Yeah, a lightweight match-up, as opposed to a hypothetical FW or 130 lb. match-up. Who wins? The Marquez of the Diaz fight vs. the Nelson of the Whitaker match.
Nelson was still pretty strong at Lw but he wasnt the same fighter by this time. I think Marquez is all wrong for Nelson, who was beat by 2 good counterpunchers of his day Hernandez,Leija(2-1-1 against Nelson). Nelson would have his moments and even drop Marquez along the way but Marquez takes this 116-113
Nelson had his best fights below lightweight... at featherweight the fight could go either way but at LW I have to go with Marquez by a 2-4 pt margin.
How old was he when he had trouble with Hernandez and Leija? I thought he won the first Leija fight clearly. Also, let's all admit that Marquez is NOT as good at lightweight as he was at featherweight. It's not just Nelson that has a drop off here. And another truth: A lightweight Whitaker would have made Marquez look worse than Floyd did.
True, but did it look to you like Whitaker bothered to get out of first gear with Paez? That's about as casual as I've ever seen a fighter look in the ring. He simply didn't respect what Paez could bring to the table. Assuming he takes Marquez more seriously, and fights with the earnestness he did against Nelson, do you think Marquez would win a minute of a round? I don't.
From what i remember his first figh with Leija could have gone either way and in the rematch Leija beat him easy. Also the fights i mentioned Nelson losing were around the time he was at lightweight, and no way would Whittaker have beat Marquez that convincingly at LW,maybe when he was a welter and Marquez blown up, remember the reason Floyd beat JMM that convincingly had a lot to do with the size difference, not to say he wouldnt have beat him had he been a LW but it wouldnt have been that convincingly. Marquez did fade a little at LW but not as much as Nelson did.
Marquez wins out a tough UD, by far the better boxer despite Azumah being a physical beast. Would make more sense at 126/130, but I stick with the same pick
Anarci, you do realise the Leija fights were a good 3 and a half years after the Whitaker fight don't you? 3 and a half years! If we're going to make this match up, why aren't we looking at Nelson around the relevant time piece? Why look so far past his prime? Fights with Leija and Hernandez aren't really relevant. Fights with Azabache Martinez are however relevant. The Nelson of the first Martinez fight probably would have lost to Marquez imo. In the rematch though, that Nelson would beat Marquez close but clear on points, and I see no reason why he wouldn't do it at 135 either becuase to me, he looked no inferior at 135 against Whitaker than he did for the second Martinez fight. As to how Whitaker would go with Marquez at 135, I didn't see size as being all too relevant a factor against Mayweather. It wasn't as if Floyd was muscling him around or using power shots to keep Marquez in his place. Mayweather is just a bad style match up for JMM, same thing would have occurred at 135, where Floyd was even a tad quicker and with a better work rate. Whitaker would have boxed circles around Marquez. Why is this even contentious? Marquez was about on even ground with an ancient Joel Casmayor, why wouldn't a prime Whitaker absolutely toy with him? Only reason is if he turns in a half-arsed performance like he did against Paez. If he takes the fight serious, it's no contest at all. Am I making excuses for Whitaker in the Paez fight? Well, maybe, but if you want to put Marquez in against THAT Whitaker, I will freely admit that the fight would be competitive, and heck Whitaker would probably be lucky to be a couple of points ahead even. :good
