Late 80s/mid 90s: 122-126

[Datsue]

The recent threads by Rover have piqued my interest in this division/era (not hard; to be honest it's one of my favourites). I mean, without putting any thought into it at all...

Junior Jones
Tracy Harris Patterson
Kennedy McKinney
Jeff Fenech (cheers Rover!)
Manuel Medina
Tom Johnson
Kevin Kelley
Wilfredo Vazquez the Elder
Orlando Canizales
Daniel Zaragoza
Hector Acero-Sanchez
Luis Espinosa (the Filipino one, can't remember if he's the one who's name ends in a Z or not)
Louie Espinoza (the Texan one; see above)
Jesse Benavides
Goyo Vargas
Alejandro Cobrita Gonzalez
Troy Dorsey
Jorge Paez
Paul Banke
Pedro Decima
Marcos Villasana...
& many more.

Some great match-ups occurred; many more did not materialise. Who did you enjoy watching out of this little lot? Which fights do you remember the best? Which fights did not occur that you'd've liked to have seen? I know I'm missing loads; a testament to the depth of the era (& to the damage to my short-term memory).

I think I curse time, circumstances & weight most for not getting to see these:

Villasana vs Dorsey, for the ugliness factor (both of the participants & because of the likely clash of styles. & heads)
Decima vs Vargas (two beautifully-balanced sharp-shooters with massive defensive flaws. The combinations in this would probably end up in my wank-bank)
Paez vs Fenech (ouch)
McKinney vs anyone ('cos he ruled).

Thoughts? Amendments? Additions?

[Rover]

What about Esparragoza?

[Datsue]

Exactly!

[Datsue]

Who would you have enjoyed seeing him against? He's probably the guy from that era/weight area that I have seen least of, to be fair, but I remember him being ranked (I think) #1 by the Ring at some point...

[Rover]

Mendoza; Perez; Bungu.

[Rover]

Who would you have enjoyed seeing him against? He's probably the guy from that era/weight area that I have seen least of, to be fair, but I remember him being ranked (I think) #1 by the Ring at some point...

He was the lineal champ.
I wish he'd have fought Fenech.

[orbtastic]

I used to really enjoy watching McKinney and Jones because both were well schooled boxers with sharp jabs and heavy right hands. Both enjoyed a tear-up and both could be a touch fragile so you never really knew what to expect other than fireworks.

Two big names missing off the list there are Morales and MAB!

Acero-Sanchez was good too, slick and slippery but off most peoples' radars due to being less than fashionable. There was talk of Hamed facing him at 122 due to him being WBC champ and Hamed holding the international title (although I'd have to check exact times/dates). Another name they were linking him with was the Puerto Rican, Jiminez which could have been interesting. I think Alf Kotey was linked, briefly, but that may have been @ 118.

[Rover]

Welcome Ncita.
Morales didn't emerge until 97; many of these guys were done by then, unfortunately.

[Datsue]

I used to really enjoy watching McKinney and Jones because both were well schooled boxers with sharp jabs and heavy right hands. Both enjoyed a tear-up and both could be a touch fragile so you never really knew what to expect other than fireworks.

Two big names missing off the list there are Morales and MAB!

Acero-Sanchez was good too, slick and slippery but off most peoples' radars due to being less than fashionable. There was talk of Hamed facing him at 122 due to him being WBC champ and Hamed holding the international title (although I'd have to check exact times/dates). Another name they were linking him with was the Puerto Rican, Jiminez which could have been interesting. I think Alf Kotey was linked, briefly, but that may have been @ 118.

We-ell, I was kinda trying to limit it (by implication, if nothing else) to just before the twosome arrived, but I know, glaring innit? Say superbantam/feather in the 90s & people immediately reel off Hamed/MAB/Erik, but I think there's a wealth of overlooked dudes (or rather, forgotten dudes) at or around the weight either just before or slightly contemporaneous, & I was feeling nostalgic, so...

Acero-Sanchez! Yes! That's the kind of fella I meant this thread for! I think I forgot about him.

I totally agree on Jones/McKinney. Plus, with Jones, you get to wheel out the phrase "Coat-hanger shoulders" when describing him. Fuckin' A.

[Datsue]

Welcome Ncita.
Morales didn't emerge until 97; many of these guys were done by then, unfortunately.

Yep, you got it.

Ncita is a great shout. What astonishes me from this vantage point is that you had almost every conceivable style represented... & the flaws & strengths meshed so well.

[Rover]

Though he lost to all the very top guys, how about The Hawaiian Punch.

[Datsue]

Though he lost to all the very top guys, how about The Hawaiian Punch.

Jesus Salud? Bring him in! He can go against Decima, Banke (fornicate, that might actually have occurred. Did that occur? Now I'm getting confused), & Villasana. & maybe Patterson, for laughs.

[Rover]

Though he lost to all the very top guys, how about The Hawaiian Punch.

Jesus Salud? Bring him in! He can go against Decima, Banke (eff, that might actually have occurred. Did that occur? Now I'm getting confused), & Villasana. & maybe Patterson, for laughs.

He didn't fight Banke, I don't believe.
He got stripped of his title when he refused to go to Colombia (on advice of the State Department) to fight Mendoza (or was it Palacios?).
Throw Mendoza and Perez in there (close fight they had, though Vazquez got serious revenge on Jibaro).
Too bad Palacios got AIDS.

[Rover]

this didn't get answered in another thread, so i'll ask it here :

has anyone seen the Kennedy McKinney/Hector Acero-Sanchez bout?

i believe that Acero-Sanchez may have gotten robbed that night and was looking to see who else has seen/remembers that bout . .

Never saw it. Who televised it?
I know Acero-Sanchez got a gift draw v. Zaragoza the first time they fought, as well as a gift draw v. Croft on ESPN. I was never that impressed with him.

[Rover]

Hell, let's throw Gervacio in the mix, too. He beat Espinoza.

[orbtastic]

I think the fight was on USA TNF but I don't ever recall seeing it. I'm downloading it now.

[Rover]

Juan Jose Estrada should be thrown in, too. He won a belt and also KO'd Espinosa (Luisito, that is).
Throw Cesar Soto in there, too.

[Rover]

We almost forgot Silky Smooth Calvin Grove!

[Datsue]

Calvin "Tramlines" Grove!

JIBARO!!!!

Ahem. Yeah. Great era.

JIBARO!!!!

[orbtastic]

haha all the names right here in this thread

[orbtastic]

I think the fight was on USA TNF but I don't ever recall seeing it. I'm downloading it now.

where can u download it from? (PM if need be)

private tracker called wbva. any boxing fan with a decent internet connection really needs to be on there, it's a veritable treasure trove of amazing fights. I used to upload a load of stuff but have been fairly inactive 'cos I just don't have the time any more

[orbtastic]

You need 2 things - utorrent or similar client and a decent upload speed or the ability to seed until you bleed.

[Rover]

Has Hodkinson been mentioned yet? If not, he certainly should be.

[Datsue]

HOKO!

He's actually what got me into this division, as well as reading about McKinney & Jones & Patterson in Boxing Monthly & The Ring. Most all Hodkinson's big fights were on terrestrial TV in Britain & he was such a crowd-pleasing dude.

He fits right in.

[Datsue]

Fabrice Benichou!