Raul Perez V Jesus Pimentel

As for Perez-Pimentel, I agree with Drew mostly, I think. Jibaro was a physical freak and a real offensive force at his peak. Great jab and textbook form with good feet and considerable accumulative power on top of the cartoonish height and reach. I don't though think that he was all that difficult to hit relative to his dimensions and although he went in with some good punchers during his reign, none of them were on Pimentels level. He was aggressive too, great at backing people up with accurate punches in volume, but he'd give Pimentel opportunities to sneak in some hard, hard blows I think. I don't know though, I might be letting the Richardson fight colour my view a bit. Making the weight was taking it's toll by that point and Perez was unusually sloppy and lacking sharpness in that fight, shipping an awful lot of fast, sneaky counters from an ageing, light hitting (although talented) stylist who should've been at a massive disadvantage. That Perez gets knocked out by Pimentel imo, but the prime version who wore down the weight drained Lora should take it on points.

It's also a shame how Perez fell off a cliff at a fairly young age similar to many other excellent lighter weight fighters who peaked early and never fully recovered from surprising defeats. He was tremendous for a time, would've been great to see him against Orlando Canizales, who I think he might brought the best of unlike so much of the second rate opposition that Canizales coasted against. A proper ****-or-get-off-the-pot scenario.

 

Has anybody else seen Medel vs Pimentel? It used to be on YouTube. Great little fight, Medel really fought well on the back foot and deserved the decision imo. Very competitive though with lots of good exchanges and with Pimentel showing good durability against another ATG bantam puncher.

 

I think i might have that fight, i'll have a look later.

 

How would you have fancied your old fella's chances against Pimentel Al? I reckon he'd have done it close but clear on points myself.

 

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=9837

Here's an interview with Pimental. Sounds like a real grudge still with Parnassus.

 

I think it would of been a great fight, two top contenders. Pimental was a great puncher but dad was good against that style of fighter and did have a great chin. I know Ruben stopped him but he was the only one really and he might of stopped anybody at that point in his career. Jesus said that Ben Ali gave him his toughest fight and I think he was behind when Ali was stopped on cuts, he was a hard nut and a perennial contender himself. Dad shut Ben ali out in Newcastle in 65 and lost to him in a European title fight in Spain in 67. I'm not just saying it but that was an out and out robbery and that is well documented. Where the fight took place could of been a factor. I'll have a look at the Pimental Medel fight which I have got, just found it before and get back to you. I think it probably would of went to the cards.

 

Just watched Pimentel Medel and Pimentel Olivares. I'm sure if Jesus has a son he'll probably disagree but i think dad would outpoint him. He's a very dangerous puncher and tough but I really think dad had too many dimensions for him. He'd box behind the jab and wouldn't go looking for the KO. He'd box, stay off the ropes, hold the middle of the ring and I think as the fight goes on step up the pressure himself with the body shots. The most dangerous part would be the early rounds. I don't think on the whole, Jesus fought the same quality of fighter as dad. Medel was patient but I think sometimes Joe could be too patient, maybe that's why he's got quite a few losses on his ledger. Joe had that great equalizer though, his punch and he was a real trap setter the way he'd go back to the ropes and lure you in. They were the tactics that done for Harada and McGowan. Dad wasn't a puncher like Joe but was patient like him though more dynamic and probably a better punch picker and body puncher. I think Medel would be a tougher fight for dad than Pimentel. But hey, like I said, Jesus's lads would probably disagree

 

I thought it was interesting that Rafael Herrera was paid to be a stand in for Pimentel after what we were saying about Kabakoff.

 

Lovely post Al, I more or less agree with every word. I know your Dad was a bit of a slow starter but I still don't see Pimentel coming out of the traps like Olivares; that fight wasn't indicative of Rudkins ability anyway. Like you say, too many dimensions once he'd settled into his rhythm and the jaw to probably take any hard shots he might not see coming as well being a good body puncher himself. He did some great work to the body with his left against McGowan and Caldwell iirc and also slowed Haradas advances somewhat the same punch.

Right that he mixed it with better opponents too, in general; Pimentel didn't have as many of the perennial contenders of the day on his record. Good observations on Medel too, I think him vs your Dad would've been a great fight, closer than against Pimentel like you say. I'd struggle to pick a winner tbh. I don't think Rudkin would've fallen foul of Medel's traps so much like Mcgowan,Harada, Seki etc and he had the workrate and manoevreability to take advantage of Medel's laziness if he was in journeyman mode as he was prone to do. If Medel was fired up though and was determined to hold the fight at ring centre as well going to the ropes on occasion, he was a very skilful and formidable boxer puncher too. Great fight I reckon.

 

Y

Yeah, that was odd. They were probably wary of Kabakoff and Pimentel pulling another no show.

 

Cheers scar, interesting stuff.

 

Great interview Dan and well worth another read. Very interesting about Parnassus and it's true that he was in control of the bantamweight title. I know he was involved in all 3 of dad's title challenges, Harada Rose and Olivares. Dad though was never pressed for any option on his challenge to Harada. Those purses he's talking about sound spot on. 35 grand was the figure on the table for dad against Jesus and is what he got against Ruben. To give you an idea what 35000 dollars was, it was 14000 pound. The average wage in Britain at the time was about 1200 pound a year and is now about 30000 so do the math, it was big money George was paying.

 

Yes Medel when he was fired up was really top bat. I always wonder about some of his losses, a lot of them were on the road so who knows how those fights really went. I had the second Harada fight very close and Harada looked like he was hanging on in the 15th when Medel really got to him. I really don't know why flyweight McGowan was thrown in with him when he was pretty green still. Medel was number 1 contender for the bantamweight title with about 80 odd fights while Mcgowan had 20. Medel is the worst sort of opponent you want for a greenhorn. Walter's dad Joe Gans was a really brave man.

 

I can remember arguing on a thread a few years back about a lot of Medels losses being on the road in unknown circumstances and how it might have affected his record. I reckon that there's probably a bit of undiscovered gold in it, though it's just speculation on my part. I mean, he lost three times as a youngster on points to Becerra, for example, who looks excellent on film imo and was very highly regarded in his day. Deserving just one of those fights theoretically elevates his standing even further, though he more or less qualifies as a great fighter for me anyway. Certainly in and around the cusp at least, his record was very deep despite his often journeyman attitude and inconsistent record and he looks very talented on film. I'd personally put him on par with Barrera and Morales although it isn't a popular opinion, but then again I find both of them to be generally overrated as things go though I'm a fan of them.

I thought the Harada rematch was close too. If Medel had nailed him thirty seconds earlier in the 15th I think he might well have stopped him, Harada was really on shaky legs in those final seconds.

McGowan was just too Scottish. Hard little ******* despite his elegant style. Mental really that he jumped up to bantam and used Medel of all people as a stepping stone. He really liked a tear up when things got tough and didn't really shy away despite his thin skin and lack of power. Probably took a lot of willpower for him to just refrain from grabbing opponents by the chest hair and sticking his nut on them.

 

Sooo did anyone see my post earlier asking about Pimentel?