I was caught off guard by how many people picked him in the other thread as the one fighter they would like to bring back from history. Im familiar with him, but not so much in depth. What would he have become, how good was he?
He was one of the best fighters I have ever seen. He was a masterful boxer and an extraordinary counterpuncher who was willing to stand in there and fight. Every time an opponent would miss a punch, he would come back with 2 or 3 punches of his own, and he had excellent short punches. Tough as nails too. He could have been one of the top 10 or 15 fighters of all time had he continued to improve and fight/beat guys like Arguello, Pedroza, and Chavez at 130. Rematches against Gomez and most importantly, Azumah Nelson would have further added to his legacy. For being 23 and establishing himself as an all time great, it's terribly sad thinking what this young kid could have been. Here are some videos for anybody who hasn't seen him or wants to see more...enjoy! [yt]coiSBprgIpA[/yt] [yt]9cszxGQkvUk[/yt]
Don't forget that Nelson was still very green(15 fights) and lasted in to the 14th round. But Sanchez was a future ATG at the time. He would have been just that
Salvador Sanchez was an all-time great at 23, and to me, given the talent that he displayed at such a young age, against the level of competition he fought, I could see him as a top 3-5 fighter of all time. He was absolutely no joke and would have easily cleaned out a few divisions a la Arguello, but even more emphatically. His style also would have adapted better to the bigger men as he was very fluid on his feet as well. I can't see him surpassing Robinson or Armstrong, but he was well on his way to truly be one of the all time, all time greats.
I could see Salvador definitely certifying his greatness at 126, though Pedroza might beat him.At 130 and up, fighters like Arguello, Camacho, Rosario, and Davis Jr would give him hell.
I think he would of been a top 10 P4P fighter Then again if Tyson died in a car accident at 23 I might be saying he would of been the greatest heavyweight ever.
I can't see Pedroza beating him, Rosario was a bigger version of Gomez, Arguello lacked the footspeed to deal with some one like Sanchez, but Camacho would definitely have been his biggest test as Camacho was a freak at 130. At 23, nobody fought back against Tyson. Not so In Sanchez's case. He beat another ATG before 23.
Sanchez fought better opposition than Tyson. I do think that to an extent Sanchez gets overrated because of his early death, but he was a great boxer regardless.