This is the basic truth, but I thought that Curtis was on a resurgence as champion right before he met Napoles....something like with Benvenuti before he fought Monzon. That Mantequilla so thoroughly took apart a very good champion like Cokes made the victory even more significant. I remember the cover of Ring Magazine in 1969 that showed the two posing after the tko stoppage and thinking, "man...this guy made Cokes' face look like raw hamburger."
I'm glad someone brought this up...the Cokes/LMR results always mystified me in a way...considering LMR was a virtual ironman going up against all of those middleweights. But I suppose that Cokes having a fair amout of power at welterweight, had the ability to get off faster...therefore giving LMR some trouble. It has made me wonder if Thomas Hearns might also have had LMR's number???
Some guys can take it from hard punchers; it's quick accurate punches that hurt them. Another example is Oscar Bonavena who took everything Frazier could dish out but was floored by Ali and Jimmy Ellis. Anyway it think it was a tko. And LMR did win the middle bout...
Yes, very good points...I like to use that Bonavena vs Frazier vs Ellis angle a lot too...it's very servicable in cases like this.