Vincent Pettway - Gianfranco Rosi II (A dud by any other name, aka "Where did Rosi learn to box?"

This is s nice post and interesting thread. Nothing is particularly disagreeable based on the 2nd Pettway fight in isolation.

However Rosi was 37 in this fight and had been a pro since 1978 so 17 years. He looked unrecognisable in the ring both performance wise and facially from the guy who only months earlier had handled the dangerous Pettway quite handily winning 4 of the 5 completed rounds with his patent high energy, brave but crafty mix of boxing and stronghouse spoiling. In that first fight he had his usual short haircut and very thin goatee that made him look like a cross between Tony Montana and the former Australian test cricketer Merv Hughes.

For the rematch he had a bizarre long curly hairstyle that made him look like Sacha baron Cohen ( and fight like him too). He just wasn't in the mood and a year later at 38 came back to comprehensively beat Verno Phillips for the WBO title but NC'd due to a banned substance in his system. But for that hes a 3 title 154lb champ ( IBF,WBC,WBO) and he beat the recent WBA 154lb champ Gilbert Dele. Yes it was a weak division apart from Rosi ,Terry Norris and the deteriorating superstars and blown up welterweights he beat in 1990-92.

Pettway a highly capable olympic level boxer ( the kind who'd be a sorld champion today)with a mean violent streak from his days on the streets of Baltimore and dangerous power wasn't allowed to box in the first fight and was doing his usual hitting on the break and headbutts one of which opened a horrific cut and ended the fight. It was ruled a technical draw but Rosi was clearly ahead on points.

Im the rematch only 6 months later he had none of his usual energy and style of fighting he seemed to have gone old and gun shy overnight and was pretty much a sitting duck. The cut hadn't had time to heal.

I can see how someone could easily form a poor opinion of Rosi in that fight but his record was no joke. 2 time light middleweight champion albeit always behind the true champion Terry Norris. His second reign had lesser quality opponents but than so did Terry Norris's)

He beat a better quality of opponent on and around his first short WBC reign.

He took it to a diminished Donald Curry and lost bravely.

At the end when you have wins over prime Chris Pyatt,Lupe Acquino,Duane Thomas,Gilbert Dele,Van Horne and in essence tainted wins over Verno Phillips and Pettway its fair to say you have a decent record far removed from a padded one.

He also fought Lloyd Honeyghan. I wouldn't say he had a padded record I
Over in Europe he beat a lot of good European level like guys like Troy Waters and Rene Jacquot who whatever you say about him actually outboxed Don Curry to win a world title where even a shot Curry was outboxing a prime Nunn over 6 rounds. And Rosi beat Castillegos who was a wbc world champion at 140.

 

Rosi was greatness.

The IBHOF should be abolished if he doesn't make it in this year.

 

I agree with what you say.

His off the floor (and almost stopping him in the later rounds) win over future WBO middleweight champ (beat Kalambay,fresh off a win over Steve Collins, made 2 spectacular ko defenses before Collins stopped him in 5) Chris Pyatt in arguably his most entertaining fight.

His one-sided destruction of John Mugabi conqueror, Duane Thomas was brutal.

2 wins over future Super-middleweight champ Darrin Van Horn were impressive, beating dangerous punchers like Lupe Aquino and Troy Waters showed what a tricky customer he could be.

One small quibble is that he didn´t beat Castillejo, it was former World champion Perico Fernandez who had seen better days when he laced gloves with Rosi.

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Franco was a master of all sorts of trickeration they don’t teach in boxing charm school.

Throw a right hand and miss, fall in with the shoulder to his chest and grab him around the back of the neck. Maul the opponent in a clinch, when the referee separates push off the back foot and lunge in with a flurry as soon as the ref steps back before the other guy can set. Bury his head on his foe’s chest and blast away to the body. Overcommit to a punch and then barrel ahead rather than spring back where the opponent expects him to be for a counter. None of it strictly illegal, none of it pretty, but most of the time very effective.

At his best, he flummoxed and frustrated the bejeezus out of his opposition and wore them out with his physical tactics … and make no mistake about this — he was one of the fittest guys of any era because that kind of body-to-body grappling coupled with his wild attacks makes for an exhausting night’s work.

Count me as a fan. I enjoyed watching his rugged roughneck ways and ability to dictate the terms of combat. He’s not unlike Sammy Angott, the supreme of spoilers.

 

Rosi should've challenged Crisanto España for the title of Worst Boxer Physique.

 

Ok here it goes and I'm probably going to catch grief for it.
Rosi was not that good but he was stronger then he looked and incredibly awkward and he usually fought in his home country.
Plus he was very durable.
When he fought Curry Donald was completely shot and he managed to bounce Rosi off the canvas a million times before stopping Rosi and Curry was absolutely shot to bits.
When he fought Thomas Duane had come to the end of his career. And Lupe just slept walked through his entire fight with Rosi.
On a European level Rosi was very effective and very awkwa