This is a very impressive display by Fred Apostoli. Steele is one of the best Boxer-Punchers we have on film and everyone who has viewed him has been impressed. A well-schooled boxer with a hard hit in both hands, he is a H2H nightmare for almost every Middleweight that ever breathed. I dont know too much about Apostoli but he looks very very good. His strategy seems to be to back up the stronger and harder punching Steele and this strategy works extremly well as he gets in close and bangs away to the body. In the middle rounds he tries to box and movebut Steele is able to pick him off then Apostoli reverts back to the pressuring tactics and wears down Steele. Very very impressive. http://www.youtube.com/user/MyDeuxSense#p/u/148/fE8KiGA4EEU Thoughts
Steele was an excellent spot-picking boxer-puncher. Great movement combined with great economy and punching accuracy. These strengths were lessened when faced with a great crowder like Apostoli. This was more or less proved in their first fight when the veteran Steele was matched up with a novice version of Apostoli, who gave him the fight of his life prior to being stopped in the last round. This fight came toward the end of Steele's reign and was the war of all wars, the kind that effectively ends a fighter's prime. The fact that he sustained a major shoulder injury likely played a big part, not only in the outcome but also in the remainder of his fight career, as he didn't show much else after this one.
Yep, in the footage he looks excellant I was very impressed with him, particulary in the way he took the fight to Steele, your a big admirer of Steele aint you?
What makes ya say that? Yeah, I love Steele's style. One of the originators of the modern style, in my opinion. By that I mean he was one of the first to use it effectively, I don't necessarily think he was one of the innovators.
Freddie Steele suffered a fractured breastbone that never healed properly and after taking time off to heal, he would still wince from the injury..He was never the same and retired not long after...Before that injury Freddie Steel was almost unbeatable...And Fred Apostoli was also a great middleweight of that talent rich 160 pound era...
It wasnt steeles injury but the death of his manager/father figure that effectively ended his career. He was never the same after that.
I might be in the minority but I don't see the win as being over a peak Steele, or anything approaching him. So a bit less impressive then others view it I suppose. Steele had 136 fights behind him, including many grueling affairs. Steele was six months away from retiring, disinterested in the sport without the flame he once had. Then again I feel Steele is a forgotten great middle, so take that as you will.
