On paper Ray's style would be enjoy the lack of power and offensive arsenal Nicolino had..he would be able to take more risks, not that he cared anyway. But I just think Nicolino is far to skilled for him...it would be a very lop sided points verdict in the end.
A Hatton-Floyd type fight with the the differences being that Ray doesn't get knocked out but gets humiliated to a greater extent.
Locche smothered Paul Fuji's body attack very well, so I don't believe Ray's downstairs assault would bother him much. I do think Mancini would have done a little better with Locche than the wildly headhunting Pryor would have managed.
You're out your mind. Pryor would have beaten Locche. The Hawk wasnt just a wild head hunter. Pryor attacked from different angles, always threw in combination, and very fast hands. As opposed to Mancini, who wasnt nearly as quick as Pryor, who only knew one direction... straight ahead.
Locche versus Pryor might make for a very rousing debate. I've always felt that the economical Locche would have been able to frustrate Pryor for 15 rounds. Nicolino could also take an excellent shot. It's my belief that the sharpshooting Arguello might be a better match, as Locche didn't utilize lateral movement to the extent Pryor sometimes did. Cervantes was able to frustrate Hawk for a couple of rounds (although Lennox Blackmoore was a completely lost cause from the get-go), and Nicolino would be geared for the 15 round haul. I just don't see Pryor taking Locche out, and I can't envision Aaron outscoring him over the distance. Mancini moved in and out very well against Ramirez, while Pryor certainly lived up to his nickname through his varied attack. I certainly wouldn't categorize either as a unidirectional straight ahead attacker. But I feel Ray was more disciplined in his approach, and wasted fewer punches.
A 15 round decision for a more offensively active than usual Locche...the fight would resemble the Fuji fight, with an earnest Mancini becoming frustrated as the rounds passed. He would make it to the final bell, but to lose a decision to the far more skilled man. Don't you think for a minute that Mancini would have the key to solving the Locche riddle...that secret formula was used by Alfonso Peppermint Frazier who sharp-shooted to Nicolino's body...leaving that elusive head alone and making it an in-and-out affair, strictly forsaking the muscle and blood slugger's game that Mancini wouldn't have been able to resist. Maybe Frazier was a one-trick pony or a one hit wonder if you prefer, but he was coached by old Locche foe Ismael Laguna quite well in his strategy against Locche. It worked like a charm, but maybe also Locche was off his game a bit himself that night..at any rate, I don't think Mancin was the guy to beat the Master Locche.
I believe it would probably go the distance, as Mancini was a pretty tough guy who had to really have a whipping spoon fed him to take him out of there, as in the Arguello fight and Bramble I. I don't think Boom Boom would be as affected by Locche's power, but he would he soundly outclassed and frustrated and made to look pretty bad over the course of 15 rounds and lose a wide decision. I think it would be another masterpiece paint job for Locche/
