The hate was all hype and ego between the two.... Both guys were coming onto the scene about the same time.... Vinny Paz had the bigger fan following here in the states... Greg Haugen was a blue-collar guy who made his name by licking Jimmy Paul for the title in 1986... That was a betting upset.... I LOVED IT! Greg was also reamed in his first defense by facing Vinny Paz in Paz's back yard in Rhode Island... Why did Greg agree to such a place / site?----MONEY!! The payday was at its best there in 1987..... I thought Greg Haugen won that fight, too..... 1988 was a good comeback for Greg Haugen, when he battered Paz in a bloody rematch to take back the IBF title.... Meanwhile, Vinny Paz would then go on to 140 and get beaten decisively to Roger Mayweather at the end of the year.... In 1990, Greg and Vinny fought a rubber match at 140 pounds.... At the time, Vinny seemed better suited at the weight and he always had more spring in his legs..... This time Vinny Paz outboxed a sluggish Greg Haugen..... By 1990, both Greg and Vinny had some cash in the pocket, and Greg's lust for partying began to surface...... I'm sure Vinny did some partying as well, but he kept a tighter lid on it..... Peace.... MR.BILL:bbb
Not to mention Paz's rampant use of steroids. Never have I seen so many tell sign signs of it in a fighter.
I can't really see any concrete evidence about Paz's "Roid" use until he cameback from a broken neck in 1992..... Prior to '92, Paz still looked naturally trained to me..... However, Paz may have began juicing a tad while training for his '91 WBA 154 title winning effort against that French dude---Gilberto Dele.?.? Again, prior to that fight, I think Paz was naturally trained.... MR.BILL:thumbsup
I'm not saying he was on his entire career, but look at the bloated stomach, the freakish aggression, the swollen face. The man was a anabolics user. Which I'm not condoning. No miracle that he came back from that broken neck better then ever.
I have no doubt in my mind that Paz was juiced in his fights with Duran, Roy Jones & Dana Rosenblatt, etc...... Hell, yes.... Paz was a juicer after 1991 or '92..... He's a liar if he says NO.... MR.BILL:yikes
I always thought Haugen was the better fighter, a natural tough guy. I always thought Paz was a ****ing *******. I probably thought that because he is a ****ing *******.
I thought Haugen was the better fighter and got screwed in the first fight. A classic hometown decision. The rematch was vindication for Haugen, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Haugen was for real, and Paz was a loudmouth who was a legenin his own mind, trying to be so macho and severely overrating himself. The third fight, Haugen was off his game, and already a spent force, IMO.
Paz was a warrior, I'll give him that. But he was a bit of an ******* and definitely turned into a roid freak. Nothing to love about that. I think Haugen was a little better at 135.