Pedroza-Lockridge I

Don't know anything about the corruption of the fight, though it's pretty hard not to deduce it from the appalling scoring. The ref and the Panamanian judge's cards belong in the worst individual scorecards thread that's been running here recently.

I had the fight scored a draw, but it could have gone either way and if anyone deserved the fight it was Rocky.

Had their rematch to Pedroza by a point in a fight where he did much better, mind you Rocky probably overtrained for that fight, coming in way under the feather limit.

What's scary to think is that if Rocky got a bit of luck on his side, he probably would have had wins against the likes of Pedroza, Gomez and Chavez on his ledger. With a resume like that, he would have been a lock for the HOF, even if some of the decisions were dicey. As it is, he probably won't see the light of day on a HOF ballot. Funny how official decisions can change perceptions so much.....

 

Lockridge certainly got the **** end a few times.

 

I totally agree, and am happy to see some real appreciation for Rocky. He beat Gomez no matter which way anyone slices it, and could have snared one of the close ones in other fights via the law of averages.

Rocky may be close to the most underrated fighter of his era, with a handful of close or shocking decisions going against him.

I have always considered Rocky a fantastic fighter and right among the best of his divisions, which is high praise considering who was frequenting.

He showed he was close to the equal of Pedroza, i think he would have given Sanchez a great fight too and Nelson as well while i am going.

In short i think he would give a great account against any ATG in his weight classes.

His only clearcut loss in a decade was an absolute aberration and was never going to happen again.

He was ohhhhhhhhh so close really wasn't he, and not just due to falling short. Personally i think a draw and decision loss was the go vs Pedroza, with a definite win over Gomez and Chavez i haven't seen. Even a draw vs Pedroza and the win vs Gomez would have vaulted him up substancially IMO in an era where losses hurt substancially and it was all about being unbeaten.

 

john thomas, who is the lovely lady in your avatar?

 

That is the beautiful A.J.Cook. She was in The Virgin Suicides and Final Destination II and has been a big player in Criminal Minds.

 

Well said JT.

He definitely beat Gomez and a draw and loss would be fair going against Pedroza. I had him down by a couple points to Chavez and that seems fair enough as well.

I agree that he would have given a good fight to any feather no matter what era it was and he is on the whole an underrated fighter that promises to be overlooked by future generations. He was better than that and deserves credit where credit is due.

Could easily qualify for the HOF given some of the recent entries (he is no worse than Mitchell or Canizales, that's for sure). Put him in the current mix with the likes of Marquez and Pac and he might well have come out the top dog.

 

Yes. Rocky would be right in the mix present day. He and Paq would be a gruelling fight.

Heck, lets generous as many have been lucky post Rocky. Say one gives him an SD over Perdoza first fight and a draw to retain his own title second fight. Then he gets the rightful win over Gomez.

I mean, where is he then?

 

A ATG instead of a nearly great fighter?

 

Exactly Russ, mate. He is oh so close.

IMO ability wise he must sure as heck be close. Qawi is another on the border, well he crosses it for me i think.

 

Then he gets talked about as one of the greats I'd say.

 

Agreed. Given the closeness of the first fight and Pedroza being hated he would have gotten away pretty unscathed IMO. The second would have been a bit controversial but lets remember Spinks woeful win over Holmes second fight didn't hurt him much either really.

A cunning point to take into account is that the rematch would not have been in Italy anyway if Rocky won the first, and i think it might be fair to assume that fighting at home would have made a difference for Rocky and he might have got home regardless then.

 

Qawi to this day claims that he feels Holyfield was using a "illegal substance" in their first fight. And really, it's not like that's an unlikely claim. Nor did Qawi exactly get beaten decisively in the first fight.

 

Interesting for sure, tho i haven't dwelved into it.