This fight could’ve happened if Vargas had fought Tito before Reid did. Reid was faster, had better one punch power, and threw better combos. His chin was crappy and he tended to lose focus late in fights. Quartey had a great chin and stamina, a better jab, and more experience. He tended to throw punches one at a time and put himself at risk of being outpointed. Who wins?
I dont know about the particular year.. but I could see Quartey winning a war of attrition via shut eye TKO its very close... The Frenchman Laurent was a good fighter and Reid beat him relatively easier than i thought it was going to be and Ike's best weight was 147
I'm taking Ike. He only fought once in 2000 and that was a decision loss to a prime Vargas in a great fight. The fight before that, he gave the golden boy all he could handle and a lot of folks(myself included) though he beat Oscar. David Reid was being rushed along into big fights by his handlers because of his worsening eye issues. He took an awful beating from Tito and looked like **** in every fight after and was done by 2001. I agree that Reid had an edge in speed with and foot but Ike was a wrecking ball and would bust Reid up as the fight went on. I think he stops Reid late after doing what he always did which was steadily walk his opponents down with his strength and powerful, relentless jab. One of thing about Ike was he never was stopped in his entire career. He was a tough dude that was very hard too beat. Only Vargas and Winky did it clearly imo. I thought he edged Oscar and beat Vernon Forrest by a few rounds.
Ike never stopped anyone at 154 and Reid beat Boudouani and Mullings at that weight and went the distance with Tito. I think it would probably go 12.
I went with stoppage becasue I figured the fight would have been post Tito since that fight was March 3rd of 2000. Reid was very shakey after that fight and was stopped by Sam Hill 2001 which was his last fight. That Quartey from the Vargas fight was a scary dude. If we are pretending that the Reid vs Trinidad fight didn't happen then yes, he probably goes the distance with Ike. Boudouni retired after his fight with Reid and Mullings never won a fight again. They were not in their prime at all.
I alluded to Vargas fighting Tito before Reid in the OP, meaning that Reid and Ike would fight because they’d need new opponents. Reid wasn’t beating anyone after Tito.
In that case, I still think Ike wins but Reid maybe goes the distance. Had Vargas fought Reid at that time, he would have stopped Reid for sure imo. Vargas was super aggressive where Ike was much more methodical. Reid had tons of athleticism but was badly comprised by his vision.
Sure he could get caught but Vargas of 2000 was resilient as hell. Tito hit him with some shots that would have stopped anyone but Vargas kept battling. It was only after the Oscar fight and when Vargas was having major back issues did he start looking truly vulnerable. In 2000 he was still very dedicated and hadn't learned to lose yet. Remember, Vargas was a very accomplished US amateur that rarely lost. Reid was no slouch either and has one of the best gold medal wins ever. I just don't see Reid surviving the onslaught that Vargas routinely brought in his early days. He truly was ferocious.
Reid would’ve for sure been his best win if he’d pulled it off, and Vargas looked weaker than Winky, Quartey, and Tito around that time.
I personally scored Vargas vs Wright 114 to 114 but the Wright and Quartey wins are far and away better than a mythical victory over Reid would have been. In hindsight, Yory Boy Campus was a very good win for a 22 year old as well. I'm not sure why you think Vargas looked weaker than Quartey? That's an odd comment considering Vargas beat Quartey clean and clear.
I’m saying Vargas looked physically weaker than his top opponents, like he didn’t have man strength. You can argue in hindsight that Winky was a better win than Reid would’ve been, but at the time Reid was more highly regarded than Winky and a lot of people think Vargas don’t deserve the win against Winky.