BoxRec

This a Welterweight knockout tournament, which of course means when a fighter loses he's out of the competition. I chose 16 fighters, pretty much by both quality and popularity in hopes of generating interest. I'm sorry if I left off anyone you think should have been included, but I decided against having 32 fighters for fear it would require too much time. Mainly I want to see how much interest there is before doing anything else. So, here are the rules. Pick what you believe would be the result for each fight, and in 72 hours from midnight tonight we'll end the 1st round of the competition. ALL BOUTS ARE SCHEDULED FOR 15 ROUNDS. And may I humbly advise that we rate fighters exclusively by how they performed at Welterweight. THANKS and may the best man win.

ROUND 1

1. Oscar DeLaHoya vs Mickey Walker
2. Felix Trinidad vs Barney Ross
3. Pernell Whitaker vs Henry Armstrong
4. Donald Curry vs Sugar Ray Robinson
5. Thomas Hearns vs Kid Gavilan
6. Roberto Duran vs Carmen Basilio
7. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Emile Griffith
8. Pipino Cuevas vs Jose Napoles

Walker w 15 dec over Delahoya
Ross w 15 dec. over Trinidad
Armstrong w 15 dec. over Whitaker
Robison ko over Curry 9
Hearns w15 dec over Gavilan
Basilio w split dec. over Duran 15
Leonard w split dec over Griffith 15
Napoles w dec 15 over Cuevas.

Some tough fights there Seamus nice job.

M. Walker TKO 13th over ODLH

B. Ross W 15 over F. Trinidad

Armstrong Draw Vs P. Whitaker

SR Robinson KO 11th over D. Curry

T. Hearns KO 6th over Kid Gavilan

C. Basilio SD over Durn

SRL MD over E. Griffith

P. Cuevas TKO 12th J. Napoles

Ross W vs. Trinidad

Armstrong W vs. Whitaker (styles)

Robinson KO vs. D. Curry

Hearns W vs. Gavilan

Duran W vs. Basilio

Leonard W vs. Griffith

Napoelas W vs. Cuevas

Grimm

You need to specify what round you believe Robinson would KO Curry.

Grimm

And you forgot DeLaHoya vs Walker. Wasen't awake the first time I looked. Got to think about some of these picks.

Before I give an asessement Seamus, would you agree with me that some of these particpants are at their best fighting weight and some are not, is that a given?

BoxBuzz

I'd say at least 9 were at there best at WW. Obviously Duran was at his best at LW, but I can just picture the comments I'd have gotten if I had left him out. At any weight, Duran generates interest. All 16 were world champions at WW, so that was a big part of my criteria.

My picks.

1. Walker drops DeLa Hoya in the 2nd round and forces him into a defensive posture for much of the fight. Oscar comes up with enough big flurries though to make it respectable. Walker WUD 15 DeLaHoya

2.Tito's too big and strong for Ross, but still it isn't all one sided. Trinidad WUD 15

3. At the end of 15 rounds, Armstrong has been dirty and Whitaker has done plenty of taunting. Both fighters raise there arms in victory. One judge has Sweet Pea winning by 2, but the other two judges have Armstrong ahead by 1 and 2 pts. Armstrong WSD 15 Whitaker

4. For 3 rounds Curry looks poised for the upset, but Robinson finds his rythym in the 6th round, and then stops Curry in the 11th. Robinson KO 11 Curry

5. Gavilan makes it a surprisingly competitive fight, slipping and countering, and going into the 14th, Hearns is ahead by 3-3-4 pts. The Hitman drops Gavilan, and forces him into survival mode for the remainder of the fight. Hearns WUD 15 Gavilan

6. Duran is just a shade better on the inside, and takes a close but unanimous decision. Duran WUD 15 Basilio

7. Leonard turns in a dominant performance, but Griffith makes it to the final bell, despite a knockdown. Leonard WUD 15 Griffith

8. Cuevas drops Napoles in the 3rd, and his him in trouble, but Mantequilla survives, rallies and grinds out a close decision victory. Napoles WUD 15 Cuevas

Walker mid rd KO DeLaHoya
Ross UD Trinidad
Armstrong SD Whitaker
Robinson KO1 Curry
Hearns UD Gavilan
Basilio UD Duran
Leonard SD Griffith
Napoles mid rd KO Cuevas

Hearns could not or just did not win the big ones, he seems to be one of the most inflated rankings of all boxers. He could not win the big one at Welter and he could not win the big one at Middle and lost to Barkley Twice. It seems he gets a whole lot of credit for beating the greatest lightweight of all time. Fair enough I suppose.

He's good but his mystique is even better. Mugabi did a better job with Hagler than Tommy did. No one thinks Kid Gavilin would win this? He goes the distance twice with Robinson but can't stand up to Tommy?

I'm usually the one to applaud the newer fighters over the older ones and I try not to get lost in nostalgia. I'm not sure who would win this but it seems odd that no one picks Gavilan here.

This fight was the toughest one for me to pick. I see Hearns on his bicycle moving alot in this one and copping a dec. Not a spectacular win cuz the Kid had a helluva chin. Its Tommy via the jab, but Gavilan would be real competitive. I wouldnt bet the ranch on it though.

As I say, I'm not pointing anyone contributor out, but I have noticed that whenever it's a close theortical Tommy more often than not gets the nod, but in life whenever it was really close Tommy didn't close the show. (Yes there were exceptions I know) He is the boxer who gets our appreciation when in doubt more than any other name I can think of. Hey I'm guilty of it too. So not a jab at anyone just a bit of a trend I have noticed.

Yes Tommy is highly regarded even though he lost his two biggest fights. Maybe its his devastating kos that fans remember that grants him his upper echelon status. At welter he was such a damn dangerous puncher and at the same time so much taller than his opponents for the most part that he always seems to be given that punchers chance in these matchups. At welter only though. I dont regard him nearly as highly at middleweight. At that weight he could be roughed up a little.

Seamus wrote:This a Welterweight knockout tournament, which of course means when a fighter loses he's out of the competition. I chose 16 fighters, pretty much by both quality and popularity in hopes of generating interest. I'm sorry if I left off anyone you think should have been included, but I decided against having 32 fighters for fear it would require too much time. Mainly I want to see how much interest there is before doing anything else. So, here are the rules. Pick what you believe would be the result for each fight, and in 72 hours from midnight tonight we'll end the 1st round of the competition. ALL BOUTS ARE SCHEDULED FOR 15 ROUNDS. And may I humbly advise that we rate fighters exclusively by how they performed at Welterweight. THANKS and may the best man win.

ROUND 1

1. Oscar DeLaHoya vs Mickey Walker
2. Felix Trinidad vs Barney Ross
3. Pernell Whitaker vs Henry Armstrong
4. Donald Curry vs Sugar Ray Robinson
5. Thomas Hearns vs Kid Gavilan
6. Roberto Duran vs Carmen Basilio
7. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Emile Griffith
8. Pipino Cuevas vs Jose Napoles

de la hoya 15 split walker- walker had trouble with slick speedy master boxers and walker didnt reach his peak till middleweight. de la hoya showed at 147lb wut he would do with pressure sluggers(tito) and walker was a much better fighter at middleweight.


barney ross 15 unanimous tito


armstrong 15 unanimous whitaker


robinson TKO 8 curry


hearns 15 unanimous gavilan


duran 15 unanimous basillio


leonard 15 split griffith


napoles TKO 13 cuevas

De La Hoya Dec Walker (Walker was much better as a middleweight)
Ross Dec Trinidad
Armstrong Dec Whitaker
Robinson KO 7 Curry
Hearns Dec Gavilan
Duran Dec Basilio
Leonard Dec Griffith
Napoles KO 5 Cuevas

Just a reminder we still got till midnight tomorrow. Grimm and John L I need you to specify what rounds you picked for KO's.

Thanks

None of these are easy for me....Remember that I truly beleive boxing has evolved and I try not to be overly sentimental about the old days and the fact that I used to watch John L Sullivan train. So I tend to give some slant to modern age boxers because they have learned from the remains of their ancestors so to speak.

Winners in bold.




1. Oscar DeLaHoya vs Mickey Walker UD So shoot me
2. Felix Trinidad vs Barney Ross UD So shoot me again and again
3. Pernell Whitaker vs Henry Armstrong UD Very difficult call
4. Donald Curry vs Sugar Ray Robinson UD anyone call this for Donald? I don't think so
5. Thomas Hearns vs Kid Gavilan UD Just to stick up for the kid
6. Roberto Duran vs Carmen Basilio Draw but I might lean slightly to Basilio (just watched his fights with Ray today)
7. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Emile Griffith UD I hated callin this one
8. Pipino Cuevas vs Jose Napoles KO RD 8 easiest for me

I used to attend Sullivans training sessions too Buzz. Was that you I saw running with Sullivan and William Muldoon that time?

Thanks BoxBuzz !

Just 5 more hours. A couple more picks would be nice.