yeah sorry, I don't want to be rude but, If you think you can use Benitez at 154, as a reference for Pea at 135, you really don't know boxing.
His toughest match up I'm my opinion at 135 would be Mayweather. Whitaker would be tough as would Chavez .. I don't think B. Leonard was strong enough and while Gans is fascinating I just don't know
I thought I saw others use Palomino and Hagler and Barkley as scorecard references. In that case, wouldn't Benitez be used as an example?
Yes ofcourse Duran hit harder than Zivic. Fritzie didn't beat Armstrong with his power. He laced him, thumbed him up around the eyes. Robinson carried a shopworn Hank.
Certainly is possible. Whitaker was one of the best P4P fighters of the second half of the 20th Century.
I've not seen Duran do the kind of damage Zivic did to Armstrong, and Ray was holding Armstrong up - unless you believe Armstrong was getting wobbled by jabs, those were serious shots he was taking. Duran punches harder P4P than Zivic and even a young Robinson, but they were 10lbs bigger than the weight this hypothetical is taking place. Ceferino Garcia was 150lbs plus and Henry Armstrong took his shots, he was also not a light hitter. I don't doubt Duran's power but I think of all his qualities, that's the one Armstrong has seen the most of.
Robinson admitted in Dave Anderson's biography released in the late 60s that he carried Henry. Dan Parker of the daily mirror accused Robinson the next day. Zivic used some dirty tactics as I was referring to before. The laces, thumbs etc. He damaged Henry around his eyes. That was Zivic's calling card.
This is true, and after the fight he mentioned having to "fake clinches" so Armstrong couldn't go down. He was clearly hitting him hard, maybe not frequent (Armstrong did complain about Robinson's running) but definitely hitting him with authority, enough to wobble Armstrong a few times. Zivic used every trick in the book but the damage started with those ripping uppercuts that caught Armstrong coming in. His power is underrated (82 KOs) too. Again, Duran definitely the harder puncher P4P, I'm not disputing that at all. But a 135lbs Duran won't deliver the hardest (absolute) punches Armstrong has ever taken.
I wouldn't favor anyone to beat him at his refined 135 best. If i had to pick someone and stake my life on it i'd take Armstrong i think. Williams would be tough too. No doubt a couple of others would be tougher than imagined, guys like Ortiz, Brown, Ross etc etc etc.
I can't see Duran getting KO'd by any lightweight and I can't see any of the old time fighters beating him in a decision. Whitaker? I do like him and think he's arguably the best lightweight since Duran but Roberto overwhelms him at his best. Pernell was great defensively but how many headhunted against him? How many could feint someone out of position and bull them around like Duran? Look at Duran's resume and look at Pernell's , I like pea a lot but Duran is the superior fighter. He could do it all at lightweight like Robinson could at welter, Ali could at heavyweight. He's up there.
Totally get that .. many guys have fanatical fans with unrealistic pathologies .. both fighters were great.
Armstrong would be a good choice because he was special in his own right. Stylewise it would be a brutal high contact affair. In theory SweetPea would be a smart choice if he can catch Duran's rythem. The left-handed stance is the best thing Pea has going for him here. Whitaker wouldn't have his usual advantage in speed or RING IQ. Duran had a height advantage too. Meaning he may be able to drop that right hand lead in from the outside. If Whitaker can make it an ugly fight and make it to the scorecards and hope for the best. He may have to climb off the canvas a couple times though.
