One of my favourite fighters,how many at the weight, through past and present, beat him over 15rds prime for prime? This content is protected
pea, gans, leonard, duran. i pick them all over him but maybe leonard is the one williams has the best chance in. i think i'd have floyd a slight fav. a few guys, including welsh and camacho could beat him, not all the time tho. basically apart from the big 4 i prefer guys with defensive gameplans and speed over him. it's a real shame there isn't more footage of him(on youtube, not sure what exists).
Mayweather, Chavez, Duran, Whitaker, Leonard, Canzoneri, Ortiz, Ambers, Henry Armstrong, Ken Buchanan, Willie Joyce.
Oh geese I don't know about this. He could box like Robinson when he wanted and while he hit hard he didn't carry Robby's one punch power. Buchanan would at best be a pic em as would Joyce but I would take Ike in either. Ortiz and Tony against Ike in two fight series would likely see both take wins and losses. Mayweather, Duran, Whitaker, Armstrong, Leonard I would take over Ike. Chavez I'm just not sure about.
On the tape we have of Ike several things stand out to me, the way he threw his short left hooks were very much like Robby's which is unique, I tried in my boxing days to copy this but it wasn't right for me. His footwork was precise and he threw combo's with intensity like Ray but didn't have his ko power with it. He was fiercely intense and Nat Fleisher said he had a mean streak with it. Today he doesn't get the same admiration for his skills he had in his prime but theres a few who saw him like Eastsides Burt who put him up with the very best.
I really don't think he was tooooooo far back from Ray for power. In saying that many do not realise SRR was one of the hardest hitters ever at 147. Joe Louis said after Hearns beat Cuevas he was the hardest hitter he'd ever seen at 147, with Robinson second. SRR had killer power at 147.
Thanx tim for mentioning my name. Yes I saw the "prime" Ike Williams several times ringside, notably in Philly when he came close to decapitating my favorite action fighter Beau Jack, because the ****y referee allowed Ike to annihilate a helpless Beau Jack though we in the crowd pleaded for the bout to be stopped. The ref adhered to our pleas in the 6th round. Ike Williams fought in the 1940s when the LW competition was so packed with great fighters most of them such as Beau Jack, Bob Montgomery, Sammy Angott, Willie Joyce, Freddie Dawson etc, guys who had more than 100 bouts under their belt and all of these guys would be champion in later era's no doubt...Think of this timm. The great featherweights Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler NOT ONCE ever thought of challenging the murderous cutting puncher that an "uncuffed" Ike Williams was...Though they fought other lightweights. Ike at his best and unleashed still remains the best lightweight I ever did see. For what it's worth...
Nice to hear from you BB:good I think Williams opposition at lightweight was significantly better than many who came after ,including Duran. Henry Armstrong walking into his punches would be like watching the opening scenes from "Saving Private Ryan".
I think the last few years now find Williams underrated in here. He was held in the highest stead but many of the primary posters and threads that led to this status are now forgotten. When he wanted to turn on the power man could he turn it on. He was however an extremely good boxer and content to outbox his opponent rather than go looking for the knockout hence his somewhat modest KO percentage comparative to his power. He was always open to going after the stoppage but had more patience and prowess than most would realise. He was a genuine boxer/puncher. When the subject of the most powerful lightweight ever came up he has been at the forefront of discussions. He had particularly nasty power to the body, but again was patient and never overly concentrated on a sustained body attack, lets say, in the many of a Joe Frazier. He did however attack the openings when they were there and never neglected this all important facet. Stylistically his tougher opponents would be the slick boxers, guys like Whitaker and Mayweather for example. That's not to say he couldn't beat them. He would be more comfortable vs the likes of Duran, Chavez and co. This time, it's not to say he would beat them. I think he'd edge Mayweather, lose a close UD to Whitaker, beat Chavez and i'd toss a coin on Duran.
At his best I think he'd be very hard to beat.. Duran and Whitaker are probably my two most confident picks to take him.
