John was certainly at his best at Lt Middle, Was Nino .. I think Not, so perhaps not exactly a prime for prime, However i think Nino has the Style, Mobility, Left Jab and Boxing Ability to lead John a Chase in the early going... and i think Destroyer John is on a Meter as far as his destructive capabilities are concerned, i think his enthusiasm will start to wain when Nino starts to rattle off those educated combinations, probably planting himself more in the second half, Give John a set Target and like as not he will dismantle it, but a young ambitious talented upcomer who will luxuriate in the longer distance, i think Nino the Stayer beats John the Sprinter perhaps circa 9th,
Mugabi is a hard fighter to judge because of the way his career went after the Hagler bout.people will disagree on how much of that was down to him simply being one-dimensional, ruined by the beating he took or due to his well documented lack of dedication. I think Nino deserves to be favourite but i actually think this is a good style matchup for a contender like Mugabi to at least make it a real struggle for him. Nino was much more the centre-ring, offensive jabbing standup type technician.He could spoil with clinching, but wasn't safety-first nor any more than decent\solid defensively.His style of athletic textbook standup fighting..yet not that elusive, overly negative or offensively overwhelming(a good\very good puncher not great and ultimately jabbing and points scoring oriented) is a good match for him to be in Mugabi's punching range a lot of the time. I don't really think he was any more elusive(in fact more notably vulnerable to right hands over the top due his lesser guard and lack of upper body movement compared to Marvin)or offensively capable\cultured a boxer-puncher than the past-prime but still formidable Hagler that eventually beat Mugabi down and certainly not as durable.Quicker handspeed for single shots and maybe of foot, yet doesn't use his speed to stay out of range,so much as make educated adjustments at ring centre. He certainly is going to be the one landing more regularly and controlling things for stretches as Mugabi was not quick in his pressure, yet is always hittable enough at centre ring to make things interesting.We never really saw Nino against this type of contender, at least of this quality of pure puncher\slugger\counterpuncher hybrid. A lot will depend on the durability and mentality of both here imo.It's not a fight where John can roll over another fringe contender, or Nino can outbox his foe with little danger. Would Mugabi get frustrated and gas?, How quickly would Nino be able to start hurting\discouraging him? How many of Mugabi's better shots flush could Nino take and does he have the ability to tighten up defensively against this kind of puncher? Does he have the strength of mind Hagler had to display to grind through Mugabi's early\-mid round threat if he is getting hit semi-regularly
Mugabi might score a flash kd, but Nino recovers to outpoint and at times, to outfight The Beast. Nino was and still is an underrated fighter/champ.
