I lean towards Watanabe. Only because I think he is a pretty complete boxer, and he would likely be able to put his full toolbox to use here. I don't want to get into the whole 'Moon's defense isn't the best', but let me rephrase- Watanabe will be able to hit him. This would be a war though, for two reasons- a) Moon will be in the ring b) Watanabe likely isn't going to be running It's a total clash and full of great timing and great skill. Good thread.
I like Moon. I think Watanabe gets a little overated, though I like him a lot. I think he's a little to square on occasion and I think he was vulnerable to attacks on the inside. Points.
If I were to favor any 115 pounder over Moon it'd probably be Watanabe (although Tapia wouldn't be a bad shout), but it's hard to call anything more than 50/50 when Moon's in the ring. Massive size, strength, power, durability and unorthodoxy could see him hurting anyone at any time, or just overwhelming their senses. And as wild as he was, he had good natural timing with his punches. Punches you wouldn't expect many world class fighters to get tagged with, he landed, and often.
A couple of times i've seen Watanabe just stand against his opponent and lean. OK, he might not have done this against Moon, we all know that, but I think he had a certain defensive naivity, especially in terms of defence to the body, that Moon would enjoy.
Watanabe was definitely a potentially lazy fighter who could get lackadaisical technically at times, especially as his reign wore on. he wouldnt want to be in that mindset against Moon.I think he was at his best when he had something to prove, especially his earlier fights against Pedroza and aging domestic legend Oguma where he kept things tight defensively and was able to use brilliant movement for the full 15 if necessary. That fighter was a great combo of speed and power who would be very tough to beat for most at 115 or 118.the average Moon id pick over the average Watanabe, but i think both at their best and going into hyped up bout or unification scenario that Watanabe may have been a fighter who had a few gears to call on he never really needed to show. While the title defence after defence against so-so opponents was fine for a no bull****, always in shape and no big aspirations type like Galaxy, or a dedicated craftsman like Roman, i think it was bad for a more easily waylaid enigmatic type like Watanabe;it just eroded his dedication and eventually skills.Then again maybe he would have been erratic even with Harada-esque challenges in front of him.
The Ballas fight is a quality fight...good clash of styles. Ballas is a highlights package kind of fighter...though his lack of power and consistent workrate hurt him in the long run