Dick Tiger was bothered by fighters who could move and box well. Those who stood in front of him and fought him toe to toe were usually thwarted by this powerhouse of a man.Gene Fullmer,a powerful gent himself, found this out the hard way in the first and third bouts of their series. In the second fight Gene jabbed and moved and almost regained his title. Rubin Carter and Henry Hank were both tough customers who could hit with tremendous power and Dick stood his ground and clobbered the both of them. Could Paul Pender ,who was a slick boxer and mover, be able to outpoint Dick Tiger? Carmen Basilio was able to clock Pender several times and rock him back on his heels in their bout which turned out to be Carmen's last. Dick, who had a similar style to Basilio only was alot stronger at middleweight than Carmen, probably wins this one. But I wouldn't count out a Pender victory either. Your thoughts?
Pender was a good boxer ,but he didnt show me that he would be prepared to take the gas from a beast like Tiger ,I think Tiger out-games him and gets to him around the 11th for a stoppage or corner retirement.
The 15 round limit totally favors Tiger. At 12 rounds, Pender could pull a Sugar Ray Leonard (Hagler fight) and win 7 rounds and get a Spilt Decision type thing But for a 15 rd fight, I concur with a late Tiger stoppage.
