Throw Vitalis chin on Wlad and the guy would be nigh on unbeatable, that is if you also added a dash of Frazier’s stamina to the mix.
RJJ with FMJ or BHops fundamentals. He had all the other attributes (work ethic, discipline) plus much bigger power and better athleticism than either guy. He just didn’t age well because he lacked the grounding in the basics through being able to ad lib due to his physical gifts.
Whilst I agree that Jones could've done with better fundamentals, surely his chin was the real sus issue. Good pick, though! Really says something about Jones that you can select so many things to improve about him and he's still THE man and best of his era.
To be fair to Santana, he clearly had been working hard on it in between the first and second Norris fights. It only took him three rounds rather than five to dispose of Norris second time around. He could easily have won the third fight as well if he had just swiveled at the right time and caught one on the back of the head. Very fine margins, and with a bit more luck he could have had a HOF level resumé.
Santana was clearly slipping by the third fight. There is no way a prime Santana would have let Norris land many punches and not contrive a situation where at least one of them was an illegal blow. There were other greats in that era, but Santana was the best in my book at the lost art of not hitting and getting hit, but somehow still finding a way to win.
