Could Kabayel take the ring away from Moorer and work that body as Moorer covers up, or would Moorer be able to outbox him? I feel like Moorer would have to hold his own up close at times here as he does cover up and doesn’t really clinch. Who wins this matchup?
Very much in the air, given that Kabayel is proving more and more with every fight. As of now I'd say Moorer has the accuracy, craft, and power to finish what Smakici couldn't.
Hard one. Kabayel still a bit unproven, but could see Kabayel really hurting Moorer to the body as I think Moorer would struggle against Kabayel's style especially in the long run.
I don't know that it gives a better perspective, but it certainly gives a different perspective -- worth considering -- to close your eyes to stuff like "ATG" labels, the "lineal" title, etc., and just ask who the best guys were at any given time. Kabayel is one of the best guys today. Moorer was one of the best in the 90s. If Moorer had fought a guy like Kabayel in 1997, it's not like the bookmakers would be saying to themselves, "Well, Moorer has the Lineal Champion Badge, so..." No. It would be a live question of who wins a fight between ranked guys. That said, I'm pretty sure Moorer was more proven, even back then, than Kabayel currently is.
Was he really more proven? Holyfield’s state in the loss was way worse than Sanchez’s condition. Zhang and Chisora are tougher to beat than Schultz and Botha. Moorer went down something like seven times in the Holyfield rematch. I’d expect Kabayel to walk through him and stop him. Moorer never used his feet enough. Now picture that against a 240 pounder who fully commits to a body attack.
A chubby 240 pounder. Now, I'll grant you that he might have some genetic reasons for that being his more natural body type. But fat isn't going to be as useful in an athletic endeavor like boxing. It's not like we're talking about a 240 pound Wlad. (Moorer was a little chubby too, mind.) Schultz, Botha, Holyfield with medical issues, Bert Cooper...maybe one of the other miscellaneous guys like Smith, Bean, Wright, etc. were ranked at the time in a manner comparable to Sanchez or Makhmudov. One or two more victories against ranked guys, and Kabayel is there.
I think you’re conceding if you’re resorting to calling Kabayel fat. He’s shown great stamina. Smakici or however you spell it is better than the lower tier guys who Moorer beat.
Not sure how that follows. Pointing out he's chubby -- which he is -- responded to your implicit claim that he's got a massive size advantage over Moorer because he's 240 pounds. Well, if a lot of that weight differential is fat, that isn't usually the kind of thing people are talking about when they say somebody has a size advantage. His good stamina is unrelated to this question.
Moorer was a former light heavyweight who didn’t hold up to well at heavyweight. He had a skinny fat look to him.
He had such a problem holding up at heavyweight that he became a three time champ, one of them being unified. Lol
I'm so upset. That I'm breaking up. My sentences. Grabbed the WBO belt twice and beat Holyfield for the WBA and IBF.