Michael Watson = Underated as hell

Particularly sad thing about Watson is that he seemed to be still improving and only just entering his prime.

It tends to get forgotten that when he fought in his first world title bout against McCallum, he was still a very green fighter; he'd not had a lot of fights in general, and only Don Lee/Nigel Benn were dangerous contenders. So, while he had displayed prowess in defusing big punchers, he was not experienced at all against world-level boxer-punchers. Personally, I think though you could see he had a lot of quality, his style was still a bit stiff. Being out of the ring for eleven months due to some injury issues between Benn and that fight probably contributed to it being less competitive than it might otherwise have been, but he didn't let the comprehensive nature of the defeat affect him.

Instead, he seemed to pick up some new moves, develop his slip and counter game, and come back looking like a more relaxed, slightly improved fighter by the time of his next big fight against Eubank. Imo he lost that one legit as well, yet it was very close and fought at a high level of skill by both (Eubank's occasional slop was on show but still rarer at this point). Then he comes back in the rematch looking notably improved yet again and takes over after an even 5–6 rounds...better slipping and countering, even more precise with his punches, and a better understanding of when to change the pace and really move through the gears without his punching form and defensive awareness fragmenting...until that unorthodox bolo uppercut just when it seems Eubank has been entirely solved and will do well to finish the fight.

To be fair to Eubank, he legitimately turned things around there and might have stopped Watson anyway, even if he had not sustained the injury from the fall... so it might have been an avoidable third loss regardless, but he seemed to be the sort of fighter not to let losses impact him at all, and you would expect him to continue developing for another year or two. Minus the injury, I would have expected him to fully establish himself as a better overall fighter than Benn or Eubank at 168/175. I'd also expect him to make things a lot closer, though he would still lose in a rematch with McCallum had it taken place up until or in place of the 2nd Kalambay or Toney fight; after that, Mccallum slowed notably. You could see in the Toney bout the ageing McCallum's athleticism, punching snap, and stamina drain out of him for good in real-time over the 2nd half of the fight (we'd already had a prelude to it in the second half against Collins). Toney was very hard done by in that fight to only get a draw. Any time after that above 160 and he'd be too busy, precise, and strong for the physically fast declining McCallum.

Toney would be too talented in a ring-centre technical contest if he came in near his best at 168, but might lose a close decision if he's off-form. Watson of the 2nd Eubank fight was certainly no worse technically and a lot more physically formidable than the slow, less coordinated, far more jab-reliant fighter McCallum had become by his rematch with Toney, where he actually had a better argument for a win than the first fight despite no longer looking that sharp, purely because of James' tendency to lapse into flat-footed 2nd gear coasting. There was an opening with that fight for Toney to deliver a showcase, dominant win over a faded foe, but he completely failed to take it.

 

I think Watson could have gotten that one.

 

I was surprised Watson fought McCallum. I didn't think he was ready and had been out of the ring for a good spell. The British press seemed to think Watson was going to win . There were other less dangerous fights at middle at that time lots of big possible fights . A Jackson fight would be more winnable but obviously risky . Benn and Eubank stayed well clear of McCallum it would of been interesting to see Watson in other big fights .He would of beaten plenty.