Mustafa Hamsho vs Richard Burton Before watching this the only thing I knew about Hamsho was that he was a 80's middleweight contender who lost twice too Hagler and beat a faded Benetiz. I'd never seen him fight before and I knew nothing about Burton. Hamsho did not appear to have much of a punch on him until the big one punch KO. He was also tiring badly which the commentary team said was unusual for him. Burton looked fairly sharp but also he was very hittable and often seemed to switch off and lower his work rate. I wasn't hugely impressed with Hamsho, but maybe it was a off night for him. What are our thoughts on Hamsho and his career? He only had a few more fights after this one. This content is protected
Hamsho was a rough & tough guy, kinda like Gene Fullmer, and fought the similar tough MW's of the early 80's era...Curtis Parker, Wilfred Sypion, Alan Minter, etc., and was involved in a bunch of close fights. Twice battled prime Marvin Hagler, for which Hamsho should be commended for. Hamsho just fought the best he could.
Probably controversial win over Alan Minter, upsetting 20-0 young Bobby Czyz, and of course crushing overmatched Wilfred Benitez.
Would have love to seen Mustafa fight a Dwight Davidson, or a Frank Fletcher, even though, in good truth, he may have won. Top fighter for a couple of years.
Greatest Syrian boxer? A grinder and a tough night for anyone. Stowed away as a teen on a freighter if memory serves. Wins of Scypion, Minter and the highly satisfying win over Bobby Czyz come to mind. He could be an a-hole in the ring but was just a tough SOB.
He accumulated a pretty solid resume. He got a lot of ink for beating Bobby Cyz who was groomed for superstardom and who never fully recovered from that disappointing setback.
The Minter win. Close but completely fair decision--I had Hamsho up 5-3-2. Benitez likely was already suffering serious cognitive problems by the time of their fight. Looked slow and sluggish--completely out of it. Hamsho mauled and fouled his way to a shutout win but didn't look particularly impressive doing so imo.