Who is the South American HW GOAT?

Godoy was the most successful of the bunch.

 

I agree!!!

 

1-Arturo Godoy
2-Ringo Bonavena
3-Alberto Lovell
4-Gregorio Peralta
5-Luis Firpo
6-Victorio Campolo
7-Jose Luis Garcia
8-Maguila Rodrigues
9-Alex Miteff
10-Bernardo Mercado

 

It's a great thread question, and you started off with four astute options, but yeah, I'd take @Unique Way 's lead in adding choices if you can.

While I don't think Evangelista belongs in a top five, he certainly gets a tremendous boost from live nationally televised bouts with Ali, Holmes and Leon (in what I think is Neon's third best career performance after Ali and Mercado). Interestingly, Evangelista, in "The Best I Faced," rates the post Inoki version of Ali very highly. Muhammad's power was gone after what Inoki did to his legs in Japan, but as it was still prior to Shavers, the GOAT's skills and timing remained intact, and he stayed in shape after the scare with Young, coming in at 221.

 

Out of the top of my head, I believe Godoy was a high level contender for a longer time than Bonavena.

 

Rodriguez too low, IMO should be in at 6 after Mercado.
Had a win over Evangalista and whilst not a real threat to elite guys, was a very solid lower top 10 fighter with decent skills, a solid punch but an C level chin. However, he was very dominant in south america for yrs and has some ok wins on his resume.

I liked him but he seems to be much maligned on some sites. He was a level above the likes of Garcia and Firpo.

 

South american, not south of the world...

 

Rodrigues has wins over Bonescrusher Smith, Evangelista and James Tillis. Even if the win over Smith could be called a robbery.
Could box fairly well, reall good jab and a wallop of a right hand... his problem was his lack of discipline combined with a bad chin... he could have been a belt holder with a few adjustments and it the momentum was the right one at the time of the belt... he was no match for Holyfield and just a terrible fight stylisticilly for him;

His rivalry with Walter Falcone was the very fun to watch.. both fights are on youtube !!
you may find this cool too:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/adílson-maguila-rodrigues-thread.712781/

 

Do you rate him over Bonavena? Aside from a couple domestic DQ's, there is no blemish on his record which doesn't fit. He knocked out Tom McNeeley in just his sixth bout which ended McNeeley as a viable contender, Wipperman in his seventh at a time Wipperman was something like 26-3-1, insanely took on Folley at MSG in his ninth outing (moving along at breakneck speed without getting ruined by being overmatched), then he's really motoring. It took the best career performance by Jimmy Ellis to beat him, then his 1968 rematch with Frazier transforms Joe into a top five (for my money) ATG HW for 1969-1971.

Look at his non DQ losses! Prime Folley, prime Frazier 2X, peak Ellis, prime Ali, super fit and super savvy Patterson (who he decked), and peak Lyle.

I made the case for Godoy, but man!

 

Joe Louis, Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes, Deontay Wilder and Earnie Shavers were all born in Alabama or Georgia. Those are in south America (as in southern USA). I’d rate them all over Abbott, lol.

Besides, Jumbo Jimmy had no mustache, which is a disgrace among South African heavies. Big boy, but I bet he tried to grow a ‘stache and it was a cheesy, caterpillar-on-the-lip kind of thing so he gave up on it. It’s like cutting off Samson’s hair to a SA heavy.

 

Always good to see you post, Anubis. We had some good conversations on my original account.

 

Well again, I don't blame you at all. Evangelista is a perfectly natural off the top of the head reflex because of his extraordinarily high profile.

Outside the 1970's, Zanon II is extremely troubling to me, but he also went into Ohio for that massive win over prime Snipes, and in fact he called Renaldo the strongest opponent he ever fought. In fact, the muscular Snipes was quite the durable physical specimen.

Just a year before Evangelista, Mr. Snipes decked and decisioned the durable Berbick, certifying the power he displayed against Holmes. Now this was during a post Holmes hangover where he drew with Scott Frank and only went 1-5-1, but he'd rebound to go 16-3-1 through the remainder of his career. So a true world class win for Alfredo, something the likes of Coetzer, Eklund, Tangstad, Lucien Rodriguez and Zanon simply couldn't pull off. Snipes does put Evangelista over and beyond strictly Euro.

 

Smart aleck! So now we have to differentiate between south of the Mason-Dixon line, south of the US border and south of the Equator too?

Do we also rate mustaches? (And you're completely right. No mustache IS a disgrace among South African heavies!)

 

Please refresh my Alzheimer's addled memory...what was your original account? (And I'm on galantamine to hold off further neurological deterioration...)