P4P matchup 4: Archie Moore vs Julio Cesar Chavez

I'll take the Mongoose.

 

I would favor Moore's better boxing + heavier counterpunching to win out vs. Chavez's pace & pressure. Possibly Moore may build up an early lead & then withstand a (too) late surge by Chavez to win on points.

 

I'll lean to the Mongoose.
Moore was a brilliant counter puncher, and could fight from a defensive stance.
Chavez even if he were a natural middleweight would still need to be respectful of Moore's one punch ko power.
I see Moore putting on a countering clinic early on, forcing Chavez to be more selective in his attack, going on to win a UD.

 

This is a tough one because I don't really know too much about Moore's style nor do I know too much about how he dealt with good pressure fighters. He did lose to Marcanio so he might not be the best against them. But since everyone is leaning Moore I'll go the other way and say Chavez.

 

This footage is of Moore squarely at his peak IMO:

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I do agree that there's some question as to how well Moore would handle Chavez's pressure & pace - though on the flipside, Moore would likely bring more two-fisted firepower than any opponent Chavez ever faced. If Moore can succeed in slowing the tempo then he should win, but if Chavez can succeed in maintaining a brisk pace & working inside, then it's anybody's fight IMO.

 

How old was Archie here? 35-40? His prime was about a decade prior.

 

Julio and it isn't really close.

 

A decade prior, Moore was only a MW, lacked the distinctive cross-armed defense & one-punch power of his later years, & typically played second fiddle to the other top fighters in & around his weight.

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Yes but when he finished as a middleweight he’d had a full career and was as seasoned and knowledgeable as one would expect - he arguably had a better innings then Hagler.
Archie just wasn’t as good as the men around him who stopped him being best 160lber so the natural course was to go up in weight because his frame could support it.
We don’t have much footage of Archie at middleweight less then a round I wouldn’t make assessments on that.

 

Interesting - go on?

 

You’re half right. Durán is more on Moore’s level than Chávez is.

 

Moore lost 10 times in his first 90 fights.

Julio didn't know the meaning of that word till he was a partied out Don King carcass.

 

If he fought Whitaker (at any time, any weight) as many times as Moore battled Charles, he’d have been retired on shame alone.

 

An old, tired, coked-out, over his best weight, coddled and spoiled Chavez held a prime Whitaker to a draw. That's an amazing accomplishment considering where he was in his career.