A strange match-up for sure. A great fighter versus a very large, hard punching welter from Philadelphia...Could McLarnin lose to the Hayward that KO'd the excellent Curtis Cokes?
This is a strange set up and one that never crossed my mind. I doubt many here recall Kitten but he was a legit contender with several good wins including Cokes, Griffith and Briscoe. I've never been sold on Jimmy being a top all time welter but aside from that he could box and had some wack in his right hand, Kitten could take it and dish it out but was often hittable. My guess is Jimmy would resort to his earlier days as a pro when boxing was his game and take a close decision here.
I'll admit it, I'd never heard of Stanley "Kitten" Hayward ! And I should have done, looking at his record and the men he fought. And he is even on youtube ... [yt]Wo9zzGccQ0o[/yt]
I call it as I see it. And I tell you what Cokes was hitting the kitten with everything he got and he was worn out in the end. Not surprising with a kitten that big.
Hayward is one of my favorite fighters and I had the pleasure of speaking with him once. Very interesting guy. I think whether McLarnin can deal with Haywards size is the big decider in this.
I would imagine Haywards size advantage playing a role, I do remember thinking last time I watched Hayward vs Stable that Stanley shouldve been more physical and used his size/physical strength more but didnt, I cant really recall him walking Stable back up close or pushing him back to stop his attack But either way, Hayward was a huge dude who gave good pressure and had a really nice body attack, having a big guy like that to whack at and being whacked by is gonna be tiring, McLarnin was out for a year before his fight with Brouillard but its worth mentioning the strong Lou beating him with a rough style up close If Cokes can hurt and deck Stanley then McLarnin would have enough punch to put some hurt on him But for an outcome :? yeah i dont know
