The Unpopular Opinion Thread

Two things: I think the featherweight era that just passed was the greatest of all time, that gomez never had the dimensions of Barrera or Morales ... ... ... and that they would have beaten him like sanchez did. And here's where we might disagree: I think Barrera and Morales and maybe marquez might put it on sal Sanchez hard: too much punching power. Sanchez was on a collision course with disaster: his train would have stopped at Arguello, the best little man beneath Pryor for sure.

I also think Barrera won the second Jr. Jones fight.

Pernell and Floyd is a very competitive match up, the only thing I don't favor is that Floyd really, truly, honestly does not dominate southpaws like right handed guys. He walks them down with the high guard, and I don't know if that will work against a guy like Pernell. If Pernell was orthodox, I would easily pick floyd in that.

Also, I don't know that duran could ever have been competitive with hearns: hearns was knocking out cruiserweights in ONE ROUND late in his career, his power was sick, and duran was defensively awesome but I don't think his style matches well with Hearns. I do think Duran came the closest to beating Hagler of anyone besides Leonard (not sure if I think the decision against Hagler was right in his last fight, or in any of his early losses) so I rate him very very very highly when he is motivated.

 

Professional sports are often rigged or fixed in some way or another, there's no level playing field, half the time it's not real competition we are watching, just fantasy entertainment - it's all engineered to maximize profits.

Sports fans who take it all at face value, maybe you and even I, are being duped.

 

I'm only going to tackle the last one. Except for gomez, Sanchez rarely ever beat anyone to a bloody pulp. I feel like Lopez was a very very crude guy, and the rest of Sal's title defenses were clinics that went 15 rounds but were not complete blow outs (ie some competitive rounds with Sal never tiring but never hurting the other guy, often an unheralded fighter like Ford or Cowdell) and really struggled with a very green Azumah. as a result of his early death, Sanchez seems to me to be given the most credit for doing stuff that guys like Morales, Barrera, and Marquez all do as they moved up in weight PLUS with the occasional destruction thrown in.

sanchez has one super super win, and that is the Gomez fight. Danny Lopez was a tough guy but Morales and Barrera and Pac and Marquez would all beat him quicker than Sal did, in my opinion.

so, when you are talking about a super super elusive guy like Willie Pep, I'm not sure Sal could do it, but I do think Barrera could break him down wtih body shots and slow those feet. I think Barrera and maybe Morales beat Pep.

 

Unpopular opinions eh? :think


Every so often, the thought that Sugar Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya have better single wins (and overall resumes against prime contenders, even) than Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao pops up in my head, and I shoo it away while trying to rank fighters in my head amidst the recent hype of supremacy around the two.


I think a freshly moved-up LW Juan Manuel Marquez could have competed well with Duran, and a lot of other historically ATG fighters.


I think a prime Cotto has a decent defense.


I think that nearly all fighters have an extraordinary amount of heart compared to the average human.

 

Marquez and Morales are two of the most overrated boxer-punchers of the past 30 years imo.

Reasonably nimaginative, easy to hit and can't integrate their punching and footwork worth a damn when they try and take the lead.Falling in and overextending all over the place.Both are lucky you can count on a fingerless hand how many genuinely talented mobile stylists or boxer-punchers they took on.Well took on and beat at least.

sanchez would just need to use his smooth movement and keep the punch output high and that would be three-quarters of the job done.Winning the majority of the exchanges as those two flounder forward with heads every bit as static as Nelson or Lopez and fall in with telegraphed lead rights to the body etc

That said, i do think Sanchez is given too much credit H2H generally.Just can't see those two being the men to handle him.

Gilberto Roman was better than both of them in his prime as far as Mexican greats go.he had the textbook punching chops AND the finesse.Could fight at all distances in all-directions effortlessly.

I'd say Pone Kingpetch is very overestimated by Western Historians and fans, but that seems a bit of an out-dated view nowadays.

 

I don't think the last 2 points are that controversial really.

 

Fitzsimmons grinds Marciano down and knocks him out.

ODLH at lightweight would beat Alexis Arguello.

Dick Tiger would put Roy Jones Jr.'s lights out.

Manny Pacquiao beats Sandy Saddler in a featherweight war.

Marvin Hagler loses to Greb, Monzon. He beats Hopkins. Walker and Ketchel are pick 'em.

 

Are there Greb fights on film? Its really hard for me to say with any kind of confidence that a little guy I've only seen shadow box flailing around wildly would beat a monster like Hagler, with all the intangibles and tangibles he possessed.

 

Greb Walker and Greb Tunney I were almost certainly filmed but they are either lost and decayed or in the hands of a private collector who doesn't give a ****. I'll still take the guy who beat a future heavyweight champion, 7 LHW champs, and 5 MW champs over the 'monster' who took an old blown up LW the distance and lost to an inactive former WW champ who'd supposedly been ducking him for a year. and never moved up. Sometimes records speak for themselves.

 

your entitled to your opinion and fair play, but i completely disagree 100% with everything you've stated here. I really dont know where to begin

 

:huh

 

The klitschkos would have their shot against a lot of heavyweights in the past

 

I agree with this. Cotto's defensive ability isn't amazing, but I think calling it 'porous' is inaccurate.

He blocked a lot of shots with that high guard, and displayed decent head movement from time to time...even when embroiled in a give and take war. (e.g. his quasi shoulder roll- counter right to score the third kd of Torres in their slugfest was the moment that truly turned that fight in his favor). Plus the Mosely and Clottey fights proved that he could circle and move as required.

Like Trindad, he kind of fell in love with his power and become more aggressive than he really had to be. But like Trinidad, he's not without skill, and that remains true even in the present day.

 

That's just being a realist.