I’m with you on feeling we don’t have enough evidence at how Sal would handle 130 against this level of opposition. Only fight of consequence he had (or at least that I’ve seen) above feather for Sanchez was against Nicky Perez, who had recently moved up from 122 to 126 and wasn’t himself a full-blown super feather by any stretch. Sal boxed nicely and more or less shot Nicky out, but that’s not the same as a fire-breathing dragon like Chavez pressing him from bell to bell. If any Sanchez fight lends insight, I’d have to say it’s probably Nelson, who was green but gave Sal fits. Sanchez certainly had the frame to comfortably carry 130 pounds, but JC Superstar has the more proven track record at the weight so I’d have to favor him by decision.
I like Salsanchez here by decision. However I understand why somebody would make a case for JCC because it is a very close fight.
Sal was a Championship Rounds specialist. JCC never had the chance to prove himself over more than 12 rounds, but Championship Distance veteran Rocky Lockridge pushed him to a 12 round MD at 130. That's enough for me. Sanchez, who John Madden called the most aerobically perfect athlete he ever knew of, clearly overtakes Chavez in the Championship Rounds for a 15 round UD. (@salsanchezfan, do you have any objection to this conclusion?)
Hi Buddy. This is the post ! as I have said before, when I am undecided at some stage or other a learned poster will breakdown the fight in question with alacrity, and you have been that man, spot on analysis, for what it's worth I slightly favoured Chavez prior to you post, and do so more now, thanks matey. stay safe Saint, chat soon.
Allow me to speak about John Madden for a moment. The highest winning percentage of all time in the NFL with a minimum of 50 wins belongs to Guy Chamberlain, who coached for six seasons from 1922 to 1927, the first two undefeated, and his record percentage is .784 with a 58-16-7 dossier and four NFL Championships in those six seasons. He rightly lived long enough to accept induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965, but in his final season as HC of the Chicago Cardinals, he did post a losing record of 3-7-1. Second place on the ALL TIME winning percentage list is John Madden who went 103-32-7 for .759 from 1969 to 1978, all winning seasons, with a Super Bowl victory in 1976. Do you know how crazy that is, to have done that entirely within the Super Bowl era? The guy actually simplified and distilled Vince Lombardi (in third place at 96-34-6 for a percentage of .738 with winning seasons in all ten years, with five Championships before his premature death from aggressive colon cancer at 57). Lombardi simplified the game to having the hardest working teams on the gridiron and stressing execution. Madden reduced that emphasis to perfecting the line of scrimmage on offense and defense. Win in the trenches and everything else will take care of itself. Modern head coaches don't quite get that. In 2007, when the Patriots were leading the Giants at halftime in their bid for a perfect season, I made a post in the old ESB Lounge observing that the Giants were beating the Pats on both sides of the line of scrimmage. It was a harbinger of the Giants upset win. Madden was right It's all about the line of scrimmage. After leaving the Oakland Raiders to commence a long and legendary career as an analyst with Pat Summerall, he became a brilliant observer of other sports as well, and was highly knowledgeable about impact sports like boxing. So for him to detail what he described about Sal upon his tragic death is incredibly noteworthy and was perhaps the most quoted commentary about Sanchez. The guy was absolute indefatigable. He tended to fight to the level of his opponents, but if trailing, he always rallied in the Championship Rounds JCC never experienced. His destructions of Little Red 2X, Gomez and Nelson in round 15 of his final match are legendary. Danny Lopez was known for his stamina as well as punching power, yet Sal completely owned him both times in protracted beatings. The power of Chavez wouldn't help him any more than the power of Lopez 2X and Gomez did. Gomez was thought to be the P$P best when Sal destroyed him.
For example, Sal's trainers would tell him to spar at a three minute pace which would result in a specific heart rate, and he would always nail that target perfectly when his vitals were taken between each round. (I don't know if they used Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in his training, but it wouldn't surprise me. Much science was used in his conditioning, and he was examined at Ken Cooper's Aerobic Clinic in Dallas, Texas.) Sanchez had a resting heart rate of a marathon champion like 38 beats per minute, which meant that each 60 second interval between rounds was long enough to allow him to start over again as if he was boxing the opening round over and over again. It was virtually impossible for him to gas. Despite what he did to Gomez, he was no great puncher, but then again, he didn't have to be.
This is the way I see it. People let their perception of Julio become jaded because he went on too long, partied too much in the latter half and become a whiner. BUT, in his prime at 130 and 135, he was damn near unbeatable, a true force of nature.
Mexican dream fight At 130 would have been interesting...the differences in styles was simple SS was a counter puncher and JCC was a boxer puncher so the match up is outstanding. SS isn't going to stop JCC whose chin was cast iron and he had a great defense. For me I think JCC takes it by decision....SS was an ATG but was only 23 when he died so I am not sure how much better he was going to get and that is the crux I am not sure if where is was when he died was where he needed to be to beat JCC. The reason I think the fight goes the distance is simply because SS came from the same warrior mindset and Mexican fighters give each other the toughest fights
Thanks Anubis. Great information. He did look effortless. I wondered how much was down to relaxation in the ring and how much was physical gifts. Sounds like he lucked out on both.
This is correct. I NEVER saw him open his mouth to breathe, during action or between rounds. Yes, he was very calm, in the way Sweet Saoul Mamby always was. He absolutely disdained muscularity in favor of suppleness, as muscles can consume oxygen. He always began his training below 126 pounds, just as SRL always opened camp below whatever weight limit he'd be competing at. (Gomez of course always had weight problems.) JCC would pin him against the ropes. It was from the ropes that Sal decked Gomez and fractured his cheekbone. Chavez might want to keep this at ring center. Sanchez also had serious speed, and it was lack of hand speed, not power, which twice doomed Little Red, who with his broad shoulders (long collarbone) hit harder than anybody at that weight. Power would be of no avail for JCC.
