How good was Virgil Hill???

Hill had great legs. Don't take that the wrong way.

 

It was actually a close and competitive. Hearns rightfully got the nod but it was not easy.

 

I liked Hill as well but sometimes he was hard to watch with his safety first approach. He was the right size for a LHW in regards to height, reach, and build. He was strong, durable, quick, and a skillful boxer... but rarely went for the kill.

I don't give Roy Jones Jr. very much credit for his win over Hill. Hill had already lost a clear decision to Michalczewski, he had a close win over Maske, and he struggled with and was dropped by Del Valle. At this point he was having trouble making 175 (it was actually a non-title fight and both were a pound or two over the LHW limit) and in his next fight (6 1/2 months later) he weighed in at a solid 191 Lbs. He actually boxed well vs. Jones until getting hit with a good body shot that stopped him in the 4th round.

Hearns was the only fighter who beat Hill at his best. Hill fought well but Hearns fought better and won 116-112 in my opinion.

Going into the fight with Michalczewski he was 43-1 (20) overall and 22-1 (6) in LHW World Title fights. 5 of those 6 KOs in world title fights came in his first reign as a world champion... 11-0 (5) in world title fights before losing to Hearns.

I liked his style at CW, he wasn't as quick as he once was so it made for some entertaining fights.

 

I thought his fight against Emebe was one-sided but beautiful and entertaining.

 

:goodGreat post!! Could not agree more, D!

 

I remember that whole light heavyweight scene from the late 80's - early 90's. A lot of those fights were featured on ESPN or the USA cable network. Most of them were low profile title fights which rarely if ever made the premier top cable networks ie, ( HBO, Showtime, etc. ) The Andries vs Harding trilogy was a war.. Hill vs Czyz, Steward and Tate were good fights.. So were Charles vs Czyz and a few others.. Moorer scored some impressive first round KO's for the brief time he frequented the division. You also had some decent prospects working their way up like Anthony Hembrick, Booker Word, and Andrew Maynard - though none of them ever really went on to accomplish anything.. It had the potential to be an exciting era if only the right fights were made and at the right times. But since they weren't, we saw a 12 year gap between dominant lineal champion ( spinks and Jones ), with little interest in the division..

 

Hill vs. Williams should have happened. Those Andries vs. Harding fights were great. Moorer was on a roll with KO wins over Hassan, and Swindell, and Stewart but never got that high profile fight at LHW. There was talent at LHW but as usual some of the best matches were never made.

 

He was boring but he was probably the #1 light heavyweight from about late '88 until he lost to Hearns in June '91

The title winning effort over Leslie Stewart was suprising at the time, and and quite impressive. The win over Czyz was solid. The early James Kinchen KO was surprising. Not that he won, but that he beat the usually durable Kinchen so easily.

A lot of his defenses were against very ordinary competition.

He had rather weak right hand, but had a great left hook, a good jab, and good movement.

Let's just say in a loaded era like the mid to late 70s and early 80s he would not have fared as well.

 

Hill was doing quite well against Jones before that bodyshot found it's mark.

 

Very underrated mullet, Hill wore it well. One of North Dakota's best...one of America's best.

 

Yeah awesome lateral movement. Don't see much of it anymore actually.

 

I think a prime Hill could have given Jones a decent fight.. I'd still favor Roy to win in the end, but it certainly would have been a bit closer.