Go read up on Napoles some before you give Stracey any kind of credit for this end of the line fluke. Stracey would have been lucky to make it to round 3 just a scant couple of years prior to to '75 bout...don't be delusional please. It was a worse fluke of a win than even Minter's "win" over the totally shot Emile Griffith.
Said that myself. Three years earlier was the Charles fight. My old sparring partner McVey has made the point elsewhere that Mickey Duff got the timing spot on here. I don't need to read up on the scale of the upset because, with the greatest of respect, I remember it. In fairness to Stracey, in his only successful defence, he stopped the excellent Hedgemon Lewis. As for Minter v Griffith, Emile was just a gateway name for Alan. It was a question of how not whether he won.
After the two squeaks with Rocky Lockridge, Pedroza knew he was going to lose the Title sooner rather than later so took the biggest pay day. Still went out like a great Champion though. What a great Fighter.
It was only four months after he had beaten Gomez. He may have been improving - I personally don't see any evidence that he was - but he must have already been pretty useful if he had already beaten Bazooka by the time he fought Cowdell. And it was only eight months before the Azumah fight. Or did Sanchez make all his improvements in that eight month period from Cowdell to Nelson? I'm not saying Cowdell was better than Nelson - the actual fight between them that did happen would make that a ridiculous assertion - but for a British fighter to take on a man who had taken the title off Danny Lopez, stopped Wilfredo Gomez in his previous fight and who would stop an undefeated Azumah Nelson eight months later and only be beaten on a split decision is an incredible achievement by our island's standards. Sanchez was pretty much the finished article when he fought Cowdell. Pat done good.
I watched the Nelson fight live on TV when I was a child, Sanchez was getting better at dealing with counter right hands, he was suspeptible to being caught by that counter.
Hatton-Castillo is the strange one for me. Castillo was well past his best when Ricky took him out with a body shot (from memory) in a result that was neither surprising or unexpected seeing as Ricky was younger, fresher and the undefeated champion. Now Hatton-Tszyu I could see being ranked up there. Hatton dethroned a long time champion and p4p fighter (who was admittedly aging and relatively inactive going in) in a gruelling rough and tumble, give and take battle. That’s a much more worthy inclusion imo without delving into more historic bouts that others have thrown into the mix. But Roughdiamonds opinion of the list is one I largely concur with ie that it’s pretty sh1t.
Fury vs Klitschko. Yes he won the fight comfortably....but one of the greatest performances by a British boxer ever. Wouldn't make my top 100, it was like watching paint dry.
