Could a prime Herbie Hide have won a world title if he could have fought during the 80`s?

Pretty much my thoughts. Whatever you want to say about the 80s alphabet boys, they were collectively a talented, durable and hard-hitting bunch. As inconsistent as some of them could be, it would really need the stars to align for Hide to get the drop on one of them and score a blitzkrieg stoppage.

Outside of Dokes-Weaver I and Witherspoon-Smith II, I can't think of any quick stoppages that weren't Tyson induced. It's possible that Hide could do the trick, but very unlikely.

It's also problematic whether Hide would get into position to get a title shot in the first place, with 3 titlists at most in a heavily US-centric division. Hide's lack of charisma and marketability would make it likely that he would need to fight his way through other contenders to get a shot, where he'd be facing the same problem - durable guys who hit hard standing in his way.

I could see Hide doing a similar job on a faded Coetzee that Bruno did, but he probably wouldn't have the charmed path that Bruno had due to his huge popularity.

 

He probably would of gotten enough shots at the title to eventually take 1 belt briefly especially due to the inconsistency of a lot of the 80's champs, but h2h prime for prime I can't see him beating any of the alphabet champions during the 80's, in saying that he had a decent slap on him so he could of caught one on a chinny day.

 

I don’t see how someone like Greg Page can literally get beaten by everybody and their brother yet somehow be immune to losing to Herbie Hide...

 

David Bey was a 13 fight novice who aside from beating Page never did anything else noteworthy. In fact he lost nearly every fight he had following that brief moment of glory. Tony Tubbs was nobody before he beat Page. We are also being remiss in brushing his losses under the carpet to the obscure Mark Wills and a 37 year old Joe Bugner who was on the comeback trail for about the third time in his life.. If you want to say that ALL these guys would have beaten Hide then fine but I disagree. Bowe certainly found him to be a tough customer and while many of hides wins were against tomato cans, at least he BEAT all the cans he faced unlike Page who didn’t...

 

I shall await w/ baited breathe and if I die in the interum sedated death. Long live Jane Hathaway and the war on cronic self-satisfacteeeooown.

 

I don’t see anything particularly special about page in his title holding days. He beat an inactive Coetzee then lost it a few months later. Coetzee was vulnerable as well after the Dokes fight. Tubbs didn’t have the type of power or imposing style to smother Hide and while he was a decent boxer never had much of a chin.. Ditto John Tate.. As for Hide losing to lesser opponents later, I think the shalackings he took from Bowe and Vitali had something to do with him being softened up. Now to be clear he might have lost to all those guys but I think your assertion that he’d definitely lose to every alphabet holder between 1979 to 1987 is something I can’t say with much conviction...

 

Mike Weaver from the Dokes loss would lose to Hide imo.

 

possibly. But I wouldn’t use that fight as a gauge to make decision. Dokes vs Weaver was just about the most controversial early stoppage of the decade and many felt Weaver should have gotten the nod in the rematch which was ruled a draw

 

Lol bey has no chance vs Hide

 

I can see it. A lot of up and down and inconsistent performers won titles in the 80s, and the Rifeness of a certain drug in the sport at the time give him a decent chance.

 

The Weaver of Dokes I was not done, and imo he obviously beat Dokes in the rematch.

I can't see Hide beating even that Weaver, much less the Coetzee and Tate-bashing one. Weaver wasn't too far away from Bowe or Tyson in power...at least, when he bothered to use it.

It's true, Hide would probably slap the yee-haw out of Mike in the early rounds, but sooner or later he's getting caught and night-nights Hide!

 

Hard to see it, really. If he met one of the weaker belt-holders on a bad night, maybe.
But, Hide was never quite a solid bet at world level.