Eddie Machen as a crusierweight

He would have been far more dominant, but due to his style and occasions of passiveness, he might still be not as dominant as his weight would probably allow.

 

Would have done just as well or better

 

Fairly well I would assume.

 

I think he could be the "man" at some points in CWs short history, Durable, cagey and with good skills and decent power.
A modern LHW situation though and he would be one of the best today.

 

He's definitely better than some of the guys who held a strap. Better than most, I think. I'm pretty sure he would have won a belt and been good enough to defend it a few times.
Good enough to be undisputed? I'm not sure I'd go that far.

 

I think he would have too. He could have ruled that quiet era.

 

I think Machen may have won a belt at cruiser. But I don't think he would have done much better than he did at heavy during his own time. Machen lost to light heavy champ Harold Johnson. I worked with his former trainer, Danny Rodriguez, when I was in high school in the early eighties. I asked him about Machen. Danny was still frustrated with him and had some choice words... Machen wasn't programmed for prolonged success.

 

He would do well at 190 and wouldn´t as a HW in the 80s/90s.

 

Very interesting! What were Rodriguez's criticisms if you don't mind my asking?

 

That's what I'm thinking too.
I can't see him beating Holyfield at all, and most likely not Usyk either.
But a lot of these cruiser champs weren't that good, and inconsistent as well.

 

He didn't get into much detail. But when I asked about Machen his face went to sort of a disgusted look, shaking his head, and his choice words were, "Machen was crazy. Just crazy." He definitely didn't say it with a smile. I could tell he was still angry and disappointed with Eddie, over a decade after Eddie had passed on.

 

Machen went 12 rounds with Sonny Liston, and a past it Eddie got to the 10th round with a young Joe Frazier. He had a win over Jerry Quarry and a draw with Cleveland Williams. At his best he'd be a handful at cruiserweight and I'd bet on him to be more than competitive with someone like Qawi at cruiser. He'd give a young Holyfield all he wanted at 190 pounds and might win.

 

With all due respect, that is a strong possibility in the year of 2021, but in the great golden era of yesteryear, Eddie Machen was at the perfect weight for his body. I do not know if people are getting a very different kind of vaccine to grow into jolly green giants, especially in an age of all of these man made concoctions. Interesting that the emergence of larger people have surfaced. Maybe parents are getting these special man made vaccines to create larger people, before the birth of their children, especially in other nations. None the less, it is here.