Lupe Pintor vs "Joltin" Jeff Chandler

I voted Chandler by decision.

Lupe had unappreciated skills really; he wasn't all "come face forward and bang." He could be subtle and technical too, sizing an opponent up, slipping the odd punch or two on his way in, and firing that hook to the liver.

That said, I think Chandler's better speed and boxing acumen lead him to a decision victory over 15 hard but decisive rounds. A stoppage on cuts is also a possibility, but that's hard to predict.

 

I used to shake with anticipation anytime i thought of this matchup. I still can't pick between em. I used to think maybe Chandler was too good but the fight Pintor put up vs Gomez was just incredible, i cannot count him out.

 

I feel Jeff pulls out a close unanimous decision on Lupe, getting true technical in the mid-to-late rounds.

 

Back in the day I always hoped this fight would happened...I'd lean towards Chandler by decision. A really good fight.

 

I would be tempted to pick Chandler on points since he did this with Canizales but what went wrong in the Sandoval fight? He looked terrible.

 

Well, sometimes a fighter loses it all at once. Keep in mind that he had last to Muniz a few months earlier (although he did look very good in the rematch), plus he was apparently suffering from cataracts (his retirement was as a result of surgery to his eyes).

He was also, by his own account, quite a cocaine user back then, and it was bound to take its toll at some point.

 

If that's the case, he caused himself to lose out on winning the 122 lb title as well.

 

Chandler has always been one of my blind spots, haven't seen much of him at all, but I've seen quite a bit of Pintor and so I'd like to chime in on his behalf. Not having seen the best of Chandler though, I don't want to be presumptious.

I'll just say one thing though (an obvious thing, but worth stating nonetheless) : Lupe Pintor pretty much held his own against two of the greatest lower weight fighters of all time in Wilfredo Gomez and Carlos Zarate. Both were somewhat past their best (Gomez more than Zarate imo), but nevertheless, that is a huge accomplishment.

Chandler better be up to their standards if he hopes to beat him, because anything less won't be enough.

 

..........Agreed. I don't see the Pintor-Zarate decision as horrible as I've seen written. I did think Zarate deserved the nod, but it was a fairly close fight. He actually boxed pretty well, and had Zarate in trouble on one occasion. It wasn't a one-sided thing at all.

 

For sure Sal. Had Zarate by a point myself, but I definitely don't consider it a robbery, as many do. I think you have to be generous to Lupe to give him the win, but it's not an altogether unreasonable stance if one does take it.

 

..........Any theories as to why Zarate fought in so reserved a fashion that day? It was impressive in that he showed a facet of himself we hadn't seen before to that extent, but it seemed so out of character.

 

Not sure I can offer any theory for it. Zarate struggled to make weight for the fight, but had been struggling for quite a few fights beforehand and it never seemed to affect him there so I'm not sure that's a legitimate excuse here.

I think more than anything Zarate just ran into a fighter who was incredibly strong and resistant for his weight and he couldn't intimidate him with his punching power. Once Zarate saw that he was going to be in for a long night, he probably went into his shell a little, just doing the mimimum required to escape with his title intact.

 

............I guess that's about the best explanation one can offer. You'd think with the sense of competition they would have felt going into it, coming from the same stable and all, he'd want to exert himself more. If nothing else, you'd think he would have pressed a bit after taking Pintor down with that right hand, but it's like he had a strict mindset going in that he was only going to box.

In a perverse kind of way, what he showed that night almost inhances his standing, as it wasn't well-known he could box like that before.