Back in the mid-90's, a fresh face appeared on ESPN in the welterweight ranks and however briefly, provided us with a few truly exciting fights. How much further he could have gone is anyone's guess. I don't think he was set to rise to the top of a very deep welterweight division then; he was far too limited and his face-first style doesn't make for long careers anyway. Still, when Jesse James Hughes fought people tuned in. With his black cowboy hat and irreverent good-ol-boy demeanor to go along with a crowd-pleasing style, Hughes scored stoppage victories over Anthony Stephens, Adrian Stone, and Nick Rupa to cement hopes of bigger fights and bigger paydyas, but it was not to be. In July of 1995, Hughes' body was dredged up from a swamp in his native Mobile, Alabama. Hughes was known to have the habit of accosting local drug dealers, beating them up, and stealing their cash when he ran a little low. He took big chances in life, and there was reportedly a bounty on his head. It finally caught up to him. I wanted to post this fun brawl he had with Anthony Stephens for those who hadn't seen it. One of the more give and take back and forth efforts you'll see. Great fun. [yt]6ZdS1X6YuwI[/yt] [yt]vjwDe7XgPZs[/yt] [yt]wiHjS4FifKI[/yt] [yt]B8qFQpTHIpA[/yt] [yt]JYjcnwsASto[/yt] Sorry I don't know how to imbed video. I've been told how before, but by the time I get around to actually needing to do it I've forgotten which thread has the instructions.
The cowboy. My uncle loved this guy. Used to do an imitation of him saying he wanted to fight pernell Whitaker.
Heh; well, he wasn't designed for the truly big time, but he went a long way on minimal actual talent. He scores points for that. His ridiculous toughness was probably the real reason he made it as far as he did.
I wouldn't have counted out JJH from picking up a title of the WBA or WBO variety had he lived. He was tougher than a $2 steak and he also always seemed to be in world-class, and I mean world-class, condition. He could have outlasted someone for a belt, particularly if he got the right guy overseas. It is worth noting that his rise before his death coincided with a drop from 154 to 147 pounds. He might have been able to make an impact at this weight as he was in peak condition and also wasn't fighting naturally larger guys. I also think he would have fit in nicely with some of those guys from the 1940s or 50s who weren't overly "gifted" but won on grit and determination and stamina. If he had been in a different era (and lived to a ripe old age) he may have been one of those guys who had 100 fights and won the majority of them and beaten many guys of a higher athletic class. JJH was as steady as they come and as willing. He never seemed to have that "second gear" to be able to pick up the pace and take advantage when he had someone in a spot of trouble, somewhat like Alexis Arguello in that regard -- don't misunderstand, not saying he was in AA's class, but they shared that metronome, steady-as-she-goes kind of pacing and rarely seemed to either get overexcited or overwhelmed no matter how hot things got. I met him a time or two. Can't say I really knew him, but he was a really nice guy to meet and I can say he was one of those fighters who really took time to chat with fans and sign autographs for the kids and whatnot after he fought, even after a war. Sad, sad thing that he died the way he did when he was at the top of his game.
