Would you consider Frankie Randall an Atg?

Nah.

 

Not an atg, but he was a very, very good fighter who had his indelible "Buster Douglas moment" in that 1st bout with JCC.

 

No.

 

Not for me, but I'm very sparing with the word great.

 

No. But over 20 rounds he proved equal to mid 90s Chavez so make that what you will.

 

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A-...but could beat a bunch of very good fighters on a given nite.

 

I would say no because he peaked so late and his overall body of work is not great.

But I would say at his peak level he would beat a lot of top 140 lb champs.

The first two Chavez fights (he really got screwed in the second fight) and the easy win in the first Coggi fight were highlights.

 

A very good fighter no doubt but by no means an ATG, great performances against Chavez, he got screwed big time in their second fight, but I think it was just a case of him having a superior fighters number similar to Junior Jones/Barrera and Barkley/Hearns.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say he was an ATG. But, he was an excellent fighter. And he probably deserves to be on the ballot for Canestota.

 

I was a big fan of Randall.

Yes, he had a glossy 48-2-1 record when he finally got the title shot against JC Chavez. But his biggest win up to that point was probably the 7th round ko of Rosario in their second fight. But, although he hadn't had any superfights and had never beaten any prime, legitimate top 10 guys even, with the possible exception of Sammy Fuentes (who was coming off a shocking ko of a suddenly fading Harry Arroyo), the details below will show he was a legitimate contender for years. Basically his loss and draw up to that point were against guys who were top 10 types, one of whom had only recently lost his world title, and that loss was razor close. The draw looked worse than it was because the opponent had a bad record, but could actually fight very well and would go on to someday win a world title himself. And, in hindsight, the other loss Randall had on his record (before the Chavez fight) looks very flukish. Combine these setbacks with time away from the game, and one can see why Randall had fallen off the radar by the time he fought Chavez in early '94. You had to be a very close observer of boxing to think Randall was going to be anything other than cannon fodder for the still formidable JC Chavez.

It's true that when he barely lost to Edwin Rosario in '85 he served notice that he was a bonafide top 10 contender. However, his world ranking only moved into the top 20. Meanwhile, KO Mag. had him in the top 10 based on the high level of skill he showed and the competiveness of the fight.

If Randall had been from Mexico or other parts of Latin America, he probably would have gotten a title shot just on that performance. Others were getting title shots during that time frame on less, sometimes, much less.

Meanwhile, Freddie Pendelton was surging at that time and because he was dangerous and had a bad record, he too had trouble parlaying his surprise ko of Roger Mayweather into something bigger. Even after the Mayweather Upset, Pendleton only moved into the top 20-30 in the world rankings.

So, the these two underrated, avoided guys fought each other for the USBA Lightweight title in summer '86 on ESPN. I remember thinking while watching, "these two guys are better than their rankings." After a hard fought draw, neither was really closer to a tilte shot, but gained valuable experience in their competitive, close encounter.

I felt both would someday be world champions. It was obvious both were very talented.

After the Pendleton fight, Randall fought a few easier fights on ESPN and bided his time.

By fall '87, KO Mag was saying he should get a shot and seemed avoided.

Jose Luis Ramirez signed to fight one of my other favorites, Cornelius Boza-Edwards. Boza was just getting one more pay day before getting out. It was obvious even before the fight he was fading fast.

I remember Steve Farhood or Jeff Ryan at KO saying it was bs Boza was getting a shot before Randall, who they felt (justifyably) was deserving of a title shot.

After Boza signed to fight Ramirez, Randall became the #1 WBC lightweight contender. But, instead of sitting on his rankings, he took a tuneup fight against tough, but beatable Mexican Primo Ramos.

Randall was shockingly ko'd with one left hook in the 2nd round.

If he won that fight or sat on his ranking, he likely would have gotten a title shot against Jose Luiz Ramirez sometime in 1988.

The loss meant no title shot and pushed him way back in the 135 lb. rankings.

He remained active, beating some easy compettion in '88, then in '89 he decisoned 1988 Olypian Jerry Page on NBC at 140 lbs.

However, shortly thereafter he was busted for selling drugs and served 17 months in jail.

When he got out he was broke, without a manager or promoter, and thought to be finished in Boxing.

Dr. Dan Hale bought his contract and along with his brother Don Hale were able to get a promotional deal with Don King.

From 1991-1994 Randall remained active and moved steadily up the WBC 140 lb. rankings. His competition was decent but not overwhelming. He was moved smartly. His best wins during this period were a decision over Rodolfo Aguilar, a KO of a fading Edwin Rosario and a ko of tough Mexican Sergio Zambrano.

The King connection got Randall to #1 in the WBC 140 lb. rankings and a shot at undefeated JC Chavez. Contrary to revisionist history of some (mostly Mexicans), Chavez was not badly faded at the time he took on Randall. He had looked good throughout 1993 against good fighters Terrence Ali and Greg Haugen, and had just destroyed little known but tough Brit. Andy Holligan. He had looked to have lost to Pernell Whitaker, but Sweat Pea was probably the #1 pound for pound fighter in the World at the time they fought.

So, Randall came into the Chavez fights having been largely forgotten by hard core boxing fans, and pretty much unknown to everyone else.

On the positive side, he was still fresh, despite being 32 yrs old - months older than Chavez. While Chavez had been fighting the world's best in three divisions since '84, Randall had had only a few tough fights. Rosario I and II, and Pendleton were really his only fights where he had taken much punishment. The surprise KO loss to Ramos was probably psychologically damaging, but was not a prolonged physical fight, and Randall had obviously recovered.

Randall shocked nearly everyone against Chavez, and came back just three months later to again appear to get the better of Chavez in the rematch, but lost a dubious TD when Chavez appeared to quit after the unintentional headbutt.

Of course Randall was deeply upset by what looked to be an injustice by the WBC, and King pacified him with an immediate shot against WBA Champ Juan Coggi.

Coggi was a bit past it, and Randall dominated him, although he did suffer a flash knockdown. He seemed to win the other 11 rounds.

On the same night, Chavez beat Meldrick Taylor in a rematch of their '90 war. Taylor was pretty much shot by this time, but actually fought well in the early rounds. But, he couldn't take prolonged punishment and was stopped in the 8th round.

Showtime analyst Ferdie Pacheco was a Randall believer by this point.
At the end of the night, he said "If Randall doesn't get a third fight with Chavez now, something stinks in boxing." He also said "if they fight again, Chavez is in a whole lot of trouble." Conversely, at the beginning of the first Randall/Chavez fight, he said "I think Randall can last three rounds."

With Randall having just garnered the WBA belt and Chavez holding the WBC belt, a third Randall/Chavez fight seemed to be a natural. The first two fights were highly entertaining, and, with each holding a win and a world title, it seemed certain they would soon meet again in a unification match. The fans certainly would have supported such a fight.

This is where a fork in the road happened and if the road untaken had occurred, Randall may have certified a lasting place at the top of the game. We will never know.

Simply put, Don King, for whatever reason, did not put together Randall/Chavez III. The most logical reason is that he did not favor Chavez's chances in a third Randall encounter. As such, it would have been risky to make that fight. If Chavez lost, which he likely would have, he would have been without a World title and his $$$ generated would not be as great. So, Chavez kept his WBC title for a few more years, fighting underwhelming opposition but generating a lot more $$ for King and the WBC.

Randall went on to defend against Rodney Moore and then lost a TD to Coggi in a fight Coggi didn't deserve since Randall had dominated him in the first fight. Randall again won the WBA title in a third Coggi fight in Aug. '96 but he no longer showed the pound for pound top 5 ability he showed in the two Chavez fights and the first Coggi fight.

Those who look back and say Randall only had Chavez's number and compare him to Douglas are wrong. He had shown as far back as the first Rosario fight he was a legitimate contender.

For a short period in '94-95 Randall was the real deal - a very talented, tough boxer puncher who was near the top of the game.

He was not a "one hit wonder."