At Flyweight who takes this? I slightly favour Kingpetch but I think Johnson was the better boxer. Thoughts?
Quite an interesting match up actually. Despite his great speed and explosive ability, Johnson could be tagged, and was only 'too sharp' on defense when totally focused on it. Pone also fought the much level of fighters (Harada, Ebihara, Perez etc). He was a consummate pro and technician, and very tough with heart, despite his lesser talent level. I see Pone using that brilliant jab of his to earn a decision over 15.
He has a couple fights on Youtube that's worth a watch. Every fight up to the first Rafael Marquez fight would give you a good idea on Too Sharp. Very entertaining fighter and a complete fighter in his prime. He was like a mix between Sweat Pea and RJJ at times. His first round demolition on Arthur Johnson is still one of my favorites from him. Sadly I think that video was removed.
Unfortunately I have not seen much of Pone to give an assessment between him and Too Sharp. Any fights from him you would recommend besides his fight with Harada?
I think the fight could go either way because Pone was very inconsistent but at his best he should beat Johnson who was no Harada.
I have that fight and a lot of Too Sharp fights. I can post it up soon. Been meaning to put some more fights up soon.
The best fight is the first Rafael Marquez one. He’d been in prison and was higher up in weight so he’s no longer at his best but it’s a modern classic IMO. That took what was left of his prime away even though he was able to turn the clock back somewhat and take advantage of Fernando Montiel freezing. His prime and best was prettt much anything before going away. The Vorapin fight was a bit dull and an example of why open scoring can ruin a good fight. Johnson had a lot of entertaining fights at The Forum here in Los Angeles against a lot of tough Mexican fighters. He could dominate them on the outside but often got inside and mixed it up and gave entertaining shows. You really can’t go wrong with watching anything up to and including the Rafael Marquez fights. His KO’s of Arthur Johnson and Tejedor were mighty quick and impressive. Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero never really wanted anything to do with Johnson. I think he’s the best sub bantamweight fighter of the last 30 years but you’d probably have to say given circumstances and everything that Chocolatito and Finito has “greater” careers. If there’s any Too Sharp fights people want to see I can check to see if I can find them over the weekend and post them up soon as I get a chance.