There are a few fighters capable of beating him at 115. Not to say they would for certain, but someone like Watanabe I might favor.
Tyson put Tyson in a H2H and someoene will inevitably claim that Tyson could never beat an ATG because he would have gotten scared if someoene landed on him.
What??? Tyson is the most sure-bet win in any H2H hyopthetical matchup in any weight class. It is hard for anyone to pick against Prime Tyson. Personally I think Marlon Starling has the skills to beat a LOT, and I mean a LOT of fighters at his best. Agree WhatARock, although I actually think that's because Armstrong doesn't match up too well H2H. Can't see him beating Duran/Pea, Ortiz at LW, and I can't see him beating Sanchez or Pep at FW. Although there is also no doubt in my mind that Armstrong is my no.3 P4P of all time :good
I agree. Although to be honest I DO think the Mijares of a couple of years back would've been in with a great shot. Mainly because I don't believe in Tapia's power (although to some extent that may be because the footage I've seen of Tapia is mainly from BW and FW) On the other side of things, I think Tapia gets less credit than he should for ring generalship and a ramrod jab. People forget that by the time he lost to Ayala (at 118) he was 42-0-1. That's a Hell of a streak for a lower weight fighter in todays fight game. I also think Rafa Marquez is downgraded in a H2H sense. I think he would spark Alfonso Zamora and would last longer than most with Zarate. Although, funnily enough I envision Pintor as a harder fight for Marquez than Zarate (Not saying at all that I think Marquez beats either, he goes down against both, although I would think against 12 rounds against Pintor he might be in with a shout, admittedly not a big one) The Rafa of four years ago would splatter all of today's Bantams, even Hasegawa whom I rate highly. Of course, BW is known for having some of the hardest P4P punchers in history for any one weight class (Olivares, Jofre as well, there are of course many others) Feel free to add your own comments, I'm not saying my opinions are gospel....just ideas.
I've never thought that highly of Rafa's overall talent, though it's tough to knock him after the classic trilogy with Vazquez he's given us.He seems to be generally rated highly on here rather than being knocked i thought. He's a solid fighter and i rate him as a banger, but he's slow and flat footed for the weight with bad defence for a boxer-puncher and relatively basic in his skillset.Tim Austin was overrated as well imo. Zamora gets slated as a limited puncher and he certainly was in comparison in to a lot of his contemporaries, but he was just as skilled as Marquez with much better footwork and movement.That crushing almost Julian Jackson level power would be too much for a slow hittable guy like Rafa imo. Maybe the only Bantam i've been really impressed by since old Konadu and Tapia was Sahaprom.He was a much more complete, classy boxer-puncher than any of the more visible American based champions of recent years. In fact, the whole crop of Bantams\Flys from about the mid-nineties on have mostly been a sorry mediocre bunch, compared to the '60s-'80s golden age.I'm really hoping things pick back up again soon.
I don't think Mijares would'e had much chance against Tapia. He's like a down-graded version IMO. And for the record, I'd favor Armstrong over Pep, and possibly Sanchez at Featherweight. I could see him beating Ortiz as well at Lightweight.
Sam Langford at heavyweight. If you pick him over either of the Klitschko brothers people say that you are delusional!! If you pick him over George Foreman you are beyond delusional. Because at the end of the day he was only 5' 6''.
Billy Graham would have to be one of them. He pretty much held his own against the likes of Basilio, Gavilan and Giardello but you don't hear much about him when discussing welterweight matchups.
Modern fighters in general are often underrated, especially on classic, if they haven't been retired 20years they dont get their due
True, but in the same vein that times always for reviewing their entire careers, their weaknesses, etc.
graham was robbed in the gavilan fight...even the referee admit that he received a purse to aid gavilan in the fight
I've scored it twice, and had Gavilan winning at least 10 rounds each time. Robbery my ass. No doubt about it, Graham was an excellent fighter though.
Armstrong over Pep at Featherweight? hows armstrong going to beat him? He certainly doesnt have a chance at outpointing him....Pep will pile up the points with his finese boxing and fluid combinations....no featherweight can outpoint pep. I dont see armstrong wearing pep down for the stoppage either. Pep will not be there to be hit, so armstrong wont have anything to wear down. Pep will just stick and move all night, and armstrong wont be able to catch him.