this lot, except that he couldn't take any kind of punch whatsoever. Also, the guy had no power.

Interestingly, for a while Urtain was ranked in almost everyone's worldwide top-10. That was when he was undefeated, before he lost to Henry Cooper. Ring Magazine even featured Urtain on one of its covers. But after losing to Cooper, Urtain fell rapidly, all the way down to the level of a third rate fighter. He was beaten regularly by mediocrities.

IMO, Bugner and Cooper were the only European heavyweights in the 1960s and 1970s who were legitimate top-10 fighters. They rated somewhere in the lower end of the top-10. You could say that both guys qualified as being world-class. Both of them also ruled Europe for years and years without any competition.

I would add Karl Mildenberger as well. He was in the top 10 for a few years in the mid-1960s. But yes, in general, European heavyweights have not been very good.

[keithmoonhangover]

He was the old standard upright euro heavy. No power, not fast, average chin and not difficult to hit. However good you consider that is how good he was.

Not very. Curious how the OP came to ask about such a mediocre fighter.

Aren't we here to discuss all boxers?

[Woldemar]

Nothing outstanding.Typical mid level heavyweight .

[Tony1244]

He was the old standard upright euro heavy. No power, not fast, average chin and not difficult to hit. However good you consider that is how good he was.

Not very. Curious how the OP came to ask about such a mediocre fighter.

Maybe he knows him. Maybe he knows someone who knows him. Maybe he is him.

[AntonioMartin]

I'm actually a fan of Rodriguez, Zanon, Evangelista, Coopman and Urtain. Rodriguez was very limited on the world class level. He went the route with Holmes cause he wasn't in there to try to win, only to last.

Cooper You could say that qualified as being world-class.

Muhammad Ali agreed...

[Caractacus]

Could Lucien Rodriguez be classified as a "Hispanic" Heavyweight ?

[goose 5]

I think Lucien is half Spanish and half French, but it's been a long time since I read about him.

[Tuan_Jim]

Could Lucien Rodriguez be classified as a "Hispanic" Heavyweight ?

No. Wrong continent.

[funso banjo baby]

the Euro and British titles were in a period of steady decay during this period.

[Caractacus]

Could Lucien Rodriguez be classified as a "Hispanic" Heavyweight ?

No. Wrong continent.

well he looks "Mucho" Hispanic to me.
BTW The people of Southern France are much more related to the peoples of Spain and Portugal
both genticaly and culturely then they are to the peoples of Central and particularly Northern France.
thats just a fact.