How highly do you rate Eusebio Pedroza?

I don't think he avoided all those guys. His quality of opposition as champion was very similar to Sanchez. I think Sanchez was better, but all the mags. of the time rated them very closely. They would have made a great matchup in 1981-82. I think the early 80's was a great time for boxing regarding overall quality and exposure, but very few unification fights were made at the time. The competing world governing bodies often aligned with different promoters. I think today the rival promoters are able to negotiate and put together unification fights much more frequently than back then. I don't think Sanchez or Pedroza avoided each other, but the powers that be couldin't get the fight together.

 

Sanchez was just 1 of z names zet i menshend. U ken eplay ur exquses 4 ol of dowz hi avoided.

 

Kobayashi was already disposed earlier and quicker by Arguello and Gomez in Japan.
Nemoto was a very little midget and still lasted 15.
Sa-Wang Kim was a nobody and probably drained too.
Carlos Pinango was another undeserving challenger.
I could go on.
LaPorte was Pedroza's most potent opponent, but was heavily fouled.
Lujan gave Pedroza a very close fight which I had Pedroza edging by 1 pt due 2z KD.
Lockridge I still have not watched , but I doubt if Pedroza ever won against him and I read others whom did watch doubted it 2.
Pat Ford must be Pedroza's claim to fame.

 

what's with the German accented English fetish today

Of the guys you say he avoided:

Arguello had already moved up in weight by the time Pedroza won his featherweight title. Lopez was already champion of the rival WBC, not easy to make that match. Gomez was at 122. I doubt Pedroza was afraid to fight him. A green Nelson lost to Sanchez in 1982. I don't think anyone thought he was an avoided fighter in 1982-1983. It is possible that by 1984 when Nelson was deserving of another title shot, the aging Pedroza did not want to fight such a tough guy at that late stage of his championship reign. I do think he started to hand pick his opposition after the second Lockridge fight. As for going after the WBA title in 1978, if Pedroza and his team thought the WBA champion was an easier mark and so went after that title - That is just smart decision making. He had already lost one title shot so try to make sure you have the highest chance to win in your second one. You might not get another. Doesn't mean he's avoiding anyone. As we know there are many reasons certain fights are never made and it is very difficult to provide empiracle evidence that fighter A purposely avoided fighter B. Simply stating a guy avoided another guy does not make it so.

Pedroza was a well connected champion. But, his quality of opposition from the time he became champ in '78 until the second Lockridge fight was pretty good. I wouldn't compare him to someone like Sammy Serrano or Brian Mitchell, two guys who held WBA titles for a long time but never seemed to fight anyone noteworthy.

 

So don't address the fact that Pedroza had many different officials involved in his fights in challengers back yards that makes a complete nonsense of your claims , just spout another
load of bull****.

 

Lockridge bested Pedroza at his own game - infighting, outhustled him. I have Rocky 2-0 in their series

 

He did foul Laporte. But he still outboxed him. The first Lockridge fight was close and somewhat controversial. The second Lockridge fight was pretty close, but there was little controversy about the decision. He beat Ford way easier than Sanchez and Ford is not his best win.

 

* Pedroza voiced interest on more than one occasion in unifying the title against Sanchez. As has already been discussed, their respective promoters weren't too keen on making that happen. You can pretty much say the same thing for Lopez- who, interestingly, had more difficulty dispensing with a couple of common opponents.

* Gomez didn't seem terribly keen on targeting Pedroza when he moved up to featherweight. Even following Sanchez's death, Bazooka chose to face a fighter that had already been defeated by Pedroza in order to win his title at featherweight.

* Nelson really only became known following his fight with Sanchez, and really didn't establish himself as being any more viable than guys like Lockridge and McGuigan until he torched Bazooka-who, as had already been established, had studiously avoided Pedroza.

* Arguello had already moved up to 130 by the time Pedroza moved up to 126lbs and was about to move up to lightweight by the time Eusebio really established himself as being a viable champion.

Would have been nice to have watched Pedroza face these guys, but it's stretch of Plasticine proportions to state that he ducked them.

 

I have Pedroza up 2-0. Both fights could have gone either way.

 

Very good to great fighter who didn't get a chance to fight Salvador Sanchez ( who I personally think didn't want to tangle with him in some ways ), good body puncher who started his body attack a wee bit too late in the Bernard Taylor fight.

 

So after giving excuse for every name that I mentioned (what about Dany Lopez ?) , let me add a list of lesser viable opponents of that time whom Pedroza also skipped by yet another coincidence:

1. Pat Cowdell (British champion in 1980, EBU champion in 1982) ,

2. Ruben Castillo (lasted 15 with Sanchez and 12 with LaPorte , KOd Antonio Becerra whom beat Sanchez and Juan Escobar whom drew with Sanchez and might have been robbed of a win)

3. Avoided avenging each 1 of his 3 (!) stoppage losses:
Alfonso Zamora , Alfonso Perez (@ 126) Oscar Arnal (might had been @ 126 as well)

4. Marcos Vilasana (Mexico's featherweight champion 1982-1984)


And do most of your previous excuses really hold? He had a 7 years "reign" after all.

 

When he needed it, he had it.
Also how do you reason his license to cheat? Being serially lucky with the referees?

 

You're full of it.:hi:

 

It speaks reams and volumes about his character...overcoming getting blasted out by Zamora then ascending to the featherweight championship...the grit and determination he displayed in defense after defense, in the opponent's backyard. What he lacked in dazzling, God given gifts he made up with the attitude and meanness of a real champion...ovah and ovah again, until he started to decline and lost to McGuigan. He was dirty, yes, but he was also a gritty, determined and resilient champion during his reign. I have no doubt that he would have avenged those ko defeats, as he improved significantly as champion...like being champion made him rise to the occasion. I have no clue as to how he would have fared vs Sanchez, however.

 

Overrated.

Great longevity and a huge number of defences, but the best fighter he beat (Lockridge) was very close and a lot of his defences came against subpar opposition.

Very skilled though.