I lean towards Eddie, but he must be in the right frame of mind, Eddie by all accounts did suffer from depression on occassions, and so could be erractic, but i do not think that Roland will be able to land any sudden thunderbolts on Eddie as Ingo did, this was probably on of those strange "one off" results we seem to see once in awhile (Ala Nunn - Kalumby), given that (in my humble Opinion, ) Roland would be in for a long night with a Shifty Eddie at his best, then i think he will be able to keep one step ahead or Roland for the points Victory. Roland would probably prefer someone who came to him a bit more, Eddie Beat a young Quarry with his quile, one of his better performances was his leading the Fearsome Liston on a merry dance over the full route to lose a close decision, and an old Eddie Coped quite well with the Incessant pressure of a Young Joe Frazier until running out of Gas, so behind Eddie's Skills was a man who if motivated, was not easy to get rid of or indeed rack up too big a points lead against, I think Roland gives it a good Shot, and Barring Sneak Thunderbolts, find Eddie a bit too slippery for him and comes away a rathe frustrated loser on a close, but clear points decision.
wow awesome matchup, I like eddie in a close unanimous decision. Eddie IMO when it comes down to it was a bit better in all aspects of boxing ability/defense(theres very few contenders in history with the boxing skills of an eddie machen).....but eddie was the better offensive combination puncher than roland. This will be a complete defensive counterpunching scientific match, with the winner being the man who lands the more effective blows which IMO will be eddie. great fight!
Eddie has beat Jerry Quarry, nino valdes twice, maxim twice, satterfield, and a bunch of other contenders. This guy is very underrated when it comes to his historical ranking among the heavyweights.
i agree brownpimp, dont forget his draws with williams and folley. machen is very underated, like I said not many contenders in history have the boxing skills machen does. He warrants a spot among the top 50 heavyweights of all time. but roland is a damm good fighter to
Lastarza before he fought Marciano for the 2nd time was 53-3 and he had beaten evry man he faced except Marciano, Machen was an excellent boxer and other than his blow out in 1 round by Ingomar, held his own very well, I like Lastaza in a close one
Real tough one to call. Machen defeated better opposition and was a top man far longer. He was a talented boxer but had one major flaw. His right hand was never anything much. That is probably why he did not do well against the very top rung boxers such as Folley, Johnson, and Patterson. It is difficult to beat the best with one hand. While LaStarza didn't accomplish as much, I think he was a polished enough boxer to make him very difficult to beat with only a left. I take LaStarza in an upset.
