Harding . Neither had much natural ability, both relied on strength ,commitment and durability.Harding was naturally the bigger man. Collins had marginally more boxing skills, but the stronger Aussie takes this by dec.
I pick Collins. The weight might be a little different, but Collins was a more consistent fighter and had better defense I think.
Collins was an animal, scared the **** outa most guys, no links sorry but have seen footage of a handful of ex fighters who all said nice guy, nutter in the ring.
collins obviously smaller but still, the way he battered much stronger men is pretty awe inspiring. i feel he is just as strong. it's boxing skills that beat collins. and harding to me is too stationary and open for a collins bum rush. in the collins-pavlik thread i voted collins for the same reason. steve is underrated in his positioning and his timing. makes him a much tougher opponent than the simple brawler he was labelled. collins ud.
Well he only lost at 160 to McCallum, and Reggie Johnson....and both of those guys woulda kicked Pavlik's ass 6 ways from sunday. In fact Reggie Johnson was a better Martinez, and Collins ran Johnson alot closer than Pavlik ran Martinez. Nevermind McCallum, who woulda stopped Kelly in about 9 one sided rounds. Pavlik wouldnt get a SNIFF of any belt in the 90's. I think even Sugar Boy Maligna would beat Kelly. There isnt much of a case to be made for Pavlik beating Collins. Outside of being a bigger puncher, there really isnt a damn thing Pavlik has over Steve. And Kelly's power is neutralized by Collins' rock chin. Collins was stronger than Pavlik, had a much better chin, was QUICKER(which is sad cause Steve was hardly fast, but Kelly is THAT slow), had a better defense, and was a better thinker. If Kelly cant hurt you, he's ****ed in the ring. He just has no varation WHATSOEVER in his game. He's one of the most basic elite fighters theres been.
Collins had decent speed, the thing that made him effective was his timing. Which is why he was able to land on Eubank, and Johnson, even though those guys were faster than him. I think that Jones, and Toney woulda done a number on Collins, probably Calzaghe too.... but outside of them theres alot of guys he woulda given trouble to. But in any case, he'd look fast vs a sloth like Pavlik, and would find Kelly an impossible target to MISS.
Harding would snash his body up.Collins would not want to rumble on the inside with Harding. And no Tony thorton was not better then Kelly.
At his best and given full time to prepare for a fighti think he was, if only slightly.Not really worth arguing over.