Rocky Graziano vs. Jose Napoles

I like Napoles by mid-round kayo.

 

This is a mismatch imo. Graziano with his complete disregard for defence and wildly telegraphed overhand right is no match for a sharpshooter like Napoles. Rocky`s chin wouldn`t hold up for too long either to those scything hooks and uppercuts from Jose, who would time him with accurate counters as Graz comes in looking to find a home for that right hand of his. Napoles by early KO, say around the 4th or 5th rounds.

 

I agree.

 

Napoles was a natural lightweight who had to move to Welter to get a title shot.

Napoles looked "small' against Monzon.

As someone else said, Graziano loved to beat up on welters and this fight is being fought at Middleweight.

If the Rock can put away Zale he can put away Jose.

I think Rocky will walk out and start flailing until his right connects.

Rocky by TKO in 3, with both guys hitting the deck.

 

BIG DEE HERE= Graziano would kill Napoles by the 6th rd unless he ran for his
life. Graziano feasted on welterweights and mean feasted as ate them alive, one of the greatest welterweights of all time was Marty Servo who`s career was cut short by Graziano. Rocky Graziano hit Servo so hard in the nose that it destroyed Marty`s face. Servo was told by doctors at the Mayo Clinic that to keep fight would probabilly cause his death with the right shot to the nose as Graziano drove his bone almost to his brain. Marty was in the hospital for
over a month from the punch. GRAZIANO`S RIGHT HAND WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST IN BOXING HISTORY, RIGHT UP THERE WITH KETCHELL`S AND
P4P WITH MAX BAER`S. I think Jose Napoles was one of the best welterweights in the history of the division but this is the wrong guy for him to fight as he hasn`t the punch to hurt Graziano. It took a puncher the like
of a Sugar Ray Robinson or Tony Zale to stop him and Jose Napoles is neither.

 

While it is true that Napoles started off as a lightweight, I don`t think that will have much bearing on the outcome of this fight. Jose did grow into a fairly robust welter after a few fights at the weight, and he was a very durable guy with a great chin whereas Rocky while durable as well could be hurt and badly at that. It is my belief that Napoles was simply so much better than Rocky in almost every single category you could think of save for the possible exception of punching power that even though Rocky would have been the naturally bigger man, the huge disparity in talent between the two would have been the deciding factor here and not the difference in size.

As for Napoles looking "small" next to Monzon, I don`t see how that is relevant unless you are implying that Rocky was as big as Monzon which I disagree with. Put Rocky next to Carlos and I daresay he would look the smaller man too and not by a little either, remember that Graz was only 5`8 and was really more of a jr.middleweight than a full fledged middleweight. As for your mention of Graz being able to put away Zale thus meaning he can and would likely put away Napoles too, I have to disagree again. Zale wasn`t exactly known for his defence and ability to slip punches like Napoles was, and frankly their respetive styles couldn`t have been more different.

Zale got starched in their second meeting mainly due to fatigue from beating the crap out of Graz for the first 3-4 rounds, it was only after Zale had tired that Graz got back into the fight and came on to stop him. Napoles did not fight that way and would have simply let Rocky come to him and let him throw those wild right hands over and over again while countering the **** out of him at every turn. And should one of those right hands find their mark, Jose`s chin would have withstood the blow and he would have went right back to business.

The only possible scenario in which I can see Rocky winning this fight would be if he opened up a cut/cuts on Napoles and forced a stoppage, other than that I think he gest his clock cleaned and gets stretched for the count nine times out of ten. Rocky was a decent fighter with a great punch and tons of heart, but thats about it whereas Napoles is a genuine all-time great who does everything better and had the right style to trounce Rocky more often than not, therein lies the difference between these two.

 

BIG DEE HERE= What do you mean hurt and hurt badly,are you kidding me as the only guys to stop Graziano were Zale And Robinson. Napoles punched like a ***** compared to those two guys. Napoles was beaten by Billy Backus one of the worst welterweight champions of all time. When Napoles tried to step up to middleweight he was destroyed by Monzon. He beat a weight drained Emile Griffith who looked like he wouldn`t make all 15 rds because he
had to make 147 which was utter stupidity on Grffith`s part. Napoles hit
Griffith fluse in the chin and couldn`t even hurt him with clean shots to the chin and he`s going to hurt Graziano. Let`s not eve talk about Zale as he would really pound Napoles into the ground. Oh that`s right Napoles who couldn`t do anything with Monzon but be a punching bag for 7 rds.
While Zale fought Billy Conn to a dec. in 10 but Napoles would fight a guy that
took Joe Louis to brink in a heavyweight title fight. GIVE ME A ****IN BREAK
PLEASE, I BEEN A BOXING HISTORIAN FOR OVER 40 YEARS AND THE CRAP I HEAR ON THIS CLASSIC SITE FROM YOUNG TWERPS THAT KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF BOXING HISTORY RANKS MY ASS. OTHER BOXING HISTORIANS WHO USED TO COME HERE, DON`T ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THESE GUYS FROM WHERE EVER THEY COME FROM SEE A TWO MIN PIECE OF FILM AND NOW THEY EXPERTS. WHILE GUYS LIKE ME HAVE STUDIED FIGHT FILMS FOR 30,40, MORE THAN 50 YRS BUT WE DON`T KNOW A GODDAMN THING.

 

That should sum it up nicely.

 

BIG DEE HERE= Oh and by the way Napoles never ever beat a MIDDLEWEIGHT
IN HIS LIFE, OR EVEN FIGHT ONE EXCEPT FOR MONZON.

 

So Big Dee, you must know something us novices don't know when Marty Servo is one of the best WW's of all time, while Backus was the worst champion of all time. Napoles's achilles heel was his skin, which Raging B(_)LL alluded to. It's also something you didn't take into consideration when discussing his cuts loss to Backus in their first fight.

Griffith was weight drained, but he was also better at MW than Graziano the way I see it. And nobody said Napoles would fight Billy Conn, you're getting too deep into things that have nothing at all to do with a matchup between two different fighters at MW.

 

BIG DEE HERE= Of couse I know that`s all part of being a fighter. His eye cuts
were a problem for him but the Buckus fight was a perfect example of his weakness`s Backus wasn`t the puncher that Graziano or Zale was and absolutely cut Napoles to ****in ribbons over both eyes so it wasn`t an
accident. Marty Servo was an all time great untill Graziano destroyed him
Servo gave Ray Robinson two of the hardest fights he ever fought losing
a UD in the first fight but handing Robinson a beating on the inside where
he didn`t go dancing that night. In the second fight the fight was a SD
where the crowd thought that Marty Servo won the fight and BOOed
loudly. 15,000 people weren`t wrong as Servo kicked Rays ass that night
referee Cavanaugh had it 5-3-2 Servo, judge Healy had it 6-3-1 Robinson
and judge Curly had it and I don`t know what fight he was watching 9-1 Robinson and the only time in Sugar Ray Robinson`s the people in NYC booed and threw things into the ring in discust over the dec. MARTY SERVO WAS A VERY GOOD WELTERWEIGHT. RAY ROBINSON CALLED MARTY SERVO ONE OF THE BEST FIGHTERS HE EVER FOUGHT IN HIS PRIME AS A WELTERWEIGHT.
THAT COME`SFROM THE BEST WELTERWEIGHT WHO EVER LIVED.

 

The fight is a mis-mastch (that may be harsh, but its almost along those lines) in a p4p sense. At 160 hard to say, because Napoles hasnt done anything there for me to say he could do something here, and Graziano could be a menace in the ring, and punch.

Anyway, Napoles would need to box masterfully imo, which he can, he can catch Rocky when hes disregarding defence with those unorthodox hooks and uppercuts and get back out in time. But i dont know if Napoles is the type to keep this up ALL-NIGHT, and Graziano may get to him later.

Anyway, i must make a pick, and i'll just go with Napoles as he was one of the very very finest in his own division, and Graziano is somewhat off that by a good bit imo, in terms of historical greatness. Napoles should be the underdog though

 

Fair enough, but it's all good, don't you think? If you feel someone is wrong on a point, use that knowledge to prove otherwise. Freaking out is helping nobody.

 

Charley Fusari and Tony Janiro, two good boxers, gave Graziano
a tough time.

I don't think that Fusari or Janiro were as good as Napoles.

Napoles was a better puncher than Janiro and Fusari and had
a great defense.

Napoles' loss to Monzon was at the end of Jose' career and Monzon
was a tall middleweight with a hard jab.

Graziano has a punchers chance but I lean towards Napoles in this one.

BTW, Graziano also was cut in a number of fights, so Napoles is not
the only one with this problem.


Grebfan9
www.firstroundboxing.com