That walks it. Even if you do not think of it as a unification, it answered doubts everyone had. The two were seemingly far too close to have a definitive answer as to who was best, without the fight. A bit like Tyson/Spinks, where a decent minority (myself included) thought Spinks was going test Tyson...
Just a fight but really unification to the fans; This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
It was the battle for the undisputed champion - the former, undefeated lineal champ versus the alphabet organisation's official champion. So, in a sense it's fair to call it a unification as it settled the lineage of the championship. Spinks-Tyson was similar but less so as I think the weight of opinion was that by 1988, Tyson was the legit champion as Spinks had been inactive and facing lesser competition. And Tyson was an overwhelming favourite coming in whereas Ali-Frazier was viewed as a pick'em kind of fight and hard to call.
Carlos Monzon vs Rodrigo Valdes, June 26 1976, Monte Carlo, Monaco, World Middleweight Title, Monzon won by unanimous decision, he even decked Valdes in round 14. Roberto Duran vs Esteban De Jesus, January 21 1978, Las Vegas, Nevada. Duran's last title bout at 135 lbs, Roberto by TKO 12.
Calderon-Segura 1 is a decent enough shout but DLH-Trinidad was not a great fight by any measure - a real letdown, in fact. Maybe expectations were too high with some of us hoping for the second coming of Leonard-Hearns 1 but even so, it just was not a good fight.
