Best bantamweight: 1990-2010

Johnny Tapia........Because the guy was nuts!!!

 

Canizales definitely had some flaws. He snorted and rubbed his face before punching.

Also, i feel his attacking was slightly gimmicky. He would step in, to the left, throw punches, then step away to the right. Sort of ZIG - PUNCH - ZAG.

But opponents - especially later on - figured this out. Hitting him as he was stepping out. Or anticipating the STEP IN - PUNCH. A # of guys really messed up the rhythm of Canizales. When Orlando got his rhythm, he was a beautiful smooth boxer. He proved a lot going the 15 rounds as well, IMO. But in some fights he did seem to take the middle rounds off, as if he might have been a bit winded.

I love Rafael Marquez's style of fighting. That jab has some real power in it. He was just unlucky that Vazquez can soak up such inhuman punishment (but lucky to find a great rival + 3 good paydays!). In the 2 losses, Rafael injured Vazquez badly enough, in such a manner that should have stopped Vazquez. I feel Vazquez seemed to up his pain threshold after retiring after round 7 of the first bout.

 

I like Hasegawa, and feel he's the best bantamweight today. I'll be looking forward to his fight on July 14.

Tapia and Sahaprom were amongst my favorites, as was Marquez, back in the day.