Terry Norris. He would come in quite often at 151lbs. He was a big Welterweight. He made 150lbs for Taylor.
Bunny Sterling was caught between middleweight and light-heavyweight back in the 1970s and it cost him against Jean Claude Bouttier for the European middleweight title in Paris in 1971. Sterling outboxed the world class Frenchman much of the way but faded down the stretch and was stopped in the 14th round. Two fights later, he challenged Aussie great Tony Mundine for the Commonwealth middleweight title in Brisbane. Again, Sterling controlled much of the fight until the later rounds when Mundine took over and he stopped an exhausted Sterling in the 15th and final frame. Sterling also struggled in the later rounds against the unfancied Kevin Finnegan in 1974 and it cost him the 15-round decision and the British middleweight title.
Hi Buddy. You are correct about his weight struggles, and I agree he would found LHW more to his liking had he been able to bulk up to that poundage, up to 10 rounds he was quite a formidable fighter at that time, and I was at ringside when he gave the brave Maurice Hope a severe beating, almost shutting both eyes, plus lumps and bumps all over Hopes face, also he stopped the big hitting Phil Matthews in 6, that after Matthews and K0d Tom Bethea, from memory Sterling went in as the underdog, I was rooting for Phil to win, only because Bunny had beaten one of my favs at the time Mark Rowe, yea a forgotten champ somewhat, shame really because he was a minor trailblazer for black talented boxers of the late 60s and early 70s following on from Joe Tetteh, Boswell St Louis, and the like. stay safe matey, chat soon.
Leon is an interesting pick. He weighed 195 when he beat Ali. If Cruiserweight was 200 at the start, instead of 190, he may have had a much better pro career. Usyk couldn't even have fought at cruiser if the limit was still 190 and he had to weigh in the day of the fight, like Leon. Usyk never came in remotely that light as a pro.
Bunny's destruction of Hope stands up as a fabulous display, particularly as Terry Lawless must have fancied Hope's chances to take the fight. It's rare for Lawless to make such a mistake. I did hear there was some bad blood between Sterling and Hope involving a woman. Not sure how true that is. Maybe Hope overruled Lawless, I don't know. Phil Matthews is a colossal waste of talent. Apparently, Sterling could hear Matthews doubting himself before their British title encounter in Manchester and Phil's performance proved a disappointing one. Matthews didn't believe in himself when it came to the crunch.