Terence Crawford vs Felix Trinidad 147lbs primes

I favour Crawford based on his overall skill set but hes never met anyone close to a genuine puncher ATG puncher his own size. So it's hard to assess how Crawford reacts to getting hit flush by Tito's left hook.

Theres a bit of a myth Tito struggles vs boxers but he beat Reid convincingly who was a fast talented fighter. Tito is also the only fighter to beat Whitaker convincingly even though Whitaker was considerably past his prime.

ODLH had to use his legs all night long and stay constantly moving without daring to stand still for a second and trade.

Hopkins was considerably bigger than Trinidad and was able to be very physical on the inside.

Trinidad had been inactive and was considerably past his prime vs Wright. But I still think Wright would always be a tough match up regardless but again this was at Middleweight just like the Hopkins fight.

How would Crawford do vs Hopkins and Wright in their primes at Middleweight ?

Overall I'd favour Crawford like I said but hes untested against a puncher of the level of Trinidad.

 

Tough call. Going to go with Felix

 

Oh, come on! Crawford any way he pleases. Trinidad beating the ghost of Whitaker is beyond asinine to bring up, Puncher.

 

Name one puncher Crawford has fought that is anywhere close to Trinidad's power ?

Granted Crawford is more skillful and I picked Crawford based on that.

But Crawford's chin has not really been tested against an upper echelon puncher. And Trinidad only started losing once he started fighting at Middleweight.

There isn't a single person on Crawford's resume that Trinidad wouldn't of absolutely poleaxed.

PS I already said Whitaker was considerably past it but he wasn't completely shot either and Whitaker had never been beaten decisively like that before.

 

I’m not sure but kinda leaning towards Trinidad. He was pretty incredible at welterweight

 

Crawford is a pretty clear favourite in my eyes but he’s no defensive genius so it’s not a foregone conclusion

 

I agree he hasn’t faced any but Trinidad is not & was not ever an elite fighter or puncher, insofar as fighting outside of his particular period. Crawford is. Whitaker was shot, I don’t see the argument he wasn’t, but have at it.

 

I'm baffled how you don't think Trinidad wasn't an elite fighter or puncher ? please explain ?

He's amongst the top 15 Welterweights of all time and is definitely amongst the top 10 hardest punchers ever at Welterweight.

He made 15 title defences at Welterweight and was in the top 10 P4P rankings for 8 years and went 40-0.

Trinidad would be by far the best opponent Crawford has ever fought by quite some distance.

 

Crawford comes out strong dominating the first few rounds. Floor Tito heavy in the 4th, Tito gets up and slams his best left hook directly into Crawfords nuts. Crawford drops in agony. Gets up eventually but never really recovers and Tito pours it on and gets a late stoppage

 

Fighter - Completely befuddled by great boxing - maybe not good boxing, which he could overcome, but he was completely lost at sea trying to figure out De La Hoya & Hopkins. No ATG looks the way Trinidad did in those fights. Hopkins would have won their fight if he was 140lbs (I’m being facetious to be clear), so absolute was his control. He didn’t win it on size. I’m reluctant to bring up Wright because the obvious counter will be it was perceptibly past-prime, but I reckon he probably always loses that fight.

Puncher - A very good, perhaps great puncher, yes. But no way does he make ATG status. That’s your Hearns’, Foreman’s, Jackson’s. Trinidad was an explosive & exciting puncher, but he wasn’t even near names like these.

 

Tito fought a top 5 Middleweight in his prime two weightclasses above his best weight i think you're being way too harsh. Is Jose Napoles not a great fighter either because he got dominated by Carlos Monzon at Middleweight ?

Tito beat ODLH so i'm not really sure what point you're trying to make ? how is winning a negative ? i mean yeah it was a controversial decision but it was still a close fight and ODLH basically run away from Tito for most of the fight.

Tito had fought 2 times in 3 years when he fought Wright and was considerably past his prime. Yes i agree Wright is always a tough match up for even a prime Tito, but again this fight took place at Middleweight which is two weightclasses above Tito's best weight.

You're saying two different things now you said Tito wasn't "elite" and now you're saying he's not an "ATG".

What is your criteria for elite ? are you strictly talking about ATG's ? i would say Tito is a great fighter overall so that makes him elite for me.

How is Tito not an ATG puncher at Welterweight ? he had 15 stoppages in 15 world title fights at the weight. His left hook is one of the most devastating punches of all time, and he would be in anyone's top 10 or probably even top 5 for hardest hitting Welterweights of all time.

 

Trinidad didn’t beat De La Hoya. Was it close? Fairly, yes - after, & only after, De La Hoya closed the gap by running for three rounds, as you yourself said. It was still a gift call. & I don’t agree Welter was his best weight, it was Jr. Middle. He was one division out of his best class & got absolutely annihilated - literally, as it broke his career. Napoles got on with life after Monzón. Trinidad, a lesser fighter, didn’t recover from Hopkins.

Regarding Wright, I mean if you can bring up Whitaker & claim he was still anything other than a walking corpse in 1999, anything goes, really.

Trinidad was never in the punching class of all-time greats. His power simply isn’t that good - & by, “that good,” I’m talking devastating, once-in-a-generation power. Those are your all-timers. Trinidad didn’t hit anything like that.

 

I don't think Trinidad beat ODLH either but i think a draw would be fine Trinidad won 3 out of the first 9 rounds and then won the last 3 round hence being a 6-6 fight. ODLH was very negative and pretty much used his legs for the entire fight, had ODLH engaged more with Tito he could've been KO'ed that's why ODLH fought so passive and didn't take any risks. I think it's more of a negative for ODLH that he kind of didn't turn up for a big fight and choked in the championship rounds.

How can you say Jr Middleweight was Tito's best weight when he had the most success at Welterweight ? he spent most of his career at Welterweight and had 15 stoppages in world title fights clearly that was his best weight.

Well Tito did have some success after the Hopkins fight he beat Mayorga which was a solid win. Napoles moved back down in weight which is a big difference, and even then he only fought for 1 more year before retiring which included a total robbery vs Muniz and a shocking upset to Stracey.

I've said the samething for both fighters i said Whitaker was considerably past his prime as was Tito. I don't think Whitaker was totally shot no you don't go 12 rounds with a prime Tito in a spirited effort if you're totally shot. I also don't think Tito was totally shot either but he was fighting above his best weight and the inactivity hurt him aswell as a bad style match up.

You're saying two different things now though your original comment was "Tito is not an elite puncher" now you're saying he doesn't have "once in a generation power".

Tito is an elite puncher i don't know what your criteria is for "elite" but a top 10 all time Welterweight puncher with 15 stoppages in world title fights at the weight is an "elite puncher" for me.

I think Tito's left hook was pretty devastating and one of the more iconic punches of the modern era.

 

It's always so tough to me to assess Bud abilities, gonna still go with tha more tested fighter.