Azumah Nelson vs Brian Mitchell At 130

Nelson by UD

 

I'd take Mitchell By close UD.

 

Mitchell by points I think, in a good fight.

 

Why didn't this happen?! Mitchell was such a low profile champion, maybe that's why. Very tough to call. Split decision win for Nelson or maybe even a draw.

 

Wow 2 of my favorites. I think Nelson would win a narrow decision but this would be fun...

 

Mitchell was busy fighting mediocre competition. He finally faced a top fighter when he fought Tony Lopez in '91

 

Agreed. Nelson did fight the better guys and did have more power. However, Brian's mid range boxing was so fluid and a thing of beauty, slipping punches, and countering extremely accurately with both gloves. What a fight here !!

 

I'm a big Mitchell fan. The guy was just brilliant in the pocket, and he could bang, too. Clever fighter.

 

I like Mitchell, who I believe to be exceptionally mentally tough and highly underrated, to find a way to eek out a points win here. He’d be in and out and only engage Azumah on his terms.

One fundamental I absolutely loved about “Road Warrior” Brian was how he’d finish pretty much every combination with a jab to reestabish the midrange distance you’re referring to ... very difficult to get him into exchanges because he’d strike and use that “out jab” to put the geometry of the fight back on his terms immediately.

Also very good at change of pace ... lull the opponent to sleep into a comfortably-paced pattern, then put his foot on the gas for a spell to gain control of a round, then back to the leisurely pace of before.

Very much underappreciated fighter IMO, and that’s will all respect to Nelson, one of my favorite guys to watch.

 

That doesn't mean he couldn't compete with top fighters.

 

I was at both Mitchell/Lopez fights. I was a Tony Lopez fan in honesty I thought Brian Mitchell won both fights. He got a draw in the first one but I was very impressed by his skills. He was able to stay in the pocket and counter Lopez, not a lot of power but a very good boxer.

He may trouble Nelson but I think Azumah had such heavy hands at `30. He would eventually do damage and win either a decision or late TKO

 

Nelson was one of my very fave fighters of the 80's/early 90's. He was resilient and resourceful at his best. I honestly can't imagine Mitchell besting him but will rewatch the Lopez fights before I insist on this.

 

Its good that Mitchell eventually got the credit he deserved for his considerable talent (durable, poised under pressure, high ring iq, and magnificently conditioned), but as others have said, his level of opposition wasn't so hot. This wasn't his fault, since political circumstances were against him.

Mitchell would definitely trouble Nelson in spots, since Nelson tended to stand around and admire his work. Mitchell's movement and busy hands would get work done. But Nelson's withering right hand down the middle would be the story of the fight.