Fights that never were...but should have been

Whitaker-Camacho
Norris-Jackson II
Quartey-Trinidad

 

Wlad vs Lewis

In hindsight how good Wlad vs Joshua was, Wlad vs Lewis could have been good as well.

 

Whitaker easily.. Norris knocked out again.. and Trinidad by knockout.

 

Norris would rather have played Russian roulette as fight Jackson again

 

Obviously, Lewis-Bowe is up there.

Holyfield-Tyson and Mayweather-Pacquiao not happening five years earlier than they did were two of my biggest disappointments as a boxing fan. I mean yeah, they eventually fought, but it's pretty shitty what we missed out on.

Even if Mayweather-Pacquiao turned out as dull in 2010 as it did in 2015, how often do you get a chance to see the top 2 P4P fighters, both competing in the same division, fight each other? And the whole sports world was talking about it.

http://static.boxrec.com/4/4f/BIMag.9112.jpg

http://static.boxrec.com/c/cd/91Dec.jpg

 

Yeah, those are my choices as well, if we're talking about fights that were pretty close to actually happening.

McCallum-Hearns was never even under negotiations as far as I know, but a very viable fight in 1986. Would have been great.

Of the more sliding doors variety: Ali-Frazier in 1969 and Tyson-Bowe in 1992.

Robinson-Burley would have been interesting as well. And a Johnson-Langford rematch.

 

Zapata-Guishiken
Chandler-Gomez
Lopez-Arguello
Mamby-Pryor
Starling-McCrory
Hagler-Davidson
Galindez-Conteh.
Norton-Liston.

 

There's a fine list Jester!
Conteh-Galindez stands out. People tend to look a the late seventies John-Victor after they were already battle worn, broken hands, etc. My late friend and I spent hours after their post-Foster alphabet titles in 74 wanting them to unite the title. Summer of 75 would have been ideal! Victor fought Ahumada on the undercard (closed circuit) of the Ali-Bugner 'snoozefest' at just that time. A great fight (Ahumada was bad to the bone) but it should have been the unification fight right then and there.

 

What? I think your cheese just slipped off the cracker there Titan. When could they have ever fought?
Norton had barely turned pro at the time Martin put the 'aged' Sonny out.
pvp Sonny would have pulverized him.

 

Maybe, Jowcol, but he may have upset him. He had a small shot at getting to Sonny. Very small, but it was there.

 

Jt, I didn't say how long it would take for Monzon to win...just that he would impose a "Joppy like " beating on Duran...who incidently, failed also to "stop a rock chinned opponent in 3 rounds"...(where'd you get the "3 rounds" bit, anyway?) Monzon would have, IMO, stopped him anyway, eventually,...like he did Napoles.
The second Griffith fight was made easier for EG because it was Monzon's first fight after being shot twice in the arm and shoulder (and not in the leg as erroneously reported elsewhere)...also, it was no secret that arthritis was taking it's toll on Monzon's hands...they were giving him great trouble when sparring...necessitating injections of cortisone and bringing on a change in style from the right handed bomber that won the title from Benvenuti (although ko's followed at the expense of Licata, Mundine and Tonna) into a more methodical, attrition styled fighter. The first fight between Monzon and Griffith was a more accurate barometer of his punch effectiveness, but to give Griffith credit, he didn't go down in that fight either, but was soundly beaten...and would have gone down had he raised his head in the direction that rain of punches was coming from. Monzon was overwhelming him.
The only way Duran could have survived to the 15th round with Monzon is if he shamelessly went into a defensive shell, as you imply and didn't fight or try in any way to win...but that would have been the equivalent of another "no mas", as you know.

 

Mosley vs Judah
PBF vs Casamayor
Tyson vs Tua
RJJ vs Byrd
Byrd vs Toney
Pavlik vs Paul Williams
Trinidad vs Norris
Holmes vs Foreman
Trinidad vs Quartey
Winky Wright vs De La Hoya vs Forrest
Nunn vs McCallum
JCC vs Nelson @ 130
Gatti vs Corrales
Marlon Starling vs Aaron Davis

 

wow nicelist.. I would go with Floyd over Casamayor decision.. close., WhichTyson? The older Tyson I might pick TUa, what a collision. Byrd over Jones, Pavlik would knock out Williams.. Tito would knock out Norris.. Holmes would decision Foreman, Tito over quartey, Winky over Oscar, Nunn over McCallum, Nelson over Chavez, knockout.Gatti over Corrales... Starling over Davis.

 

Red - I got the 3 rounds from the Joppy-like beating, which actually went 3 rounds. If someone said to me Louis would beat Spinks in a Tyson-like beating i would envision a very fast conclusive stoppage.

To be honest i couldn't use this fight with Duran 47yo as an image for a prime Duran against any middleweight in history, Hearns excepted. Younger Duran is never going to be as impotent looking against anyone as he was vs Joppy - against non runners.

Granted speedsters like Nunn, SRL (obviously) and SRR could probably box rings around him. Against non runners i think he'd at least have some decent moments and rounds. Did he even land a single decent punch against Joppy?

Every chance of that, he wouldn't be star gazing as much as Hagler.

Maybe, but we'd never know for sure how much it (bullet) did or didn't affect him. He certainly won his share of fights afterward.

He had the arthritis as early as the Benvenuti rematch (in one hand only i believe) and also the first Griffith bout when he stopped him. He took an injection prior to both bouts. Perhaps Griffith simply fought better, perhaps Monzon was affected. To borrow a phrase from Unforgivens book (and no i sure don't 100% live by it) we don't know what troubles Griffith had, we are only looking at one side.

It would not have been anywhere near another No Mas but there's a good chance he'd have to fight a safe canny fight to last. I wouldn't completely say he'd have to go shamelessly into a defensive shell but i also wouldn't be surprised if Monzon stopped him regardless of how he fought. Realistically he probably should, it's a great middleweight vs a great lightweight. If Hagler was more aggressive he may well have stopped Duran as well.

 

Floyd over Casamayor
Tua over any version of Tyson.
Byrd over Jones. It looks like RJJ vs Griffin I, except I don't think RJJ ever hurts Byrd. As a result, he loses a close decision.
I'm not sure Pavlik would knockout Williams. In fact, I think PWill's work rate could overwhelm Pavlik's tendency to rely almost exclusively on throwing a simple, albeit powerful, 1-2 combination.
Trinidad over Norris agreed.
Same with Holmes/foreman
I think Quartey beats Tito, as long as he stays busy with his outstanding jab AND avoids the left hook at all costs. Tito had serious trouble with good jabs, so it's possible he could lose convincingly.
Winky over Oscar I agree. What about Winky vs Forrest? Give me Winky, as I still remember the gift Forrest received against an older, unmotivated Quartey.
Nunn /McCallum is a 50/50 all the way. Trilogy?
Chavez would be too much for Nelson. It may look like Chavez vs Rosario except for the fact that Nelson doesn't have the power Rosario had.
Corrales blitzes Gatti. See their respective fights against Angel Manfredy for evidence.
Starling over Davis in a good tactical fight.

What do you think about the 175 pound version of Michael Moorer vs RJJ in his 175 prime?