D. Tiger vs John The Beast Mugabi, Both Prime, 15 Rounds. 160 lbs.

Tiger - easy money.

 

I think Mugabi was mentally broken after Hagler. It seemed to me that he truly believed he was unstoppable and having that belief broken messed him up mentally as much as the physical damage.

 

He defeated Carter, Hank, Fullmer, and Fernandez at mw-right. Torres too if you want to count him. And you're right that they're all better than Mugabi, although i think Mugabi hit harder than the latter 3. Mugabi was competitive with everyone leading up to and against Hagler. I know Hagler was declining, but we can't know that Mugabi would have fared worse against Hagler just 2 or 3 years earlier. Tiger UD. I say that cuz Tiger often lacked the big knockout punch, though he could punch.

 

It was the performance against Mugabi that bolstered Leonard’s confidence to fight Hagler.
Can’t see Mugabi excelling against the Hagler of the Hearns fight.
It took a prime lightheavyweight in dynamite punching Bob Foster to be the only one ever to stop, a by then past prime, Tiger.
Africa’s finest would have feasted on a style made for him, in Mugabi.

 

Phew! The first page had me scared for a bit. Glad everyone came to their senses. There’s no power puncher, pressure fighter, swarmer, brawler, etc. I’ve seen that I’d favor over Tiger at Middleweight. He was the boogeyman for all of them.

 

not Basilio? Zale? Graziano? Monzon? Briscoe? Hagler? Duran? Barkley? Benn? Eubank? McClellan? Nunn?

 

Fullmer was no puncher. He only had 24 KOs and the VAST majority of those came against nobodies early in his career.

 

Just wanted to add that Mugabi was quite spoon-fed leading up to his challenge of Hagler. Parker was toast, Fletcher even more so, Earl Hargrove looked good only on paper, and James Green represented really the only half-real challenge of any of them, though even that was a reach. And he almost pulled it off anyway!

 

And stylistically all those fighters play to the strengths of a Mugabi, even if they had a pulse.

 

Dick Tiger. Underappreciated, high motor, fighting desire and an absolute anvil for a chin. He would reach the target quicker and more often than Mugabi.

 

Several of those guys don’t fit the criteria. Monzon, Hagler, Eubank, and especially Nunn.

I’d take him over the other Middleweights. A guy like McClellan would’ve been fighting between Lt. Heavy and Heavy in the 60s. He was a massive drainer.

 

He was not an explosive puncher. He could wear a guy down with his power. It just took him some time. I know he had a low KO to win percentage, but he could hit, he just wasn't a great finisher. That's the way I look at it. If you don't agree, that's fine.

 

I agree w/ you. Although Mugabi faced several fair names on paper, Green was the only one dangerous when Mugabi faced him.

 

Tiger would beat Mugabi within an inch of his life. Mismatch.

 

See what you're saying on McClellan. I have always thought of Hagler and Eubank as brawlers, at least they were very capable, but I looked back and don't think Monzon and Nunn meet the criteria. I posted that question, not necessarily cuz I thought any of those guys would beat Tiger, but was just wondering if you had considered them or not. Surprisingly, I actually do believe Tiger would beat all of them too, other than Monzon and Hagler. Basilio and Briscoe have relentlessness to match Tiger's if not exceed it, but Briscoe lost to worse fighters than Tiger, and Basilio was too small, thus ruling them out.