[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlXwyHGTmO4[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qm4crS--HA[/ame] Typical Ahumada here, moving around smoothly and cageily before figuring Cassidy out and stepping in to knock him senseless. He went on later that year to get robbed blind against an aging Foster (retiring him) before losing out over the distance to the peaking Conteh in a barnburner. His only other title shot after that was the UD loss to Galindez, whom he'd already lost to a couple of times and beaten once. Excellent fighter - maybe one of the best light heavies never to win the title, who was quite close to Galindez in style with the ability to brawl or counterpunch equally well. One of the great road warriors from that era along with the likes of Aguilar, Lopez and Galindez himself. He'd be the dominant force today.
I was high on Ahumada since I saw him beat and then get robbed..screwed really, and royally against Bob Foster..he seemed like he had all the goods, but the misfortune of being around with a prime John Conteh and his old nemisis Victor Galindez, who knew him so well. What bad luck,,but he was a real quality fighter, nevertheless.
I started a thread on Jorge and Kates a few months ago.They don't get much press compared to others from the same era. Excellent fighter.
Richie Kates was also a very good fighter. Post-Galindez fights he gave Saad as good a fight as anyone did, flooring Saad HEAVILY
Yeah, he was. A very, very good fighter from what I've seen - a classy boxer. Galindez pulled that first fight out of the fire at the end. Just a top era of light heavies full-stop, especially when you consider the rum lot of recent years.
Agreed there. Cassidy was a pretty good fighter too, but he really was at his best as a middleweight, even though he's remembered more today as a light-heavy. His spotty record at 160 is a bit deceptive because he lost a number of fights on close split/controversial decisions, and also lost other fights on cut stoppages. He really was past his peak at the time of the Ahumada fight, but managed to get himself ranked through careful matchmaking and then milked his ranking through the rest of the decade.
Cassidy claimed that he entered the Ahumada fight totally hung over from a night of drinking, if I remember correctly. I think I remember reading that he even forgot to put on his boxing trunks -- a problem discovered only when he got into the ring -- and a cornerman had to run back to the dressing room to get them. Does anyone else know anything about this? I vaguely remember reading it in a World/International Boxing article in the '70s. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.
