Mike Rossman 'Right Place/Right Time'

As I recall, the story of the Ramon Ronquillo fight was that he kept getting right hands.

He'd come back to the corner and they'd yell at Mike to move to his left.

And he did so and kept running into more right hands.

After the right, his brother (or some relative who was working as chief second) asked him why he kept walking into the right hands. Mike told him he was doing what they told him, moving to his left.

The relative said something like, "I meant move to his left."

Rossman is what I call a world-class club fighter. Many have held world titles over the years -- guys who don't have world-class skills, but a combination of toughness and maybe a little power and just enough skill to get ranked and get over when the situation is presented to them.

 

Rossman was way off of his game for the Ronquillo fight. I'd say that for thsi fight, he was about 50% of what he had been against Galindez a year earlier.

After losing the title to Galindez in 1979, Rossman was never the same again. Something broke in him as far as motivation goes. You can see it in the fight films. Just watch how much slower and less athletic he looks in hsi post-Galindez fights.

 

The Return of Il Duce!

I think Rossman was a decent fighter and he really took the fight to Victor, something others had failed to do. He was almost the Leon Spinks of his division, though actually he was a better overall fighter.