Mark Johnson vs Yuri Arbachakov @ Flyweight

Two Flyweight champs from the 90s who were the complete fighters. Solid all-round skills possessing fast hands, balanced footwork, explosive power, great offense, good defense, and excellent counterpunching. Although they held titles around the same time they both never had the chance to face each other. Too Sharp was perhaps the more gifted fighter with his blazing fast combinations and buzzsaw attack but Arbachakov was extremely poised, highly technical with a sniper-like right hand. I honestly think this was a big missed opportunity for a potentially great Flyweight fight where I can see either fighter coming out victorious.

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Still on the fence with this. Johnson has the advantage in hand speed and reflexes while Arbachakov had the better one punch KO and better footwork. Johnson's best chance would be to outbox Arbachakov instead of his usual aggressive style but even then that's hard to do against a very efficient and disciplined sharp shooter. As 50/50 of a fight as you can get between two very talented Flyweights.

 

Rewatching some of Too Sharp and Arbachakov's bouts and I actually lean slightly more towards Arbachakov. It's always been a misconception that Too Sharp was some Whitaker / Nunn-esque slick southpaw when he's mostly been an aggressive fighter who marches forward and overwhelms his opponents with his speed. Johnson would no doubt try and box more carefully but even then he doesn't have the foot speed to outmaneuver Arbachakov on the outside. I see Arbachakov's power catching up and putting him out similar to Rafael Marquez. But it would no doubt have been a hard fought fight.