Thank You For Not Boxing: retired on time, Vol 1: Joan "The Sycuan Warrior" Guzmán

I think Guzman had some serious talent, I dare to say up there on the level of a Mayweather or Rj in his PRIME. I agree, tho he never got to beat any of his better known contemporaries that eventually went on to become atg's, I would of never betted against Guzman either. H2h he was a monster. But post Funeka, he was still pretty good, but he'd clearly lose to an elite. What a waste of talent, coulda been an atg Imo. But I think his limit was at 130. By the time he reached 135 MAB and Morales were done, Guzman would of beaten them, as some B-level fighters did. Guzman schooled a prime Zorrita, tho not as great as his Mexican contemporaries, but still solid. Rematch at 135-140 would of been very entertaining, Guzman-Soto II, only cuz Guzman had slipped considerably and Soto still a solid fighter. Guzman coulda been a hero in the DR, he blew it big time.

 

Wonderful boxer, amazing talent. I agree with those saying that he could have achieved much more than he actually did. Great talent.

EDIT: and smart, really smart guy into the ring. I love it.

 

I've always thought of him to be a fighter with a lot of potential, but he failed to take the right steps

 

Funeka was robbed in his fight against Guzman, and I'm a fan of Guzman.

He had a hell of a lot of potential but couldn't stay away from the buffet line. Fragile hands also hampered him. He was called "little Tyson" at first because he was KO'ing all bums on the way up. I would have favored him over Pacquiao, Marquez etc. at the lighter weights. He was talented enough to toy and clown Humberto Soto and win comfortably. Soto was no joke at 130. That tells you how talented Guzman was. Arum used the excuse post fight that Guzman clowned a fight with Pacquiao away. Arum just didn't want Soto to literally Merengue on the Pacman, like he did on Soto. lol

 

You could indeed and it would be a fair argument. Guzman certainly had the tools. Though, there's a fair bit of extrapolation from the little we did see (ideally from the Humberto Soto bout; Guzman's signature win; achieved at 130), in order to make that call.

At the time, I would have still backed both Pacquiao and Marquez to have beaten Guzman. Although, at the same time, I'd have backed Guzman to beat just about any other SFW.

 

How many times in his career did he fail to make weight? :think

 

I have to say, I did find the front he exhibited, in even showing up to a weigh-in on certain +8/+9lb occasions, quite amusing, as well as downright indefensible.

 

Guzman was one of my favorite guys to watch in the 2000's era. Fun as hell. Here's a highlight vid I made a while back:

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BTW Guzman-Barrios is a must watch if you've never seen it.. jajaja.... I can't really name anyone else who fought like Guzman.

Barrios is another guy who could have done a lot more in his career if it wasn't for the various issues... not as much potential as Guzman of course but Barrios could have beaten a lot of very good fighters.

 

When in shape, he was the definition of unbeatable.

I have no doubt he was avoided by the top stars.