Who Wins This Fantasy Light-Heavyweight Super Series?

Nicked Dodgy Syrup's thread again, but this time with my all-time favourite division. To satisfy IntentionalBigot, I've bracketed them.

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Spinks
Jones

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Ward
Foster

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Canelo
Beterbiev

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Moore
Kovalev

Winner of brackets four and one face one another, and so the winners of brackets two and three in the semifinals, then those two winners face in the final.


I've left off a few important LHW guys in favour for those who you general scrubs will have actually heard of, and I've left off Ezzard Charles coz he'd beat everyone easily, sail off into the sunset and laugh at you suckas.

 

We've got our first general forum response! True to form, didn't answer properly, says something ridiculous and doesn't explain anything about it. We're up and running!

 

Quarterfinals

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Michael Spinks vs Roy Jones Jr.

Jones was a freak of nature, but he wasn't unhittable. I never got the hyperbole about his defence. "We never knew how bad his chin was coz he was never hit" No, stop deluding yourself. He was hit, he showed a good chin up until weight draining and back-to-back KTFOs ruined it. He's fast, he's slick, he's an insane athlete, but he wasn't unhittable in a Sweet Pea/Locche-esque manner. Watch him get teed off on by Tarver, take clean combos off Hopkins, and get worked over to the body by Merqui Sosa I'm not saying he had a bad defence, but he isn't unhittable. And when Spinks catches him he's going down, and he's staying down.

Jones would have to get aggressive to deal with Spinks. Mike's too tall, and he's smart enough to not let Jones bait him into leading. Even if he did, we'd likely be looking at a Hearns-Leonard scenario, apart from its Jones with the fragile chin and Spinks the one who's gonna spark him out. I can see Jones trying to come over Spinks' jab, potshotting his way to winning rounds, trying to find that thin line between being too negative, and being KTFO'd. However, I don't think that line is exists vs Spinks. He'd have to work around Spinks' jab and avoid his power, I don't think he can do both.

Spinks KO9 or Spinks UD15, depending on what Jones does
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Bob Foster vs Andre Ward

This is an interesting style match-up, but not one I think would end up being all too competitive. We have a guy, who's tall, rangy, powerful and fast; underrated assortment of skills and with a great record at the weight - his weaknesses, seems to be the other's strength's. As a long and thin limbed guy, Foster's two natural weaknesses were a lack of great durability, and a lack of a great infighting game. But even then, he wasn't a trepidatious, skittish fighter who seemed like Bambi on ice when pressed. He was cool and calm, and was able to find you even close up. So I suppose Ward's 'dark-art' type of infighting could potentially cause Bob some struggles but I doubt they'd win him the fight. However, Ward's struggle with Kovalev's jab, which was inferior to Foster's, and his power, which was also, inferior to Foster's. The things Kovalev does do a little better than Bob, Ward also struggled with. The ability to dictate the range down to an inch was something Kovalev still doesn't get enough credit for, and his straight right was a bit neater than Bob's ever was. That said, Foster has the advantage of being much less 'robotic' in his application of things. Kovalev was extremely fluid, but he liked to reset everything after an exchange and go again (typically European in that regard), and he was also reluctant to punch with someone. Foster on the other hand, relished in getting off first and sliding his hooks in when someone's trying to find him. He wouldn't give Ward that second to get to grips with everything again, and he'd be on him. It'd end up as a bigger, quicker guy with a hellacious arsenal walking down a smaller, but better, technician. Foster stops him at some point IMO. Ward has the attributes to cause him a few issues, big ultimately, doesn't have the overall style, or ability.
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Canelo Alvarez vs Artur Beterbiev

Given that this one could actually happen, I'll just make this my official prediction going forward - and coz it could actually happen, it's over twelve not fifteen. Beterbiev is the bigger guy, a fully fledged light-heavyweight and is tied with Kovalev as being the biggest guy in the whole tournament (both Foster and Spinks competed at HW, but that was in the same day weigh-in era, and both could comfortably weigh around 172 the morning of the fight, neither are built as big as Beterbiev or Kovalev). Canelo is also a big guy though, he's comfortably been around 180 on fight night at SMW (iirc) and from memory he actually weighed more than Kovalev on the night too.

Beterbiev's strength here is literally his strength, he needs to go and impose himself on Canelo. Go out, wear him out, work the body and physical crush him. However, I highly doubt that's what'll happen. Even if Canelo doesn't punch as hard as Johnson or Gvozdyk (and he doesn't), but he's a much more authoritative ring general, and won't show Beterbiev nearly as much respect. Unlike Gvozdyk, he'll walk him down as well. Johnson showed how Beterbiev reacts when you get his respect, but a puncher like Johnson only got it for a brief moment. So maybe Canelo can't? But then again, he got Kovalev, Jacobs and GGG's. **** knows

Beterbiev is pretty open, and Canelo's counters are rapid and extremely creative. He'd be able to paint him like he did Angulo on the way in, but at the same time, if he's that aggressive he's gonna be hit by the hardest brute he's ever been in with. Going to Beterbiev's body seems like the best strategy. I think Canelo may end up reverting back to the counter-puncher he was before GGG II. Beterbiev seems like the type to try and walk through Canelo, not box off the back.

If Canelo gets his respect, I take Canelo with too much issue. If not, Beterbiev crushes him like a beer can in the late rounds. I have a sinking feeling that it ends up like a cross between Valdez-Berchelt and Canelo-Angulo. If it does, Canelo will go up by some distance, in my estimation. If forced to pick, I take Canelo PTS.
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Archie Moore vs Sergey Kovalev

Moore vs Kovalev would likely be one hectic fight. It's such a shame there's so little of Moore in his absolute prime. In the footage we do have, we see one of the most complete fighting machines and physical powerhouses of all-time, and one of the fighters who's genuinely worthy of the accolades he gets. The fact that in this footage he's in his mid-to-late thirties, and early forties only highlights this.

Kovalev's weakness appear to be an average chin, a weakness to the body, and that his offense could end up basic. Take away his 1-2, and he's left with very little. Archie Moore is quite possibly the worst person to overrely on a 1-2 against, AND have a bad chin and weak body vs. The only thing I can see here as a route to a Kovalev victory is power. Archie's chin was good, but not unbreakable. He seven stoppage losses, some excusable, some not. His main defence does have an inbuilt flaw which is that if timed wrong, serves only to amplify the power of a cross, rather than defend it. Look at how Durrele's broke it with an awkward rhythm. Kovalev may be able set something similar up by closing the distance between them and getting Archie to time it wrong. Maybe, I think it's unlikely. The Marciano and Durrele fights confirmed that Moore was extremely difficult to stop, IMO.

 

Ezzard Charles is the best LHW of all time, proved when he beat Moore three times.

 

The match-ups are four vs one and two vs three. So it'd be Moore vs Spinks and Beterbiev vs Foster, not Spinks vs Foster and Beterbiev vs Moore.