He was good enough that he would of had a losing title fight at 175. He made the most of the new Cruiserweight division, and was as good as anyone on his day in the division in the 70s/early 80s. I did not think he was the most exciting fighter to watch. But I have not seen the Matt Saad Muhammad fights he had, they might be worth a look (if available) as Matt was rarely in a bad fight during the period.
He is very well regarded in Montana boxing, such as it is, especially among Native American boxers. At that time the state of Montana boxing was substantially better, during the 70s there were still a lot of gyms and there were still pretty major fights in towns like Butte and Missoula in the 60s and early 70s. I am friends with a guy that was ranked #5 nationally at 132- he fought in tournaments with Leonard and Davis jr, Pryor and Hearns.
The man's name is Tom. He told me that when he planned to turn pro, he moved to California and lived with Randy Shields. He said he went back to Montana when he became disillusioned upon finding out that many of the fighters he had looked up to were drunks outside of the gym.
