Was Montell Griffin just a fluke, or could he really throw hands?

Same level as Glen Johnson and Eric Harding. Worse than Tarver, Dawson, and obviously Dariusz. He’d be a contender or B list champ in any era.

Virgil Hill would’ve been an interesting match up.

 

I wouldn’t call his career a “ fluke. “ the Roy Jones DQ win was probably a stroke of luck but his wins over Toney were legit and in truth Griffin did have some success in the pros. I just think he had a short shelf life and wasn’t quite destined for greatness but still a decent fighter

 

Griffin was very lucky to get those decisions over Toney. The win over Roy Jones was more legit because it was a clear case of DQ

 

Eddie Futch did a great job in his corner

 

I'm pretty sure that he is a guy that started boxing about 20 minutes after he learned to walk. He stumbled along well enough to interest Eddie Futch, a man known for wasting his time.
My guess would be that a guy that started boxing almost at birth, with a world class trainer in his corner...anything that he accomplished had to be a fluke.

 

Hush his pecs were too small to ever achieve greatness- Anyways I’d much rather listen to people bicker whether or not Tommy Morrison hit hard or really hard…

 

He frustrated Roy all night to the point Roy cheap shotted him. Well done by Montell.

 

Montell started to box at age 5

 

In retrospect, he was a massive overachiever. He was a skilled, tricky technician who could fight well on the inside & from long range (despite his short stature), but he lacked significant power & his chin was shaky. His "3-1" mark is deceptive b/c of the indecisiveness/controversy surrounding his wins. Many people thought 1 or both Toney fights was a bad decision, although admittedly I had no issue w/ Griffin getting a dec in either 1. Griffin did give RJ a legitimately tough battle in their 1st fight & was outboxing & outslugging him for much of its duration, but RJ kept the fight close w/ isolated moments where he would floor or stagger Griffin. I don't think Griff's win was entirely fraudulent here, since it was his success @ frustrating RJ that spurred him to so egregiously foul him. For the rematch, RJ committed himself 100% to getting a KO, & he practically let Griffin hit him in order to open himself up for the countershots that flattened him.

For all intents & purposes, Griffin settled into journeyman/gatekeeper status after the Roy loss & came up short vs. almost every notable opponent thereafter. He found himself in Toney's shoes when he was the 1 upset on a close, disputed dec vs. an unheralded Eric Harding (contrary to some people who claimed this fight was a "robbery," I thought Harding did enough w/ his jab in the early rnds to eek out a dec). In a title shot vs. Dariusz, he succeeded in outboxing & outworking Dariusz thru most of 4 rounds, but Dariusz simply stormed thru his best punches & sent him staggering w/ just seconds remaining in the 4th, resulting in a (somewhat soonish IMO) stoppage. In later fights, he was thoroughly outclassed & battered by Tarver & Glen Johnson & was outslugged by Julio Gonzalez for several rounds before losing on a TD when the fight was stopped on a cut.

In another, stronger era, I think Griffin would be lucky to be more than a fringe contender.

 

I think he was a fighter with real talent. Good amateur pedigree. Great start in the pros, etc. but I think he either faded after getting a couple of good beatings or wasn’t managed well.

 

He exposed the part of Toney that Tiberi didn't. After that, Toney was fully exposed.

 

Griffin was an Olympian. He had an awkward cleverness, with good head movement, speed, and very good timing. A bit of a spoiler style. He was not a big puncher, but knew how to land solidly and cleanly. He was short for the division, but knew how to get into range. It was hard to hit him cleanly and obviously.

He frustrated Jones, Jr. badly, but was very much en route to being knocked out when Roy lost his composure and in his excitement at finally hurting Griffin, and wanting to land the finisher, blatantly hit Griffin twice after he intentionally took a knee. A much more motivated Roy took it to Griffin from the start in the rematch and blasted him out in 1.

The Toney fights were close and controversial. Debatable. Plus, for whatever reason, Toney was better at 160, 168, and 190 than he was at 175. James also was an in and outer conditioning wise, somewhat like Duran. He had some great performances and got in top shape for some fights, but for others seemed to be going through the motions and relying on his experience, skill, and relaxed pacing.

 

I think the initial novelty of his style wore off & opponents became increasingly more attuned to how to fight him. For example, both Dariusz & Gonzalez beat him simply by letting their hands fly & just ignoring whatever Griffin offered in return.

 

His chin wasn’t bad it wasn’t the greatest either