How Good Was Eusebio Pedroza?

I don't see the sense in that criticism. He fought excellent opposition on the whole, and pretty consistently at that. Great champion, just too often overshadowed by the likes of Sanchez and Arguello during his reign, not to mention his reputation gets often blown out of proportion. He had some dirty affairs, but it's not as if fouling/spoiling were the basis of his style. In fact he very rarely spoiled. Very skilled and talented fighter.

 

Hard to imagine that tall bean-pole fighting at 118 lbs.

Alfonso Zamora must have been standing on a ladder to clock him.

 

He was exceptional. Not a huge puncher, but his workrate was insane, good boxer, terrific bodypuncher, superb stamina, good ring general, calm under fire, the whole shootin' match.

He fares worse than Sanchez in many eyes because he was so damn filthy. And that's not an urban legend, the ******* was filthy.

He had what it took though, and despite being spindly and skinny, could take a decent shot too. Victories over Lockridge twice, Laporte (he didn't really need to foul him to beat him, which makes that fight a real black mark on his record), turning back the tricky Ford and Taylor.......he was the goods. You don't defend your title 20 times with luck.

 

I thought Pedroza was a great fighter, and I would've loved to see him fight Sanchez.

Oh, and if you want to see how dirty Pedroza could be, just try to count the number of fouls in the below highlight clip.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P9XxXFJpps[/ame]

 

A fact,,,,,Eusubio Pedroza's favorite fighter.....................Sonny Liston

He loved the way Sonny pounded the heavy jab into his opponent's face.
And, he stated, Sonny had great footwork in his early days.

 

He was a great fighter. Yeah, the Laporte fight was disgraceful. It's a shame because as has been stated, I don't think he needed the dirty tactics to win fights. Pedroza at his best was against Patrick Ford IMO. I remain puzzled by the Bernard Taylor fight. Yeah, Taylor ran the whole fight but it seemed Pedroza had the mobillity and body punching to have short circuited this tactic. He could be a fierce fighter but was a little casual at times (vs Taylor, Lockridge). The end of his reign contained some questionable challengers, but Sanchez's death seemed to cut down his options. He was not a pay=per-view or even HBO star, so he was high risk, low reward.
I think he could have given Sanchez a very difficult fight IF he boxed in a disciplined manner. I just don't think his roughhousing, bolo punching, push a guy into the ropes style would have been effective against Sanchez. I think it leaves him open for Sanchez's razor sharp counters (check with Gomez on that one). But I digress. Great, if not underrated, maybe underappreciated fighter.

 

p.s. Laporte hurt Pedroza briefly but I think seriously early in the fight. Kind of like a Monzon vs Briscoe type thing where he seemes out on his feet very briefly but recovered incredibly quickly. Not to make excuses for him, but this may have triggered the "win at all costs" tactics in the Laporte fight.

 

I believe it is entirely possible he was as good as Sanchez.

 

Actually, the WBA boys wanted Rodolfo Francis to get the WBA Featherweight Title
shot versus Cecilio Lastra..
But Eusubio, a ranked Bantamweight and last-minute replacement, upset Rodolfo Francis
giving Eusubio the title shot in Panama.

 

Always thought he's a little overrated on this board every time his name comes up. The low blows and other foul tactics completely halted Laporte's momentum early and took the young challenger out of his fight plan and I think Pedroza should have been dq'd without question. Good fighter and a solid range but not an atg.

 

While I disagree with you on the level of Pedroza's abillity, I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts on the Laporte fight. Laporte definitely hurt Pedroza early and Pedroza's tactics (which the ref is responsible for) took the steam out of Laporte.

 

A very good,gifted boxer who did n't need to resort to dirty tactics. It amazes me that Pedroza managed to make the featherweight limit for so long. He had the height and frame to make it up to the lightweight and welter divisions.

 

He was a technician in the ring. He fought with Rhythm and style. He could fight inside if he had too. He just had great ring generalship. Personally I would hold him a razors edge above Morales, Barrera and JMM.