Eusebio Pedroza vs Azumah Nelson

I think it would be a mixture of Whitaker v Nelson McGuigan v Pedroza, with Nelson pressuring and Pedroza using movement like he did v McGuigan except he`d have younger legs which would make him harder to catch but another thing would be that Nelson punched much harder than Barry.

 

What an interesting match up!
On one hand you have Eusebio who could box and move but also could hang on the inside and went to the body really well.
Then thier is Nelson who is the harder puncher and can also box when it's called for.
i have no idea who would have won this!

 

Depends. If we're taking the 1985 version of both, I go with Nelson. If it's that version of Nelson versus an earlier model Pedroza, I might have to go with the Panamanian.

 

Nelson got better and better in the mid 80s. Pedroza really was struggling to keep the crown post 82. I think if they met in 83 though to 85, Azumah would stop Eusebio. If they met in 82 (instead of Sanchez/Nelson), then maybe Pedroza could be cute and cunning (dirty) enough to edge a decision.

 

Having not given it excessive thought, best for best I'd lean towards Nelson if he got his approach right and applied the necessary educated pressure strongly and cleverly enough for the full 15 should it be required.

Pedroza was a slicker, better boxer and a skilled infighter but could be made to struggle if you were (a) quick and educated enough to keep him under pressure and get inside his jab,(b) strong and/or hard-hitting enough to knock him out of his rhythm and (c) strong-willed enough to stand up to his dirty tricks and give as good in return. I didn't think he lost to either Laporte or Lockridge but they both gave him serious trouble and ran him very close. I also recall Kobayashi giving him a good go in the early rounds before getting marked up and cut. Likewise the talented Carasquilla before eventually being broken down.

Nelson was more an all-rounder than a pure pressure fighter and tended to mix up his approach, sometimes randomly, but could really bring the fire with sophisticated aggression and upper-body movement when he focused on it though he could also be static and predictable at times too, making fights closer than they needed to be. But he hit really hard at the weight and was hugely strong and difficult to deter when he got things right, a slightly better all-round package than Laporte and Lockridge who were excellent in their own respective rights.

I could definitely see Pedroza making Nelson look bad, hustling and ramping it up through the final rounds enough to edge home but my gut instinct is that Azumah forces the action enough to win a very hard fought one.

 

What a fantastic matchup Pedroza vs Nelson would be. A real pick-em fight for me maybe.

 

Pedroza had endless stamina and a unrelenting body assault and would use every dirty trick in the book to win. Underrated because he missed the big fights with Salvador Sanchez , Danny Lopez and Wilfred Gomez. Prime Pedroza outlasts Azumah in a epic fight.

 

It's interesting to note that Nelson faded the one time he went past 12 rounds, whereas Pedroza tended to accelerate in the championship rounds. I think prime for prime the best version of Pedroza probably surges late to score a hard fought victory.

That said, if they attempted to unify in 1985, I think Nelson probably would have been able to replicate McGuigan's performance against a fading Alcran.

 

Prime vs. prime, it'd probably have to be a 3 fight series. So hard to pick who wins 2.

If this fight actually happened, it all depends on when. Up to about 1983, Pedroza is too experienced, too crafty, too dirty for the younger Nelson. Later than that, Nelson wins. Pedroza seemed to be visibly fading after the LaPorte fight, although he still did get some good wins.

 

Eusebio had more powerful experience going the distance. Azumah loses a decision.

 

Both men were often countered because they punched on the centre line too much. The high guard defense Nelson used in his second fight with Fenech would have helped him a lot vs Pedroza.

 

Pedroza wins by stoppage in 14. Hit him in the slats Bob

 

Azumah wins this one on the cards...wouldn’t be surprised to see 3-4 fights necessary to see an ultimate winner...not really sure we would have one then. But if forced to pick I like Nelson by a hair.