I've always wondered who would win between these two, I would favour Basilio to grind him down and either stop him late or win the championship rounds big enough to swing a decision in his favour. I think the latter is more likely, I did a thread on this fight a while ago you can read some of the opinions. http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1154
Look how many replies it got I think almost everyone missed it . Hopefully your thread gets more replies it would be interesting to see peoples views on who would this one and why.
This a good one. Fritzie was a great boxer who had a consistency problem, but in 1938-1939, he was at his best. He's an acquired taste... especially because at first glance you see 60 some-off losses which is a record for a champion. Look closer to see the class. He was a few inches taller than Carmen, and was arguably as tough. He had far more tricks and from what I can see, and he was more versatile. Carmen was probably stronger, more consistent, and had the kind of iron will that set him apart from lions. Carmen would make a fight of it, but he'd bleed at the press conference, and had enough scar tissue to begin with to make Fritzie feel like it's Christmas morning. Even on the inside, I'd expect Fritzie's slick and dirty tricks to take a toll. I think that the fight that makes me lean towards Fritzie is the first Armstrong fight. Fritzie outfought him and if he can muster that against Armstrong, although he was beginning to fade by then, he may be expected to handle Basilio, who was arguably less.
I'd have favored Basilio over Armstrong at 147 as well. I definitely don't consider Basilio a lesser fighter at the weight, given his size and strength advantage over Hank.
