Why Didnt Lastarza Fight The Following?

for the same reason Holyfield fought Bert Cooper when neither Tyson nor Damiani could show up.... You don’t always pull contenders out of one’s arse on last minute’s notice. The fact that he agreed to fight Povetkin and Ortiz when he did suggests to me that he was perfectly willing to fight a top RANKED CONTENDER... not his fault they couldn’t abide to the rules of the sport and nor was it his job to chase down boxing managers to find suitable replacements.... BTW, you credited Joshua for fighting Povetkin.. Wilder actually signed to fight Povetkin years before Joshua actually did.

 

OK

Was LaStarza a carefully manged fighter?

Yes.

Was he a weak #1 contender?

Yes.

Was he one of the very best of the era?

No.

Was Rocky Marciano right to give him a title shot?

Absolutely!

 

No they don't.

A protected challenger who attains a high ranking, still has certain rights, based upon their ranking.

Taking an low risk route to a high ranking, is every fighters god given right.

A defense against a top three contender, is a strong title defense, regardless of the circumstances.

The fact that it has happened so infrequently in the heavyweight division, over the last twenty years, is a testament to this!

 

Ranked according to who ?

 

How many have Fury or Wilder fought in the past five years?

 

That makes a lot of people from LaStarza's era look pretty damn good!

Those are the two best heavyweights in the world right now!