BoxRec

Fenech would come forward,Lopez would come forward BOOM!! Who wins?Fenech was strong,and rugged,Lopez could bomb,and even though he was dropped often,his heart was big,and he was more durable than many think.His weakness was lack of speed.Fenech may drop Lopez and for sure pressure him,but I think Little Red hits way too hard,and there are only so many bombs that Fenech can take before he goes out,after a bruising "fight of the year" type fight.Lopez wins.

At 126.....Fenech's pressure would be the difference....He'd cut off the ring and be right in Danny's chest....Lopez couldn't unleash enough of his big shots....because of Fenech's volume of punches.....at 126 Fenech chin was as sturdy as they come to boot...

I see a late Fenech TKO...

At his best Fenech would have been too strong and accurate for Lopez, IMO

J

I dont think Fenech would have had too much of a hard time in this one. Fenech mid to late tko.

zuru wrote:Fenech would come forward,Lopez would come forward BOOM!! Who wins?Fenech was strong,and rugged,Lopez could bomb,and even though he was dropped often,his heart was big,and he was more durable than many think.His weakness was lack of speed.Fenech may drop Lopez and for sure pressure him,but I think Little Red hits way too hard,and there are only so many bombs that Fenech can take before he goes out,after a bruising "fight of the year" type fight.Lopez wins.

MAN! I hate to think that I'm the only one,thinking that Lopez had too much power for the the pressuring Fenech.I too liked Fenech,butI can't think of anyone who Fenech faced that had Lopez power.Azumah Nelson was strong and had a solid punch,but not like Lopez.I don't know,it wouldn't be the first(or the last) time that I was wrong,
zuru

zuru wrote:

zuru wrote:Fenech would come forward,Lopez would come forward BOOM!! Who wins?Fenech was strong,and rugged,Lopez could bomb,and even though he was dropped often,his heart was big,and he was more durable than many think.His weakness was lack of speed.Fenech may drop Lopez and for sure pressure him,but I think Little Red hits way too hard,and there are only so many bombs that Fenech can take before he goes out,after a bruising "fight of the year" type fight.Lopez wins.

MAN! I hate to think that I'm the only one,thinking that Lopez had too much power for the the pressuring Fenech.I too liked Fenech,butI can't think of anyone who Fenech faced that had Lopez power.Azumah Nelson was strong and had a solid punch,but not like Lopez.I don't know,it wouldn't be the first(or the last) time that I was wrong,
zuru

Danny Lopez was no Azumah Nelson (and Fenech beat Nelson their first time!...plain and simple....regardles of the judges).....

At 126, Fenech was in his prime....his chin was solid as hell.......He'd punish Danny and stop him late...

Fenech was a pressure fighter who didn't know how to go backward, which would be his downfall in this bout as Fenech would be right inside with Lopez, which Fenech would probably score a couple of knockdowns in the first two, or three rounds, but Fenech's bravado would be his undoing as he would be just a little wild after scoring a solid knockdown and Lopez would counter perfectly and put Fenech to sleep with a vicious straight right hand. Fenech stretched out for the full ten count.

>>>and Fenech beat Nelson their first time!...plain and simple....regardles of the judges<<<

Fenech should have won in that first bout, but it was a very, very close fight regardless, but Nelson absolutely destroyed Fenech, ruined him, in the rematch and Lopez hit a lot harder than Nelson. As good as Fenech's chin was, it was not good enough to handle the best that Lopez had, which there's no shame in that...very, very few fighters had a chin that could withstand the bombs of Lopez.

barry wrote:>>>and Fenech beat Nelson their first time!...plain and simple....regardles of the judges<<<

Fenech should have won in that first bout, but it was a very, very close fight regardless, but Nelson absolutely destroyed Fenech, ruined him, in the rematch and Lopez hit a lot harder than Nelson. As good as Fenech's chin was, it was not good enough to handle the best that Lopez had, which there's no shame in that...very, very few fighters had a chin that could withstand the bombs of Lopez.

I have to disagree on with regard to Fenech - Azumah I - I had Fenech clearly winning their first fight (it was a great fight...but fenech was up by 3pts at min).

As for their rematch....Azumah showed his class (he is a HOF'er)....but there was a lot of BS going on behind the scenes with the Fenech camp going into that one.....(not to mention a hand injury during training).

Furthermore Azumah really didn't destory Fenech when one looks back on it.....outside of dropping those huge bombs in round 1st and 8th....(Fenech won more of the next 6 rounds ..as the judges cards had it a 2pt fight going into the 8th)....

Fenech would stop Danny Loepz late....at FW (in Fenech's prime) his chin would be stout enough and his pressure would fold up Danny boy somewhere between 8-11 rounds....

>>>Azumah showed his class (he is a HOF'er<<<

So is Lopez!! Fenech was ruined after the second Nelson fight. I thought he won the first fight, but the rematch was disaterous on a number of levels for Fenech.

I see this as a very close fight, absolute war, I'm not sure if Lopez could ko Fenech really, Jeff had a great chin, if he was stopped it would be more due to an accumalation of punishment, Jeff tended to get cut up quite a bit... I'd go for Fenech on points or Lopez on late stoppage...
as for the Nelson fight (the first one) I made it a draw, much closer than people usually say, Nelson did some great work on the ropes which many seemed to have missed, he blocked many of Jeffs punches and countered very well... and as for everything going wrong for jeff in the rematch, Nelson had flu/malaria in their first fight which was the reason for him being so sluggish...

>>>I see this as a very close fight, absolute war, I'm not sure if Lopez could ko Fenech really<<<

Are you kidding? Lopez could KO anyone that he hit solidly anf Fenech was not the slick-type of fighter that could elude Lopez's big shots, nor was he a smooth boxer like Sanchez. It would be a war though, but in the end I think Fenech's unwillingness to back off would be his undoing. He would drop Lopez, probably a few times, but like a 70s article I just read was titled..."Danny Lopez...knock him down and he'll get back up and kill you."

Though I agree with you completely about the first Fenech-Nelson fight, though I did feel that Fenech should have got the decision, but it was a very, very close fight...and as you stated Nelson had flu/malaria, which was the biggest reason for his sluggishness in the bout...as he demonstrated in the second fight...the first was a fluke.

barry wrote:Fenech was a pressure fighter who didn't know how to go backward, which would be his downfall in this bout as Fenech would be right inside with Lopez, which Fenech would probably score a couple of knockdowns in the first two, or three rounds, but Fenech's bravado would be his undoing as he would be just a little wild after scoring a solid knockdown and Lopez would counter perfectly and put Fenech to sleep with a vicious straight right hand. Fenech stretched out for the full ten count.

That sounds about right. Lopez had a number of weaknesses, but he was one of the hardest punching feathers of all time, and Fenech could be hit. Not a lock, but I just think Lopez was stronger and hit way too hard.

barry wrote:>>>I see this as a very close fight, absolute war, I'm not sure if Lopez could ko Fenech really<<<

Are you kidding? Lopez could KO anyone that he hit solidly anf Fenech was not the slick-type of fighter that could elude Lopez's big shots, nor was he a smooth boxer like Sanchez. It would be a war though, but in the end I think Fenech's unwillingness to back off would be his undoing. He would drop Lopez, probably a few times, but like a 70s article I just read was titled..."Danny Lopez...knock him down and he'll get back up and kill you."

Though I agree with you completely about the first Fenech-Nelson fight, though I did feel that Fenech should have got the decision, but it was a very, very close fight...and as you stated Nelson had flu/malaria, which was the biggest reason for his sluggishness in the bout...as he demonstrated in the second fight...the first was a fluke.

Nah...The first Nelson Vs Fenech was no fluke.....I'd say the second fight was the fluke......In that Fenech came in cold (not sweated up at all...which Fenech always was before fights...he was bone dry)...got caught early with a huge shot (rain on the outside ring made the canvas slippery for both guys)....

Nelson and Fenech could have fought 10 times...and they'd probably spilt it 5-5 (IMO)....with both in their primes...

As for Danny Lopez....he was stopped in 5 of his 6 losses.....retired at a young age of 28.......and outside of a faded R. Olivares (who had lost 2 of 3 fights coming into their fight).......I don't think ever beat anyone near Fenech's level....

With that said Danny was the more natural FW...having been there is whole career while Fenech was coming up from BW.....But I think P4P...FW was probably Fenech's best weight.....for both his strength and stamina (though he wasn't there long)...

Either way this would have been an exciting fight......and these "what if" discussions is part of what makes boxrec forums so enjoyable...

meade95 wrote:As for Danny Lopez....he was stopped in 5 of his 6 losses.....retired at a young age of 28.......and outside of a faded R. Olivares (who had lost 2 of 3 fights coming into their fight).......I don't think ever beat anyone near Fenech's level....

And as for Fenech, he was KOd in all three of his losses, only fought 32 fights and besides a 36 year old Zarate never beat anyone even close to Lopez's level...

Seriously, Lopez beat quite a few very good fighters. Maybe none were quite as good as Fenech, but I would say his resume compares very favorably to Fenech's.

The Great John L wrote:

meade95 wrote:As for Danny Lopez....he was stopped in 5 of his 6 losses.....retired at a young age of 28.......and outside of a faded R. Olivares (who had lost 2 of 3 fights coming into their fight).......I don't think ever beat anyone near Fenech's level....

And as for Fenech, he was KOd in all three of his losses, only fought 32 fights and besides a 36 year old Zarate never beat anyone even close to Lopez's level...

Seriously, Lopez beat quite a few very good fighters. Maybe none were quite as good as Fenech, but I would say his resume compares very favorably to Fenech's.

Fenech won the IBF world title in only his 8th pro fight - And was fighting championship quality from that point forward (for the most part)...which tends to shorten one's career and # of fights....when taking on top quality guys that early in one's career...

He Was a three division champion and undefeated as such (upon winning his third title)......very well should have been a four divsion champion and undefeated at the time...(he won his declared draw match in the first Azumah fight)......Additionally Fenech was only stopped late in his career and ALL ABOVE the FW division....never at FW or below.....Danny Boy was stopped all 4 times at FW.

During this regin he defeated the following figthers who I think are better then any on Danny Lopez' resume (outside of maybe Kotey....though I've always thought he was a little overrated having seen several of his fights on tape).....Daniel Zaragoza, Victor Callejas, Greg Richardson, Steve McCrory, Marcos Villasana....not to mention Azumah Nelson (in their first fight)

And we can't bring up Sean O'Grady that Lopez beat....O'Grady was barely over 17 years old at the time they fought and was really nothing more then a Oklahoma club fighter......he didn't mature into a better fighter for more then 4 years after that....

barry wrote:>>>I see this as a very close fight, absolute war, I'm not sure if Lopez could ko Fenech really<<<

Are you kidding? Lopez could KO anyone that he hit solidly anf Fenech was not the slick-type of fighter that could elude Lopez's big shots, nor was he a smooth boxer like Sanchez. It would be a war though, but in the end I think Fenech's unwillingness to back off would be his undoing. He would drop Lopez, probably a few times, but like a 70s article I just read was titled..."Danny Lopez...knock him down and he'll get back up and kill you."

Though I agree with you completely about the first Fenech-Nelson fight, though I did feel that Fenech should have got the decision, but it was a very, very close fight...and as you stated Nelson had flu/malaria, which was the biggest reason for his sluggishness in the bout...as he demonstrated in the second fight...the first was a fluke.

Lopez was a big puncher sure but Fenech had a tremendous chin, I dont think Lopez punched that harder than Nelson, Nelson certainly threw more punches... also Danny liked to have room to throw his punches, he didnt really like the close quarters stuff and Fenech would be on the inside smothering him and nulifiying his punches... Chacon beat Lopez in much the same way by forcing Danny back and outpunching him on the inside... actually the more I think about this fight the more I think that if anyone was going to be stopped it would be Lopez rather than Fenech.... Lopez was always vulnerble and Fenech was stronger than anyone Danny fought outside of Chacon, Olivares and Sanchez... I can see this going either way...

meade95 wrote:During this regin he defeated the following figthers who I think are better then any on Danny Lopez' resume (outside of maybe Kotey....though I've always thought he was a little overrated having seen several of his fights on tape).....Daniel Zaragoza, Victor Callejas, Greg Richardson, Steve McCrory, Marcos Villasana....not to mention Azumah Nelson (in their first fight)

Well, at least you recognized Kotey...

Whilst I feel styles may suit Lopez I believe Fenech to be a notch above him in terms of calibre. Lopez would have the physical advantages too but I rate Fenech highly. If his hands don't get injured he can take this one.

Lopez is a big favourite on this board, and rightfully so.

I love Lopez but I think this would be a toughie for Danny, Fenech was one of the strongest fighters I've ever seen.
There was a decent article on Earnie Lopez in The Times today, sad story really, showing how hard boxing is on the boxers, unfortunately it seems that Danny has Parkinsons Syndrom now which is a pity, but not really a surprise, he was in so many wars...

zuru wrote:

zuru wrote:Fenech would come forward,Lopez would come forward BOOM!! Who wins?Fenech was strong,and rugged,Lopez could bomb,and even though he was dropped often,his heart was big,and he was more durable than many think.His weakness was lack of speed.Fenech may drop Lopez and for sure pressure him,but I think Little Red hits way too hard,and there are only so many bombs that Fenech can take before he goes out,after a bruising "fight of the year" type fight.Lopez wins.

MAN! I hate to think that I'm the only one,thinking that Lopez had too much power for the the pressuring Fenech.I too liked Fenech,butI can't think of anyone who Fenech faced that had Lopez power.Azumah Nelson was strong and had a solid punch,but not like Lopez.I don't know,it wouldn't be the first(or the last) time that I was wrong,
zuru

Fenech was a top fighter, but I see this one going the same way as Lopez - Chacon back in 75 in California.

Little Red by late TKO

Fenech was the IBF trinket in his eighth fight, but you failed to mention that the opponent in that fight was one, Satoshi Shingaki, a non-entity with an 8-1-1 record...nothing to brag about there...he then won the WBC trinket against Samart Payakaroon, a lot better fighter than Satoshi Shingaki, but still nothing special and then Fenech won his last trinket against Victor Callejas, a pretty solid fighter, but none were actual "world champions" just trinket holders, so in reality...Fenech never was an actual world champion...just an abc trinket holder.

Lopez' record is a hell of a lot more solid than Fenech's. Among the fighters Lopez fought who were on par with Fench...Bobby Chacon, Ruben Olivares, David Kotey and Mike Ayala are all on Fenech's level and other's that are not far off would be Octavio Gomez, Art Hafey, Sean O'Grady and Jose Torres.

Fenech's biggest wins were against Daniel Zaragoza and Marcos Villasana, but the rest, well they were all fights that Fenech should have won...nothing real special there and Fenech had a cold in the second Nelson fight...Nelson had malaria in the first...I think Malaria out-duels a cold. Being stopped by Calvin Grove is pretty weak and if the light hitting Grove can get the job done I guarantee that the brutal punching Lopez could!

A third fight with Nelson would have looked much like the second one, but Nelson ruined Fenech so much in the second that a third bout would have been like sending a lamb to slaughter.

Fenech was a solid brawler who dominated average opposition. The only true "big" fights that Fenech had, well he drew in a very close bout that I thought he should have won on points and he was absolutely destroyed in the second. Fenech simply was not able to rise to the occasion, which Lopez did on a number of occasions.

Fenech was the IBF trinket in his eighth fight, but you failed to mention that the opponent in that fight was one, Satoshi Shingaki, a non-entity with an 8-1-1 record...nothing to brag about there...he then won the WBC trinket against Samart Payakaroon, a lot better fighter than Satoshi Shingaki, but still nothing special and then Fenech won his last trinket against Victor Callejas, a pretty solid fighter, but none were actual "world champions" just trinket holders, so in reality...Fenech never was an actual world champion...just an abc trinket holder.

Lopez' record is a hell of a lot more solid than Fenech's. Among the fighters Lopez fought who were on par with Fench...Bobby Chacon, Ruben Olivares, David Kotey and Mike Ayala are all on Fenech's level and other's that are not far off would be Octavio Gomez, Art Hafey, Sean O'Grady and Jose Torres.

Fenech's biggest wins were against Daniel Zaragoza and Marcos Villasana, but the rest, well they were all fights that Fenech should have won...nothing real special there and Fenech had a cold in the second Nelson fight...Nelson had malaria in the first...I think Malaria out-duels a cold. Being stopped by Calvin Grove is pretty weak and if the light hitting Grove can get the job done I guarantee that the brutal punching Lopez could!

Well put barry. If Azumah Nelson really had Maleria that first fight, then that, as well as the rest of your argument have changed my opinion. Like alot of people, I let the exciting manner which Fenech fought, overshadow the actual opponents he fought.

I loved watching Fenech fight. He was very, very exciting and had heart galore, but his record just is not that impressive, especially when compared to someone like Lopez.

Thing is...Lopez was simply too powerful for Fenech. Fenech was a monster at 118, or so it seemed...he never really fought anyone at that weight who could really test him...same would go at 122, but moving up to his last weight at 126, well as was demonstrated...he was not so durable and going in against one of the very hardest hitting featherweights of all time...a truly solid featherweight...well as the old saying goes...a good bigger man will almost always beat a good smaller man!

As to Nelson...it was pretty well documented that Nelson had been dealing with malaria and as to whether Fenech had a cold in the second, well before the fight Fenech stated that he was 100% ready and 100% fit going in, but afterward it was said that he had a cold...it was known tjhat Nelson had malaria before the first fight and instead of post-poning the fight like he should have Nelson went on through with it and he still put up a fair performance for a man with that type of illness.

if azumah nelson had malaria in the first fight, the person/people who allowed him to acctually step in the ring should be banned from boxing.

thats the biggest load of horseshit ive ever heard. nelson didnt have malaria, he was just beaten, and beaten good to.
and he knows it...