ATGs with the weakest resumes?

Cervantes and Arguello II (with Manny Steward in the corner of Alexis] are simply wins that are too good to ignore for Pryor to be ignored. The Hawk won 11 title bouts. He destroyed Lennox Blackmoore in two, retired Muangsurin conqueror Kim Sang-hyun in three, came off the deck to dethrone Pambele and also off the deck to stop DuJuan Johnson in a scorcher. Al Ford and Locche conqueror Peppermint Frazer succumbed during Aaron's climb to Cervantes (Antonio being the only one to actually stop El Intocable in their rematch]. Alexis had fine campaigns in 1982 and 1983. To say he was past it for Pryor speaks to the Hawk's quality in my regard. When they visited Canastota for IBHOF inductions, Arguello certainly did not hesitate to fully credit Aaron. Plenty of us who visited them there know that.

Too much to deem his resume the weakest of any ATG. SRL, Hearns and others evaded his challenges to him. He beat Tommy in the amateurs and made the most of it when he did get ATGs Cervantes and Arguello in the ring. Three knockout wins like that are too much to ignore even with Arguello I being tainted by Panama Lewis. Yes, it had turned in El Flaco Explosivo's favor with round 13, but the Hawk was still winning on two cards entering round 14. We don't know what happens without that bottle. He also took a monstrous shot from Alexis in their rematch. After Miami, Alexis said, I hit him with good shots, and nothing happened. His own heart may have been gone entering round 14. Maybe, just maybe, the bottle before that round was immaterial. Pryor was known to take a shot before and after Miami.

If you consider McGuigan an ATG, the only names on his resume are Pedroza (in London], Bernard Taylor (in Belfast] and Juan LaPorte (in Belfast]. Then he lost his title to unknown Steve Cruz outdoors at Caesars Palace because he couldn't handle the heat while Cruz could. His entry into the IBHOF was more a political political accolade than anything else. Even he knows he doesn't belong in Canastota.

For a weak true ATG, you need to look at ability combined with lack of competition, I think.

Dempsey-Sharkey is essential to appreciate Tunney's dominance of the Mauler in their rematch, a bout the Mauler certainly wasn't rusty for. Dempsey-Sharkey could well have been the Gob's greatest performance, yet the footage makes clear he would have never made it the Championship Distance with those body shots the Mauler was unloading on him before the controversial ending. Sharkey himself said decades after he retired (after Mancini-Kim] that Dempsey was a far more devastating puncher than Louis, and he was their only common opponent. Gene absorbed those body shots twice in losing one out of twenty rounds, the one round lost only being due to that KD. He beat the daylights out of Carp for 14 rounds, was the only guy to ever knock out Tommy Gibbons, and was the first to stop Tom Heeney in his career finale and peak performance. We have lots of film. Gene passed the eye test with Ali, and Muhammad said as much on camera to Howard Cosell after Manila.

 

I find it revolting that you're pooh poohing a bottle that, as claimed by Luis Resto right in this thread, was pumped full of asthma medication and sipped before the fight even started.

 

i find it funny that no one is talking about the fact that if lewis was willing to give him drugs in the fight, he probably juiced him up in training camp as well. He certainly fought that way