At 147. The legendary power of Pipino vs the toughness and underrated skills of Basilio. Who wins this action packed Welterweight battle?
Basilio , he had a great chin.Stopped just twice by the strong middleweight Fullmer he went the distance twice with Robinson and if Ray wasnt quite the hitter Cuevas was ,he was a damn sight quicker and more accurate. Cuevas had a great left hook and that's all. I'd expect Carmen to stop him.
I tend to favor Cuevas over most Welters I feel he can actually hit - and I think Basilio would get hit, but not enough. Carmen in a barnburner maybe getting of the deck to outwork Pipino in the championship rounds for a close decision....
Basilio would probably get in on him and start to wear him down. In multiple fights he showed the ability to absorb big punches from hard punchers and continue to get to his preferred range and return fire with his own punches. On top of that, Basilio was actually kind of awkward to nail completely clean on the way in due to his hand movement and being a pretty good judge of when he should make the big move in to close the gap. Cuevas likely rocks Carmen throughout the fight with his own big punches, but I don't think it would be enough to keep Carmen off of him. Basilio late stoppage or decision win.
What a fight. Pipino hit like a hwt and could be incredibly aggressive when he had an opponent hurt. Carmen was tough as nails but don’t think anyone at that weight could take Pippinos power. He wins by a TKO within five rounds.
Basilio is mainly thought of as a walk in brawler. But, he was very slick defensively . Much better than given credit for. Conversely Cuevas, doesn't get the credit he deserve for his destructive championship run. Most fans focus on his loss to the "Freak of nature " Hearns or the 'Ready to fight" version of Duran. This would be one heck of a match-up. I favor Basilio in this one, slightly . He was very capable of smothering Cuevas keeping him from loading up on that left hook, plus, he had a cast iron chin for when he does get hit... Basilio probably wouldn't stop Cuevas. But he would out work him, win a split dec. But, all bets are off if Cuevas does land that bone breaking left hook cleanly.
Love this matchup! One thing is undeniable, no matter what, the fans get their money's worth out of this. I'm going with Basilio by a close as nails decision, maybe takes it by a few rounds or a split decision. Cuevas will take something out of him long term in defeat, though.