He has some wins over great opposition he also has some close decisions against not so great opposition.his wins over nelson and Gomez look great but Gomez was stepping up in weight and nelson took the fight on 2 weeks notice. Sanchez was just before my time watching boxing,was he truly great or does anyone see him as a bit over rated ?
Unknowable, but IMO probably yes. He didn't want to, however. All he wanted to do was move up versus Arguello. He only cared about the green belt so there was no incentive to conduct any further business where he was.:bbb He wanted the brighter glory of chasing a fellow ATG, rather than fortifying his position and dominating in one division. Now, speculating as to how Sanchez vs. Arguello might have gone if he got his wish...:shock: He may have, in 83. Potentially one for the ages.
If you watch those 2 fights then you will see how great he was. He performances in both of those fights were brilliant (as was Azumah's). As far as having close decisions against not so great opposition Chava had the habit of taking the brakes off against lesser opposition. He is the only fellow I've ever seen in boxing whose expression didnt even change when hit flush by atg punchers(Little Red and Gomez) and by another excellent puncher in the Professor. Outside of perhaps Alexis, he is the best featherweight I've seen since I've been watching boxing-more than 40 years.
Many hardcore fans have him ahead of Chavez as the greatest Mexican fighter of all-time. He was 44-1-1 with 32 ko's by the AGE OF 23. He beat Puerto Rico's greatest and one of Africa's greatest among other respectable hall of famers. Started out as a brawler with a punch, after his lone loss and draw promised himself to never lose again, by becoming a former brawler, but now a top knotch boxer/puncher who could counter beautifully and had Ali-like footwork with an iron jaw too. Like Sugar Ray Leonard, always would find a way to win, looked sensational in his most important fights. Very high ring IQ. Freakish stamina, perhaps even better than Calzaghes, a stamina freak in his own right. Could drop fighters in the first round and stop them in the 15th, almost as if the first round. Could go toe to toe if needed, since that was his specialty in the beginning of his career. He was kinda like Erick Morales, Barrera, Marquez, and Finito Lopez rolled up into one. One of the best EVER.
He is a true ATG, no doubt about that. The "what if" factor gets blown out of proportion, imo he had already peaked by the time of his death, but that's to be expected given he died whilst at the top. Gomez may not have proven himself above 122 but he was still one of the best fighters on the planet and would continue to dominate SBW and pick up a few more belts past his prime. Nelson was green and raw at that time but he put in the performance of his career against Sanchez, he never fought with that intensity or ferocity again. I'm not sure the more refined, experienced Nelson would have done better.
He was an ATG, had everything great movement, combination punches, and unbelievable stamina, the biggest what if in mexican boxing history
Great fighter but how great we will never know my old man reckons he would of given arguello a hell of a fight . Says he can't call a winner
He has a win against another top tier ATG in Gomez and wins against HOFs in Nelson and 2 times little red. I rate wins against fellow ATGs very high. I prefer this type of resume than Chavez snr, because I'm not even sure if he has a win against another HOF.