Best Super Bantamweights of the '90s

[Autobarn]

There were plenty of excellent super bantamweight fighters who distinguished themselves during the 1990s. In a time of fractured titles, and with a truly international bunch of fighters, I don't think they all got their due acclaim. I know Daniel Zaragoza was a thrilling and gutsy fighter, but the Hall of Famer might have been overrated a little, while other of the champs seemed to have achieved more. Indeed, at no time was DZ considered #1 in the division, as far as I recall. So who was the best out of these guys? Is there even One fighter who actually stands above this fine bunch?


Daniel Zaragoza (11 WBC defenses total, road warrior, wars with Banke, Patterson & McCullough, 3x champ)

Tracy Harris Patterson (notorious slow starter but hard to discourage once he got cracking, drew with and then destroyed Zaragoza, KO'd T Jacob, lost narrowly to HA Sanchez, 4 WBC defenses)

Kennedy McKinney (defended his IBF title five times, won WBO title in second attempt - vs J Jones - after an epic loss to Barrera)

Wilfredo Vasquez (9 successful WBA title defenses, one of which was vs reignig bantam champ O Canizales, good traveller)

Antonio Cermeno (dethroned Wilfredo Vasquez, defended WBA belt seven times, road warrior)

Vuyani Bungu (beat McKinney twice, achieved 13 IBF title defenses)

Marco Antonio Barrera (2 time WBO champ, 12 defenses incl. gruelling win over McKinney, solid wins over A Sanchez & D Jiminez, controversial loss to Morales, 2 losses to J Jones)

Junior Jones (beat Hall of Famers Barrera twice & Orlando Canizales, TKO'd in 4 by both McKinney AND Morales)

Erik Morales (stopped Zaragoza, 9 successful defenses, disputed win over MAB, beat J Jones, K Kelley, Jose Luis Bueno AND McCullough)

[barry]

Barrera and Morales without a doubt...they both stand out as they beat the other mentioned. Barrera beat Morales, but lost to Jones who Morales then beat, but overall I would go with Barrera...at his best he beats all of them.

[Autobarn]

Morales and Barrera certainly carved their place into the sport's mainstream and into the HOF by fighting one another, but when I used to read Ring in the mid/late 90s I wondered how they would have done vs Cermeno and Bungu in particular.

I certainly would have picked Barrera to destroy Zaragoza

Cermeno reminded me a bit of Pedroza, stick thin, light hitting mover that he was.

I've not seen many Bungu fights (only the Naz loss, up at feather, sadly) but I hear he was a termendously fit 122-lb er and he beat McKinney before MAB did. His consistency appears to be excellent. His record puts him in contrast to MAB & EM, the way he seemed to get on with things more quietly and anonymously.

a lot of these gusy have had some superb nights - I've got a tape of TH Patterson absolutely battering Zaragoza in their rematch, Vasquez countering the ears off the outstanding Canizales, etc etc.

[barry]

Bungu was very fortunate to get the nod against Danny Romero, very fortunate aginst McKinney in their second bout and generally just fortunate against the better class of fighters that he faced, which fighting mostly in South Africa benefitted him greatly because he was a points fighter and hometown decisions played a part more than a couple times in his career. He had a pretty good work-rate, but strong fighters like Barrera and Morales would have eat him up and I also think Vazquez would have done a number on him as well.

Vazquez is pretty underrated and I would give him a good chance of beating either Barrera, or Morales on the right night.

I don't know a lot about Cermeno other than the close bout that he had with Vazquez, but he seemed to falter when facing the top-notch fighters.

Junior Jones just lacked the chin to last in most long tough fights, though he showed a lot of heart against Johnson and especially against Paul Ingle, but I think he falls short of Barrera, Morales and Vazquez.

[Autobarn]

Bungu was very fortunate to get the nod against Danny Romero, very fortunate aginst McKinney in their second bout and generally just fortunate against the better class of fighters that he faced, which fighting mostly in South Africa benefitted him greatly because he was a points fighter and hometown decisions played a part more than a couple times in his career. He had a pretty good work-rate, but strong fighters like Barrera and Morales would have eat him up and I also think Vazquez would have done a number on him as well.

Vazquez is pretty underrated and I would give him a good chance of beating either Barrera, or Morales on the right night.

I don't know a lot about Cermeno other than the close bout that he had with Vazquez, but he seemed to falter when facing the top-notch fighters.

Junior Jones just lacked the chin to last in most long tough fights, though he showed a lot of heart against Johnson and especially against Paul Ingle, but I think he falls short of Barrera, Morales and Vazquez.

IMO Cermeno got lucky vs Vasquez, but he went on to do good things. edned up squandering things by fighting Norwood at feather, sadly.


a lot of ppl say Morales is the best, but i had Barrera beating him at 122, and Barrera lost to Jones, Jones just couldn't take McKinney's right hand, McKinney was beaten by Bungu...seems like it's not really clear cut, not really one man who stands tall. if Bungu got lucky a few times, maybe Vasquez? I certainly liked Vasquez' performances losing the debatable fight to Cermeno and beating Canizales who'd just moved up from his good reign at 118.

with a lot of the odd HOF choices over recent years, makes me wonder if a few more of these guys should be considered. especially since Vasquez also held world titles at 118 and 126

[Greg Nicholas]

Prince Naseem by far, on a head-to-head basis that is. He was a class above the likes of Barerra and Morales back then, Barerra wouldn't fight him.

[Autobarn]

Prince Naseem by far, on a head-to-head basis that is. He was a class above the likes of Barerra and Morales back then, Barerra wouldn't fight him.

Naz looked awesome at super bantam, his defense was great, his power and speed fantastic. however, I believe the most he shot for was the European title. Not the achievement of the guys I listed, and unproven at world class

[Collins2000]

Prince Naseem by far, on a head-to-head basis that is. He was a class above the likes of Barerra and Morales back then, Barerra wouldn't fight him.

Hilarious

[meade95]

L. Lebwaba deserves to be mentioned within this list...

[vagabundo55]

Barrera beats Hamed at 122, 126, and 130.

[Autobarn]

No, Hamed was definitely better at 122 than he was at 126. It's too bad he didn't stay there.

i can see why ppl would say Naz. in terms of potential, there might never have been a more talented super bantam. Naz had his head screwed on back then, relied purely on boxing ability, and never tried to force the knockout. on top of that, he'd actualy stop Vasquez and Bungu, albeit up at featherweight. but at super bantam, of course, he achieved nowhere near as much as any of the elite men from the list

[Autobarn]

I've just rewatched Cermeno versus Vasquez, and am going to totally change my mind on the subject that Vasquez deserved to win. Cermeno backed him up, outworked him inside and generally outboxed Wilfredo. My error - being seduced by flashy single shots on first viewing.

I'd say Cermeno is as good as any of the men on the list. At 122, he would be very hard to beat for any of these men. He lost to Norwood at feather, but at super bantam he possibly has the beating of any of the '90s champs.

[Autobarn]

Bungu was very fortunate to get the nod against Danny Romero, very fortunate aginst McKinney in their second bout and generally just fortunate against the better class of fighters that he faced, which fighting mostly in South Africa benefitted him greatly because he was a points fighter and hometown decisions played a part more than a couple times in his career. He had a pretty good work-rate, but strong fighters like Barrera and Morales would have eat him up and I also think Vazquez would have done a number on him as well.

Vazquez is pretty underrated and I would give him a good chance of beating either Barrera, or Morales on the right night.

I don't know a lot about Cermeno other than the close bout that he had with Vazquez, but he seemed to falter when facing the top-notch fighters.

Junior Jones just lacked the chin to last in most long tough fights, though he showed a lot of heart against Johnson and especially against Paul Ingle, but I think he falls short of Barrera, Morales and Vazquez.

Hell, was this thread really started that long ago?

I've just checked out some Bungu fights. He's tremendously underrated. I had him beating Danny Romero and decisively beating McKinney in their first fight. Despite keeping his title in SA for a lot of his fights, he has that championship style where he can just do enough to win a fight and save himself for the next one. Such a good defense - he never seems to take a clean shot - and very quick little accurate shots that he sneaks onto his opponents. Very good fighter in close fights, and a high level of fitness & was boxing well into his late 30s. I can't make a case for Romero beating him, as Romero seldom hit him with a clean punch...In the McKinney I fight, Bungu badly frustrated Kennedy, as he was ducking so low and countering with some solid right handers. Can't wait to see the rematch.

The Naz loss was a disappointment. But Bungu was a bit small and light hitting for Naz. Also, Naz took apart crouch pressure fighters (like the quality Steve Robinson).

After the Naz loss, and without his title, decisions started going against Bungu in SA. His last fight, against Thomas Mashaba, is one of the best fights I've ever seen in the lower weight classes. Classic Bungu. A real good ring craftsman, seems to know when to pick up the pace in the close fights. Anyhow, it was fought at a lunatic pace, and he fell behind early, but seemed to steal a lot of rounds & many were surprised that Mashaba got the benefit of the doubt.

[meade95]

Bungu was very fortunate to get the nod against Danny Romero, very fortunate aginst McKinney in their second bout and generally just fortunate against the better class of fighters that he faced, which fighting mostly in South Africa benefitted him greatly because he was a points fighter and hometown decisions played a part more than a couple times in his career. He had a pretty good work-rate, but strong fighters like Barrera and Morales would have eat him up and I also think Vazquez would have done a number on him as well.

Vazquez is pretty underrated and I would give him a good chance of beating either Barrera, or Morales on the right night.

I don't know a lot about Cermeno other than the close bout that he had with Vazquez, but he seemed to falter when facing the top-notch fighters.

Junior Jones just lacked the chin to last in most long tough fights, though he showed a lot of heart against Johnson and especially against Paul Ingle, but I think he falls short of Barrera, Morales and Vazquez.

Hell, was this thread really started that long ago?

I've just checked out some Bungu fights. He's tremendously underrated. I had him beating Danny Romero and decisively beating McKinney in their first fight. Despite keeping his title in SA for a lot of his fights, he has that championship style where he can just do enough to win a fight and save himself for the next one. Such a good defense - he never seems to take a clean shot - and very quick little accurate shots that he sneaks onto his opponents. Very good fighter in close fights, and a high level of fitness & was boxing well into his late 30s. I can't make a case for Romero beating him, as Romero seldom hit him with a clean punch...In the McKinney I fight, Bungu badly frustrated Kennedy, as he was ducking so low and countering with some solid right handers. Can't wait to see the rematch.

The Naz loss was a disappointment. But Bungu was a bit small and light hitting for Naz. Also, Naz took apart crouch pressure fighters (like the quality Steve Robinson).

After the Naz loss, and without his title, decisions started going against Bungu in SA. His last fight, against Thomas Mashaba, is one of the best fights I've ever seen in the lower weight classes. Classic Bungu. A real good ring craftsman, seems to know when to pick up the pace in the close fights. Anyhow, it was fought at a lunatic pace, and he fell behind early, but seemed to steal a lot of rounds & many were surprised that Mashaba got the benefit of the doubt.

Both Bungu and Lebwaba are underrated at JFW - They both were solid champions that would have been a real test for anyone -

Also at JFW a prime Jeff Fenech would have been hard to beat at this weight (though he didn't fight here long).

[Seamus]

Tracy Harris Patterson could have been an alltime great if he had utilized his skills more effectively. The guy had blinding handspeed and good head movement, but sometimes mixed it up with guys like Steve Cruz, who weren't in his league.

[Autobarn]

I don't see the problem with the Bungu-Romero. Nigel Collins of The Ring had Bungu winning when he was commentating for it. I think the Ring's report did, too. None of the trade press objected to the decision - as far as I remember - except boxingtimes & even they admitted it was too close to be controversial.

Bungu was taking shots on his shoulders, the top of his head, and he was countering with swift, clean, decepively fast little punches. Only one fighter was jerking the other's head back & landing on the target area. Romero was flurrying but not being effective.

I gave it to Bungu - without reserve - 7 rounds to 5, based on masterly defense and punch economy/cleaner punching. Really enjoyable fight, as Bungu even at 38 was such a pro.

[Autobarn]

Tracy Harris Patterson could have been an alltime great if he had utilized his skills more effectively. The guy had blinding handspeed and good head movement, but sometimes mixed it up with guys like Steve Cruz, who weren't in his league.

I like Patterson. But he always took too long to get started. many ppl to this day fele that he beat Gatti in their great first fight, this being way above tracy's natural weight (super feather). THP was the only one doing damage that night, though a case can be made that he wasn't busy enough.

Patterson's finest hour was when he hammered Zaragoza in their rematch, Zaragoza looked like he'd been blasted in the face with a shotgun.

THP reminds me of Jean Marc Mormeck, in terms of build (despite the mass weight difference), stance, temperament.