I would have to make Torres the favorite but Griffin is a very live underdog. It really would not shock me at all to see Montell out point Torres over 12. He was that good.
Jose is the better fighter, but ... The best version of Montell Griffith had Eddie Futch in his corner. Torres, of course, has Cus D’Amato. So we’re looking at a chess match between the corners. D’Amato’s fighters tended to fight one way and weren’t terribly versatile. Eddie was the coach who could take his guy and beat yours, then you could swap and he’d take your guy and beat his. I think Eddie studies and studies and installs a game plan that Griffith can carry off to a points win. Look at Montell in his first fight against Roy (with Eddie) and how it fell apart when Griffith decided he didn’t want to part with a few bucks and cut Eddie loose. That’s why I’ll bank on Futch to win this fight over Cus.
Good way to look at it. I had an argument recently with someone that said Montell was a bad fighter. If he was bad, Eddie Futch wouldn't have wasted the last few years of his life training him. The guy was on the 92' US Olympic team and gave Toney, Jones, Tarver, Johnson, and Michalczewski all kinds of hell in his 50 pro career. He was definitely a tough out for anyone but I still would favor Torres.
Torres held his gloves higher than Patterson and Tyson meaning his head movement was ruined and he was far easier to catch with counters.
Tarver completedly out-classed Griffin, all he was in reality was a boring counter puncher that flurried occasionally, he didn`t throw nearly enough leads.
Might depend which Torres shows up. If it's the guy who turned up against Tiger (first fight), fought tentatively on the inside and got pushed around by the smaller man, then Griffin might have a chance if he's willing to take a few more risks. If it's the Torres who beat Eddie Cotton, though, I think Griffin is going to struggle. Montell was short at Light-Heavy, but he was a powerfully-built guy and showed that he could handle himself at close quarters now and then in the first Jones fight...But that fight was the exception rather than the norm and he was often a bit too cagey, giving the other guy too much respect and opportunities to build up momentum. Also, while he generally boxed with a cool head, he sometimes got flustered and lost his concentration when he was wobbled and under attack - not the best in terms of survival instincts on the rare occasions he needed them. Jones would have almost certainly stopped him without that lapse in discipline, and Griffin got himself stopped against Michalczewski as much as anything. He was only moderately hurt and wasn't taking Dariusz's shots all that cleanly, but he seemed to freeze up and just didn't throw back or grab - gave the referee a reason to step in. He'd clearly been outboxing Michaclzewski up to that point. The Griffin from the first Jones fight might be in with a shout but he just didn't back that performance up enough in subsequent years, talented fighter though he was. I don't see him upping his pressure enough or taking enough chances to beat Torres. Torres by close but clear decision.
