I was watching Toney-Mccallum I with Hagler announcing and it got me thinking about these three guys. These three guys (Hagler and Monzon especially) are more highly regarded in a ATG sense then just about everyone from that era but they all fought in a rather weak era with most of their signature wins coming against smaller fighters moving up in weight. Forget about how Hagler, Hopkins, and Monzon would do against eachother H2H. Instead we're trying to determine who would come out with the best record against this top 10 from the 85-95 MW era. I don't expect anyone to breakdown every fight but if there is one or two matchups in particular that intrigue you or that you have a strong opinion about feel free to offer analysis rather than just a result. *Just quote my post and copy/paste my list then add your results in* *I forgot to add a poll, is there a way to add one with the edit, it doesn't look like you can?* Hagler vs Eubank - Benn - Collins - Kalambay - Mcclellan - Mccallum - Jones Jr - Toney - Jackson - Nunn - Graham - Monzon vs Eubank - Benn - Collins - Kalambay - Mcclellan - Mccallum - Jones Jr - Toney - Jackson - Nunn - Graham - Hopkins - Eubank - Benn - Collins - Kalambay - Mcclellan - Mccallum - Jones Jr - Toney - Jackson - Nunn - Graham -
Hagler vs Eubank - Win UD Benn - Win TKO 10 Collins - Win UD Kalambay - Win KO 5 Mcclellan - Win UD Mccallum - Win MD Jones Jr - Lose UD Toney - Win SD Jackson - Win TKO 4 Nunn - Win TKO 8 Monzon vs Eubank - Win SD Benn - Lose KO 8 Collins - Win TKO 9 Kalambay - Win UD Mcclellan - Win MD Mccallum - Win SD Jones Jr - Lose TKO 11 Toney - Lose MD Jackson - Win MD Nunn - Lose SD Hopkins - Eubank - Win SD Benn - Win UD Collins - Win UD Kalambay - Lose SD Mcclellan - Win MD Mccallum - Draw Jones Jr - Lose UD Toney - Lose SD Jackson - Win MD Nunn - Win SD
Becuase i think Monzon is more likely to hurt Benn and have him in dire situations, and then thats when Benn desperatley blast-****s Monzon
I don't see Mcclellan fighting any less aggressive than normal though. If he can walk through Jackson and Hearns power without blinking and hits at least as hard as Benn if not harder why don't you think he'd Blitzkrieg Monzon too?
Benn got outclassed and stopped by Michael Watson at middleweight, but he's going to knock out Carlos Monzon? Stop.
I won't attempt a break down of all of them, but just say that I think Kalambay, Toney and McCallum are at least 50-50 with these guys. I've seen very little of Monzon, but I've just a hard time seeing him beating guys of such technical skill and little or no physical disadvantages. I've seen too little of him say it with much authority, though. Seeing how Hagler in his prime struggled with an old, blown-up Duran and past his prime with an aging, rusty and blown-up Leonard, I can't in good conscience make him a favourite against either of these three. If Duran's wiliness and skill was enough to trouble a prime Hagler despite his substantial physical disadvantages, you have to like the chances of these three guys. (I've a got a feeling that Kalambay-Nunn may just be mentioned as an indication in the opposite direction, though). Hopkins is more or less a toss-up with all three of them. I'd give him an edge against Toney, actually, since Toney probably reached his absolute peak at SMW.
Monzon would handle them both. My prediction was though that he hurts Benn badly, Benn goes into berserker mode and KO's Monzon, who is trying to finish the fight and thus more available to be tagged. Monzon wasn't so fast or elusive and Benn's massive bombs would be coming in from awkward angles, Monzon also wasn't indestructible, and doesn't have the physical advantages he is used to against Benn.
I'm no Monzon expert, but everything I have seen suggests that the man knew damn well how to finish a fight. Benn gets blasted by all three with Hagler making it look easiest. He's just not in the same class. On a side note, man did we need a Super 6 for this era. Or even just an "UK vs. USA" series. Lots of great fights, but more could have been made.
