Who's seen him fight, and if so what did you think of him? Today I've re-watched the Locche/Fuji fight and come to the conclusion that Canto reminds me of a smaller, more mobile version of Locche. Great slips and counters with a similar style, just a lot more movement in his arsenal. Both defensive and counter-punching savants though. People think guys like Mayweather and Toney were impressive in the pocket off the shoulder roll, they need to watch Locche. Canto's as impressive a pure boxer as I've ever seen, given his short stature, reach disadvantage, and lack of any power whatsoever, even for a Flyweight. Amazing how effective he was based solely on technical boxing skills and ring savvy.
A truly great boxer and an ATG Fly .Ringsense,mobility,stamina,and elusiveness,all in a tiny package,rather like a little Widow I used to date!
I think Locche is the slightly better defensive fighter whilst Canto is a little better on the offensive end. Canto wasn't the type to pull elaborate sequences of defensive wizadry. He'd avoid punches by the minimal movement necessary and counter in close rather than from the outside. In that sense he wasn't a showboat, he was a technician par excellence. There hasn't been a better flyweight since Canto imo, though in a h2h sense guys like Lopez, Chang, Ohba, Arbachakov, Johnson and a few others aren't that far behind. I've seen the following fights of his: vs. Antonio Avelar vs. Shoji Oguma III vs. Betulio Gonzalez II & III vs. Martin Vargas I vs. Chan Hee Park I I thought his best performance (of that bunch) was the second Gonzalez fight. He took an excellent fighter with a distinct height, reach, power and strength advantage and gave him a boxing lesson. Ignore the split dec. verdict - Canto won that fight by 7 points on my card. The third fight in Gonzalez' backyard was a little closer, but I still had Canto comfortably taking it by 4 points with a similar impressive display. His showings against Oguma and Avelar are also good, though he was already starting to slow down by that stage. This is evident by looking at his performance against Martin Vargas a few fights earlier. Vargas was a very good fighter and fought an outstanding fight in their first affair, outhustling and landing heavy left and right hooks on Canto. Canto looked more sluggish than he did for Gonzalez and didn't have the reflexes to duck and slip many of the shots he would have earlier on in his career. I thought Vargas edged that fight by 2 or 3 points (it was 3 points on my card, but I was being a little swayed by the underdog's great performance). Near the end of Canto's career, he engaged in a great strategic battle with Park, another fighter who brought his best to the table for Canto, and Canto, although past it, made Park earn his win.
I vaguely remember Canto. His defence was outstanding was it not? Might be thinking of a different fighter...
A midget legend. Park was an extremely talented technician as well.He lacked the dedication, stamina or chin though
Excellent defense. More movement and offense than Locche though, but similar ability to slip and counter punches and a somewhat similar build, though Locche was a bit stockier and obviously bigger, making Canto more nimble on his feet and more mobile overall.
What little I've seen of Canto was pretty damn impressive. He liked to bring that counter left hook a lot. I definitely can see the comparison with Locche. Looks like a great fighter, I'd definitely like to see more of him.
Was reading about Canto and wanted to bump this thread. Can you direct us to where I can see more Canto footage I looked on youtube and there is only a bit of his Vargas fight and sweetfights.com don't sell any of his fight.
[url]http://silversurfer91.homestead.com/boxersss.html[/url] This bloke has a heap of Canto fights but I've never dealt with him. I know RB knows him, so perhaps he could recommend him to you.
