What if Johhny Famechon didn't retire in 1970 and went on to fight Ernesto Marcel in 1971? Could he have beaten Marcel? How I wish this fight happened....
I`d have favoured Marcel had they met back in 71`...... Johnny was slowing down by that point as he had boxed a lot of rounds/fights by then, whereas Marcel was entering his physical prime and had gained enough experience under his belt to hold his own with his vastly more experienced foe. I say Marcel`s youthful energy and beautiful boxing ability would see him win a unanimous decision in what would be a closely contested bout between two excellent and underrappreciated ring technicians.
You're probably right, but I would have loved to have seen Johnny go on. I still think he had something to give and a fight with Marcel could have been a real legacy builder. He probably still deserves it, but a win over Marcel would have really bolstered his claims for the HOF. Likewise, a win over Famechon would have added to Marcel's legacy. Johhny quit the sport more in protest at being jobbed against Saldivar (in his mind at least) than he quit through being past it, and he continued running marathon's for about a decade after his career finished, so he kept himself in decent condition. He probably wasn't quite as quick as he was a couple years earlier by the time he lost to Saldivar, but he was still well conditioned and boxed 15 rounds easily.
Speaking of retiring early. Why did Marcel not fight after beating Arguello? If my math is correct, he retired at 26.
Yeah strange... he was only 25 I think. Fighters burnt out quicker back in the day, but as he showed in his last fight, he was by no means over the hill by that stage.
