I see that straight right of Randall causing all kinds of problems for Tszyu and stopping him late like Cool Vince Phillips did. But, Randall would have to be at his best. Anything less, and Kostya gets the win. But I will take the Randall from '92-'95 to win this. The surgeon was in excellent form over those years.
I agree that Kostya was great at dishing out his savage right hand. But, the Phillips fight showed that he is not so keen at taking the return fire when a fighter doesn't just get blasted out of there. Tszyu had skill world class skill, but, he was always a bit pampered. He was considered a shoe-in for the championship with less than 10 fights. And, he didn't fight often. From 1991-1995, Randall not only showed top level skill himself, but, he showed a hunger and desire that I never saw with Tszyu. I think he would want it more than Tszyu… and, I think he just might get it.
I like Randall here, assuming we take both men at their best. Tszyu didn't mind following a moving target, but he struggled if he couldn't get the other guy on the back foot. Randall knew how to defend without having to cede ground and loved using his precise counters when exchanging in close. He's got a decisive edge in hand speed, too. Tszyu had the power to unsettle most at 140 but I don't see Randall letting him build that forward momentum he needed to dish it out often enough. I'd expect it to be very competitive and a very good fight to watch, but I see Randall taking the decision more often than not.
Agreed, Frankie beat the sheet out of Chavez, twice! though he was robbed the second fight. Kostya was a tough fighter, but Frankie had good boxing skills , better than Phillips, though for a short time.
Well Kostya did some job on Chavez also, for whatever that means. As for this bout, I lean towards Randall because he kept those hands up real high. And equally important against this opponent, he brought his hands back nice and high. Wrong opponent to be giving windows of opportunity to by having those hands low or bringing them back low and then lifting them up to their proper position. Interesting bout and I would have liked to have seen a 3 fight series between them. Would have been real nice for us the boxing public---but how often do we really get those highly competitive matches?
This has been done before. I don't have the time or energy to go into the detail of my posts in previous incarnations of this thread. Tzyu was at high level for longer, but Randall reached a higher peak level. Randall by late TKO or decision.
I remember Randall coming out of nowhere and becoming somewhat of a hero for finishing what Meldrick Taylor and Pernell Whitaker started. And the rematch, which happened to be the main event of the greatest fight card in history - La Revancha: The Rematches. Sorry, bit of a flashback to a great year in my life. But anyways, Randall had a tougher gut check which would prove pivotal in a fight of this magnitude. Awesome match up, Brixton Bomber. Kudos!
