i just watched salvador sanchezs demolishing of little red. I gave red 1 round. Alot of people say Salvador Sanchez what if? From watching that fight he was absoulotly superb i dont see how you could improve that much. He had excellent balance, brilliant head movement, fast hard punches, brilliant straight right and left hook, decent chin, really composed and had maturity beyond his years. If someone asked me to highlight Sancheses weaknesses and devise a fight plan to beat him. I would really struggle to do so. So this is what im getting at i dont think Sanchez would have got much better but saying that he still would have been in the top 5 greatest feathers ever and maybe even getting inot top 20 P4P.
People say "what if" more for what he could've achieved, not necessarily his talent/skills, which are always praised.
Yes he was possibly the best ever FW at 23yo, but what could he have gone on to achieve? He could easily have been a 3 weight champ and would have fought at championship level for 10years with many more outstanding wins. The only question is how long his undefeated championship status would have lasted As it is the Greatest Mexican of all time, and thats saying something for a 23yo
he struggled against guys like Castillo and Ford so he was far from unbeatable but yes he was a great fighter.
I think Sanchez would've been a very good SFW. I think we would've known 'what if' if he'd survived long enough to jump up to LW and fight Alexis Arguello. Would that have been the greatest fight of all time? If Sal carried the extra weight well, then yes, it might well have been.
I say Sal Sanchez was one of the greatechampions of any division in boxing history. Certainly e greatest Mexican champ ever. He was sheer class in demolishing Little Red as well as another of my favorites, the alltime great Wilfredo Gomez. Wha more can you ask for in a fighter?
..............It's an interesting exercise, I suppose, but I don't spend a lot of time wondering about that actually. I've said this here before, but I think it's a big assumption to say he had a huge amount of time left anyway. First, he was saying before he died that he wanted to fight one more year, and then retire to go to medical school. Fighters always say "one more year" though, so who knows....... That, and look at the guy's record. What was it, 45 fights? He wasn't exactly a huge puncher either, so almost all of his championship fights were extended efforts, he was putting in a lot of rounds. All of that takes a toll. He was 15 when he turned pro, so it's not like he just got started when he died. I guess what I'm saying is it's more likely that we did indeed see the best he was going to offer.
I actually disagree theoretically here. Let me first pronounce i admire greatly your ability to judge your favourite fighter both harshly and with no bias whatsofukkingever! Now lets do some digging. Firstly there is no way on mother earth Sal is retiring so quickly and going to med school. He did indeed have plenty of time left IMO. You and i both know fighters. Holmes had me convinced the most, with all his i don't want to end up like Ali i am a family man rants. God bless his decade or more post retirement date promise went well. Whilst i agree he was putting in a lot of rounds, remember that you are one who has strongly mentioned his incredible aerobic recuperation ability. He also did not take that much punishment. I see him as old school, and believe his longevity would have been just fine excepting if he bit off far more than he could chew over an extended period of fights. Another point, Sanchez was a fighter who rose to the occasion. The man was dynamite vs the Lopez's and Gomez's. Moving up in weight and taking on bigger and better just might have brought out the absolute greatness in him. Look at other cases. Duran - Leonard, Hopkins of recent times, Hearns at various times, etc etc. Make no bones about it, Sanchez too had this quality IMO. Whilst i don't think he would ever have beaten Arguello (just my opinion btw) i do believe he would have wreaked some havoc. I've had a few Barefoot Radler's, but hope you still get my jist
sanchez had the style that would last until his late 20s i think he relyied on movement as his defence and dint have a hard pop so he had to go the distance alot. as he got to hi late 20s his reflexes and speed would go but IMO he owuld still be one of the best
.............I fully acknowledge that your scenario is also a possibility. There are examples of fighters who start early and just keep going. I guess my post was directed more toward the assumption that because he died at 23, he didn't reach his true potential. I don't agree with that. He had a full career behind him by that time, and had morphed in terms of style, honing it down to a fine point. This is usually the mark of a fighter who has peaked. And what is a barefoot Radler? Did the girl in your avatar have one? :hey