130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

Which weight class would you say featured the best version of Don King's favorite fighter not named Tyson? :D

Despite his rather abbreviated stay there, I'd like to think the lightweight version showed the best combination of power, speed, timing, and strength. He was a little too bulldozer-ish at 140, and lacked snap at 130 because a lot of the time he was weight-drained and nowhere near as strong. 135 was a nice go-between, for as long as it lasted....

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

I'd agree with that. He's hell for every Lightweight ever.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

He wasn't impressive against Ramirez though.

early 130\135 for me.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

No, he wasn't too impressive vs Ramirez.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

I actually thought he was not too bad against Ramirez, Given that he
"Tidal-Waved" Rosario, Having the Versatility to completly change approach and make the potentially difficult task that meeting the tough Ramirez Head-on would of been, much easier, by Picking him off, off the back foot, Showed for me, that at 135, Chavez could be both Bull or Matador equally well, at 130 or 140 this Dual capability was probably not quite so even.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

He definitely looked fantastic at 130 around the Martinez/Mayweather days, but when he outgrew the division he was sluggish and rather ordinary there (vs. Lockridge, Laporte).

He looked good against Rosario at 135 and then kind of went through the motions with Ramirez, although he still looked decent in doing so and the fight was never in doubt....

It's a pity he entered 135 so late and left it so early, he undoubtedly could have done his best work there in the 86-89 period.

In that time he could have made fights with the likes of Camacho and Whitaker, which would have been better battles than the ones he had with those two later on...

Of course, it was a risky proposition to face those two in that time frame.

Mayweather and Taylor were the safer options from a stylistic standpoint.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

He was better at 130 & 135 than at 140.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

Has to be 135 even though he didn't stay really long. He quickly went up to fight Taylor at junior welterweight.
I still can't understand how Chavez fought a guy like Akwei Addo (5-3-0) after Meldrick Taylor....

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

I've really come around to Chavez in his early 130 days...I sort of toed the party line in regards to his best incarnation, I always agreed it was lightweight. He was clearly weight drained in his late 130 days and I always ran with he wasn't quite polished in the early ones...but he truly had it all in his first couple of defenses and was a terminator to boot.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

Well its alot easier to look good against inferior opposition, 140 is where he was truly tested.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

Outside of Taylor and a resurgent Mayweather his first 3 or 4 years at 140 wasn't nothing to special really...I think Camacho might fall into that timeframe but he hardly tested Chavez.

They don't seem to get talked about much but Mario Martinez & Ruben Castillo were bloody good fighters..and a very young Chavez took them apart no trouble..He may have been the first guy to stop them but I thinking one of them had already been knocked out..Either Martinez by Nelson or Castillo by Arguello..I'm shit with dates.

Anyway Mayweather was a very good fighter...Dwight Pratchett was an absolute warrior who would have easily picked up a trinket today.

When weight was becoming a problem he took on probably his two best opponants to date and still beat them clearly...Lockridge when he had a injured hand no less.

That says well and truly battle tested to me.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

Mentioning his list of accomplishments at 130 is not going to change anything, meldrick taylor was the big money fight, suggesting he had tougher tests at the lower weights is a lie. His performance against lockridge is unimpressive. People always want to say a fighters prime is in the period where they looked invincible, that is usually the time they also face inferior opposition.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

I guess it doesn't change anything for someone who doesn't know what their talking about. :good

No use talking to ya till you school up.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

The same old ignorant answers, its easy to mythologize chavez as being some terminator at the lower weights. I see that chavez as the same fighter as the one who fought at 140, its just an excuse to help him look invincible and downplay the fact that meldrick was schooling him prior to a late stoppage filled with controversy. Regardless, his wins over Taylor, Camacho, Mayweather 2 are the reason hes viewed as an all timer. His fights at 130 and 135 alone wouldnt even make him a top 100 fighter. Your the one who doesnt know what hes talking about. The chavez from 1990-1992 was the same fighter as the mid 80's chavez. Its people like you who love to mythologize the 'lightweight' chavez as a way to excuse his mediocrity against meldrick and pernell, the two most important fights of his career.

Re: 130, 135, or 140....Which Version of Chavez Was Best?
 

I say 130, hes underestimated at this weight!.