A good thread for my fellow Jerseyans. Who would have won if a prime Mike Rossman fought a prime Bobby Czyz at light heavy?
Agreed. Then again, I've never been that high on Czyz & thought he was one of those guys that benefits a ton from "favorable matchmaking". Fighting some different opponents that were around at the time sure changes things. And Rossman looked real good early in his career & I never saw that pedigree during the Czyz career. And Rossman was coming up during that tough late 70's era in that division with a lot of real good fighters around and it was very tough to pick your spots then. And anyway you slice it, that was a very nice win against the champ Galindez. But once he lost, he sure went downhill quick===which is an example of why safety first/no risk matchmaking is utilized so often.
Rossman with that jab. Would get the better of Czyz. Rossman had better boxing ability also & would be able to handle Czyz effectivly. But fellow Jersey Boy Dwight Braxton would be able to handle both of these guys on the same night!
The Mike Rossman of the first Galindez was better than any version of Czyz that be offered. I think Mike stops Bobby on cuts, or due to a cumulative beating by round 10.
Hey now!! We're not talking about Qawi!!! You're right, he'd be too much for Bobby just like he was too much for Rossman. Dwight was the Real King of New Jersey.
Don't forget the "Cinderella Man" He'd give Quawi a run for Jersey bragging rights! Was a tough LightHeavy Also.
Rossman, like Czyz, was more of a big middleweight than a true lightheavyweight. He started out as a middleweight and then jumped up to lightheavyweight because he couldn't make 160 lbs. without weakening himself. Rossman only weighed 171 lbs. when he defended his WBA championship against Aldo Traversaro in 1978. So, even at his peak, Rossman wasn't really filled-out physically. Remember, there was no 168 lbs. division in Rossman's day.
This is an excellent fight. I say that the Rossman who beat Galindez in 1978 would have defeated a peak Czyz. However, Rossman would need to have fought his best in order to win this bout. Even during his prime Rossman was hot-and-cold. He'd look excellent some nights then look like crap on others. He had a tendency to have "off nights". Rossman could not have afforded to have an "off night" against Czyz. If Mike wasn't 100% for this fight, Czyz would beat him down with heavy right hand leads and win by TKO. Still, assuming both guys fight their best, Rossman would have beaten Czyz in a war. Rossman's height, jab, and slashing combination punching would have made the difference. It probably would have gone the distance with Bobby suffering a lot of facial damage en route to losing a clear but hard fought decision.
