Yeah, I guess he did..it's just hard to gage a guy's power in with someone as bulletproof as Hagler...I'll never forget how Hamsho roughed up Wilfred Benitez...and after the decision was announced, Paddy Flood's recent death was mentioned...and Hamsho just sobbed his eyes out...crying like I've never seen or heard a guy cry before..at least any boxer, after a fight...it was quite moving....very moving.
yeah i suppose he's a crafty vet as far as this era of boxers go. and if we're talking Diaz then I think we can throw Hatton into the mix. I've seen him hurt guys and stop fighters on their stool similar to Diaz's earlier fights. All off of accumulation though. With one punch power I wonder how much of a difference it would have made with his Mayweather fight.
Paddy Flood did engender that fierce loyalty, rc, sometimes inexplicably One of his fighters had money deducted from his purse by the boxing commission for some infraction. Only then did he learn that Paddy short-changed him. To this day, it hasn't lessened his affection for him.
Well, Mustafa certainly didn't fight as if those wet cotton balls were in his trunks! (Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm part Syrian.)
Did you know, D, that Hamsho fought under different names early in his career, because his team was concerned how fans would accept a Syrian fighter.
Rocky Estafire was the only one I was aware of. I remember reading how he wore a keffiyeh to the ring for an early match not long after the Arab Oil Embargo, only to have a fan heave a projectile (beer bottle?) in his direction. Yet, by the time he became a star, Louis Hubela (who I'd imagine you remember well) was able to use "The Syrian" as his nickname. (Hubela managed to get some good television airplay.)
Joey Archer was a very gifted boxer who might well have been a great boxer had he possessed any real degree of power. Hilario Zapata is already at the borderline of greatnessz, but with heavier hands/more willingess to bother to sit down on his punches, his greatness may well have been assured.
that reminds me of something JG said once when we were discussing Willie Pastrano. I remember he said that he used to pulverize the heavy bag, but did not sit on his punches when having a fight. Pastrano may be another who belongs here if he threw better punches. He definately had all time great feet.
I thought of Buchanan straight away. He had competent, stinging power, but if you watch how many times he hit Duran flush and wasn't able to deter him, it becomes interesting if you imagine him having real knockout clout in both fists. Still, he's an atg anyway. Howard Winstone is another. I'm convinced that we'd be talking about him as the greatest British fighter ever and a true p4p all-time great if he'd had a bigger punch. I seem to waffle on about him every chance that comes my way. Overall though, I think that a boxer's lack of power comes as part of their overall package much of the time. Pep, Canto, Pastrano and many of the great pure boxers wouldn't have had been able to attain the same level of elusiveness had they planted their feet more - a general factor where good power is concerned. Even swarmers like LaMotta, Greb and Harada gained from not setting their feet as a proper KO puncher would at times. Winstone, with his missing fingertips taken into account, is the type of fighter who was genuinely disadvantaged, whereas many other fighters gain advantages in other areas by sacrificing full-blown power.
Willie apparently made a volitional choice not to try hurting his opponents. Also, he did take up boxing to lose weight (he reportedly scaled 250 pounds when he took up the sport, then had his professional debut as a featherweight!), and boxed in a running style which supported weight control. His two successful defenses with the LHW Title on the line against Peralta and Downes were rare stoppages which showed he could be far more dangerous than a knockout ratio of 16.87% indicates. Interestingly, his ability to punch hard doesn't seem to be questioned all that much.