Tiger could be outboxed but not outslugged. Luis would outpoint Dick by "jitterbugging all over the place" as Angelo Dundee once described Rodriguez style of fighting. An over the hill Luis put a "hurtin" on Benvenuti and just about had the fight and the title in his grasp until Nino lucked out and nailed him for the KO win. He also defeated Rubin Carter twice and easily handled Joey Giambra, who was an uncrowned middleweight champion and a great fighter. In a slugfest Dick Tiger would win but Rodriguez wouldn't let himself be dragged into that kind of battle. Just an opinion guys!!
There was a very good chance that Luis could have outslicked Tiger (you know, that could be done), but whether he would have ultimately been strong enough, like Emile Griffith was, that would have been the question.
