Can A Case Be Made For Eusebio Pedroza Top 5 Feather?

It is incomprehensibly difficult to argue with this.

 

A case could be made but, like all divisional ATG debates, there’s often also a good case to be made for five more; Pep, Attel, Armstrong, Saddler, Kilbane, among them.

Contentious as it is, Armstrong’s all-time rating at Featherweight (often seen as Top-5) can be argued as being too high. This, mainly on account of his ploughing through what would actually be, by today’s weight-class framework, the Super Featherweight and Lightweight divisions, against opponents of that class or heavier.

Whilst he might have been en route to Sarron’s Featherweight crown, Armstrong didn’t really have all too many bouts within that division’s limit and did not defend the World Featherweight Title, after winning it.

I have Armstrong at #3 in my list and do not account for the above, though I often consider rethinking this. And so, I wouldn’t argue against those who do and have him lower in the Featherweight ratings; making way for more established or career Featherweights, e.g. Pedroza.

 

I believe he is at least in the top 10. He had a long, successful career.

I do believe that Sanchez would have beaten him had they unified in the '81-'82 time frame.
Some on here believe Sanchez is overrated based on him dying young. I do not agree. He was at the peak of his powers and may have even not reached his peak yet. Meanwhile, by '82, Pedroza was past his peak.

I have been perusing my old mags recently and most experts favored Sanchez, and he was rated higher than Pedroza in the Ring and Ko lists of best pound for pound fighters.

Pedroza outlasted tough foes like Lockridge (barely and somewhat controversially) and Laporte by having better late round stamina and using all his tricks, legal and illegal (see Laporte fight).

Sanchez could match or even surpass Pedroza's late round stamina. He also was extremely cool and would not be flustered by Pedroza's tactics at all.

Lastly, he was more durable than Pedroza. No way Pedroza could hurt him, but he could hurt Pedroza with an accumulation of blows over the long haul.

Sanchez would have most likely won a UD or late rounds TKO.

 

Can a case be made, sure, but I don't find it too convincing. Trinket defenses for guys like Hopkins, Pedroza, etc. are overrated and Pedroza was only "the man" for three years of his reign. And as skilled as Pedroza was, his resume isn't too deep and he didn't conjure up images of all-time greatness in terms of the eye test. He struggled with most of the best guys he fought. I had Lockridge over him in the first fight.

 

Had it happened in '81/'82 it would still have been a Pick 'em fight. Many do think Sanchez would have beaten Pedroza. But I've heard and read quite a few, who see it going the other way. I don't argue with either speculation, in terms of who wins - I wouldn't have bet on that fight.

Sanchez was the media's pick, for sure. That said, since he had beaten Lopez, Sanchez was considered the Lineal and Ring Featherweight Champion. It was, therefore, no surprise that he also carried a universally recognized, higher ranking. And, Pedroza was never really flavor of the month, in his entire career.

I'm not sure that simply outlasting Lockridge would have been enough to earn him that win. Lockridge was a world-class fighter, not just a tough one. Same could be said of Laporte, as riddled with low blows that bout was.

People also seem to overlook that Sanchez had his fair share of opponents, with whom he appeared to struggle a little. He was kept guessing by Cowdell and troubled by Ford, the latter of whom Pedroza handled with ease. Relative novice, Nelson, also presented a challenge.

I agree that Sanchez and Pedroza were evenly matched in terms of stamina over the 15 rounds. I couldn't immediately point to the evidence, which indicates that Sanchez would surpass Pedroza in this area.

Pedroza was as equally cool and I suspect, at 126, equally durable. People might want to point at the stoppage losses he suffered as a scrawny 20-year-old bantamweight, before he settled into the Featherweight division. I'm not sure how much relevance these results have on a bout with Sanchez 5-6 years later, after 15-20 bouts without defeat.

I see no clear 'most likely' forecast on who wins this one. Though, a stoppage outcome might be considered the least likely.