Prime Zab Judah vs Teofimo Lopez

Judah at his best was far more impressive than Teofimo Lopez despite his flaws. I personally think he would have beaten Teo in one sided fashion and would also drop him in the process. He was that talented.

 

See and here lies the problem for me… I agree with you, Zab “looked” more impressive than Teo…. but Zab also could not beat top class fighters, and Teo has.

Spinks for the strap is probably his best win. Spinks being one of the least memorable welterweight champions in history.

@Flo_Raiden

 

Tayofeemo Lopez would eat a straight left hand on the chin and go down.

Zudah wins.

 

Not disagreeing with you on this and you make good points. Teofimo did beat better fighters than Zab Judah in Loma and Taylor but I also think he benefitted from those fights by being the faster, more explosive fighter with a bit of luck on his side. Loma seemed to have given that fight away to Teo when he disengaged for the first half of the fight before finally turning it up but it was too late. Taylor, if we're being quite honest, was also a good fighter but relied on being the bigger stronger fighter but he wasn't someone that had a style that was hard to figure out. Taylor was already there for the taking by the time Teo got to him when he won a very controversial decision against Catterall the first time.

My reasoning with me favoring Zab due to "looking" more impressive is rather weak, admittedly. But I'm also not going to pretend that Teo hasn't had moments of lapses in other fights where he looked very beatable (Ortiz, Sandor, Nakatani, Claggett). Teo hasn't fought someone as fast with good power like Zab Judah. But I'll retract my statement a bit and say that it can go either way depending on which Teo shows up. When he was on point, especially when it was against the best fighters he's faced prior to Shakur, he was a hard fighter to beat and he can certainly beat Zab if he puts it together.

 

Judah had a Glass Jaw, no Ring IQ, and no Heart. None.

 

Poster boys for inconsistency, never know which version of Lopez or Judah will enter the ring.

 

Great points, and I see the Loma and Taylor fights similarly to you.

Zab had less technical flaws and did appear to be a more skilled fighter.

With that said, for me, the weight of fumbling EVERY
opportunity to establish himself among the best of the sport is the biggest factor in this comparison though. Opposite of how someone like Ali was a winner, who found a way to win so often despite the challenges presented, Zab just seemed to be a loser at the top level - despite his obvious and immense technical skill and talent. Like I alluded to above, he’d even he ahead on the cards or have great moments and still manage to fumble the bag.

This is starting to feel bad, because I like Zab a lot and think he was a fine fighter, about as good as B level could get… and was in many very exciting bouts.

 

People are talking about Zab's best win only being Cory Spinks. I'm not convinced Teofimo could beat Spinks. Teo really has not done anything at welterweight yet and I don't think he improves upon Zab's performances against Mayweather or Cotto. Zab also beat, controversially, Lucas Mattysse who I think would hunt down Teofimo and drag him into the type of fight he's not usually accustomed to. I'm not fully convinced Teofimo beats Danny Garcia or Joshua Clottey though he could catch and KO Khan.

Zab fought a lot of very good and great fighters who were full fledged Jr welters and welters. Teo has fought a lot of 130 and 135 guys. Josh Taylor is probably the biggest guy he beat and I think Zab would beat that version of Taylor

I like Teo in general but I don't think he is proven at 147 as far as hypothetical match ups

 

I think these are all great points. I want to clarify that my point isn’t that Teofimo is better - rather that Zab is NOT definitively better at this point.

What Teo does from here on out, especially at 147 as you mention, will help us see this… If we were trying to compare, what fighter today would be similar in class to a Baldomir loss? If Teo had lost the Rollie bout? Losing to Norman Jr.? What would be similar to a Spinks win at 147, beating ANY of the current guys at the top of the weight maybe? (Haney and Garcia are very good, but historically… I don’t think they’re matching up well with the divisions best….)

 

Zab is tough to rate as his record in big fights is not great but I felt he accounted himself well in most of the losses. I thought he won the first Spinks fight and the Clottey fight.

Teofimo has the ability to prove himself though welterweight is not the strongest division. It seems ripe for the picking from the stars of the below weight classes. To answer your questions about equivalents I am not sure on Baldomir. Baldomir was one of those good in a lot of categories but not great at anyone thing. He cut a lot of weight and was big and strong but not a hard hitter and not particularly fast. I don't know if there is a fighter that really emulates him, maybe Karen C but he's not on a long winning streak like Baldomir was. Cory Spinks is sort of like a Richardson Hitchins or Haney type. I am not sure I'd pick Teo over either but he has a better chance vs Hitchins. At 135 when Haney was calling Lopez out, Teofimo always seemed less interested in the fight.

I would be really impressed if Lopez beat Brian Norman Jr or Devin Haney

 

I was speaking more to a comparison in class / level than styles. Both are hard to make, but the former seems a little broader.

I share the same views as you on potential match ups for Teo at 147.