Rodrigo Valdez vs GMAN

Gerald McClellan? If so, I think Valdez was a much better technician and would eventually stop him late.

 

You posted the exact same thread in the general forum. Anyway in that one I picked Valdez.

 

Valdez, for those not yet born in the 70's, and for all the revisionists, was a far superior fighter than Nigel Benn who was superior to the GMAN. He would have outboxed, then dispatched him with the same power that destroyed Bennie Briscoe and even put the great Monzon down in their rematch. Rodrigo Valdez was catlike, like a panther, and had there been no Monzon, would have been an alltime great middleweight champion.

 

I understand your posting on the General Forum and then maybe trying to get a different take over here. I just exited out of a Leonard - Mayweather thread. Some of it is pure blasphemy, lol.

Anyway, concerning Valdez, I haven't seen any footage against Corro, but my understanding is that he was a little past best by then. I think prime for prime he'd get the better of Vito too. Jusy my opinion.

 

Corro was a good fighter himself, and underrated, I may add, but he was very lucky to be facing a spent force by then in Valdez. The two fights with Monzon ruined him, you might say, and he was the perfect foil for Corro's safety first defensive style, as he had the perfect fight plan to take advantage of the suddenly old Valdez. Low rating Valdez on the basis of his two decision losses to Corro is like judging Sugar Ray Leonard on the basis of his tko loss to Hector Camacho at the end of his career. In their primes, neither Corro or Antuofermo would have had no chance against Rodrigo Valdez. He would have stopped either one of them.

 

I don't like the comparison at all myself. Leonard was more than 40 years old and hadn't fought for 6 years.

Valdez by comparision was still active, was just 31 and had beaten Bennie Briscoe just 4 months before fighting Corrie :yikes

Valdez was world champ mate.

I will buy that Valdez was aged and slowing and Corrie was a bad style at that time. I've seen Corrie feature heavily in nominations for worst Middleweight champion ever, actually.

This might have been better compared to Leonard - Norris if anything.

 

Valdez had a real struggle with Robles mobile boxing as well.It just wasn't a good style for him, as he couldn't cut the ring off and just tended to plod after fighters.His jab was not much of a weapon either, so he couldn't pinch points against someone mobile too easily.

 

So Corrie would have given him trouble at any career point, possibly winning?

 

I think he would have made him look bad for sure.A younger Valdez should be able to win though.Corro was extremely easy to discourage, the only fight i saw of him where he really fought with balls was against Ronnie Harris, who choked in front of the volatile argentine crowd.

 

Valdez was a spent force after Monzon. He was never the same again. Some figters were like that, suddenly not having it any more. The pre-Monzon Valdez would have destroyed Corro, or Vito Antuofermo. Valdez would have been far more impressive against Vito than was Hagler because he was so much harder a hitter than Marvin. Corro wasn't as bad as the "experts" say he was, just a safety first type of figter who knew his limitations. Also, note how Valdez had to go 15 to win a hum-drum 15 round decision over Briscoe to win the vacant title after Monzon retired, whereas 3 years earlier he dazzled and then destroyed Bennie with one big punch. Monzon and Valdez took everything out of each other, somewhat like Ali and Frazier after the Thrilla. Speaking of Leonard and the comparison regarding the Camacho beating, you can even go back a few years earlier to the Terry Norris trouncing, which, I still maintain, wouldn't have happened in the years '81 thru '85, before Leonard's slide began. You can't hold the Norris loss against Leonard, just like you can't disregard Valdez for losing to Corro.

 

Before Gerald started to soak up the heavy punishment against Benn, the see-saw lateral movements of Nigel off-set his output in a big way and Valdez was rather good at that routine; sharp dips and a tight guard.

Valdez likely had a better grasp of the necessary fundamentals to catch McClellans big guns and reply back with the shorter, sharper punches. Gerald was not great at creating openings and that would cost him with Valdez winning the shootout.