In Australia at the mo http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/other/7877652/nelson-still-rues-one-that-got-away/
"It is not stretching a point too far to say Nelson v McGuigan was to the mid-1980s what Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao is today. er......yes it is.
Don't write off Mcguigan in this match up he'd have a fair chance. Barry was some fighter- very under-rated.
I agree with this, McGuigan was quality. Ring Magazine boxer of the year 1985, Barry would have more than held his own with Nelson. Nelson was flattered by the Cowdell result as Pat had been campaigning at superfeather beforehand and could have been weight drained for that contest. And it wasn't a question of McGuigan not wanting the fight, the potential fight was being talked up all the time here in Ireland, but Barry took the Cruz fight instead to further raise his profile in the states, so to maximise his future earnings in fights against Nelson or Wilfredo Gomez. Obviously the best laid plans and that.....:deal
Says the boy who wasn't out of nappies when McGuigan won the world title It's easy to argue in retrospect, but at the time McGuigan/Nelson was considered a real 50/50, and Boxing News editor the late Harry Mullan, along with much of the readership of that paper would have favoured Barry. McGuigan due to managerial conflict and personal tragedy never reached his true potential, so it's unfair to solely judge on how their careers finished, but if you judge results and performances before McGuigan lost his title, one can see why this would have been such an intriguing match-up, with no obvious favourite.
I really like this post. I agree that I'm analysing with the benefit of hindsight, and with two top competitors any result can unfold, but I just feel Nelson was sounder in pretty much every aspect.
Fair enough mate lol Just I have seen alot of them both and I think Nelson would be way to much for Barry.