What can you guys tell me about "Mighty"? He's mostly known for his fights with Arturo Gatti but from what I've seen he mostly reminds me of Meldrick Taylor. How good of a fighter was he and could he have been greater given his talents?
He was a HOMELESS man's Taylor. Similar style to Meldrick you are correct, but w/o a fraction of Mel's talent. He was a pretty good fighter and I think he got the most out of what he had. He had above average skills, good handspeed, high workrate, but not much pop and not the best defense. And his chin wasn't exactly great either. His first fight with Gatti was a classic though. And he schooled Gatti in the rematch. His fight with Philip Holiday was also a very good fight, and although Ivan was competitive in that fight, Holiday in the end just out worked and out fought him. Still, it was a very good fight. Then he was favored to beat Manfredy, but surprisingly Angel beat the crap outta him and won every round. All and all Ivan was good enough to be a fringe contender in most lightweight era's, but he wasn't good enough to beat any quality fighters. That's the difference between he and Taylor. Before Chavez shortened his prime, Taylor was a special fighter.
I do see the stylistic similarities with Mel Taylor but obviously he lacked Taylor unbelieveable talent.
Agree he pretty much summed it up. I enjoyed watching him fight in the Blue Horizon. Legendary venue. He put combinations together which always made for exciting fights, but he couldnt crack an egg, and he didnt always come in to his fight in the best condition.
Ivan Robinson, although not a great fighter by any means, was a fun fighter to watch. Most of his fights, win or lose, are usually entertaining. God bless Philly fighters. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
And of course we have his 2 fights with Arturo Gatti. Only wish someone can re-upload Robinson’s fight with Emanuel Augustus… This content is protected This content is protected
People point to him often as the reason why Arturo Gatti shouldn't be in the HOF. Pretty average honestly.
He was a world class boxer who was a contender. He was a top ametuer boxer who I saw his fight with Oscar and he aquitted himself well. He had too much Philly in him and he would make fights sometimes too difficult because he liked to trade too much. He beat Augusta pretty good. He gave Holiday a good fight and it was action packed - and that was his main problem - he would get drawn into brawls when he could have just used his boxing skills. Had a very good chin actually. Cardona blew him out early but Ivan didn't look right that fight. All and all was a world class boxer but Meldrick Taylor was on a different level then Ivan.
I always enjoyed watching him. I will see him next month in Atlantic City. Might be time to revisit some of his fights. I really liked both he and Charles Brewer from those days. Just good, honest, tough Philly fighters.
