Watson is very overrated. I think he's probably a slight favorite against Canelo, but far from a lock. I don't like his chances against GGG
The Watson from the Benn/Eubanks fights beats both. Cannot for the life of me see how Benn couldn't put a dent in Watson but GGG stops him. MTF
Seriously? That's your logic? Both McCallum and Eubank stopped Watson and Benn hits harder than both. So you explain to me how that happened
McCallum did a number on Watson, but Watson was laid up for 11 months prior to that fight and was rusty as fuck. Not saying he beats Mike (I'm a yuuugggge McCallum fan) but that wasn't a pristine Watson in there. McCallum also fights nothing like either GGG or Canelo. He's slicker, faster and more methodical than both. McCallum was also much, much better than both GGG and Canelo. Eubanks got his shit punched in for 23 rounds vs Watson. A miracle, last-ditch punch and a bottom rope were all that saved him when Watson lost focus with his greatest moment in sight. Canelo's attempts to pinch rounds and save his energy wouldn't work against the Watson who fought the second Eubanks fight. That's what Eubanks tried to do and Watson absolutely battered him senseless. Eubanks was saved because he had one-punch KO power and a granite chin. GGG hits hard but he's never really iced world-class fighters with single shots. Canelo hasn't properly iced a single world-class middleweight, period. GGG has a better chance but I like Watson to win close but clear on the cards in a good action fight. Watson did everything GGG did but IMO a little better. Better? MTF
Never said he was. McCallum beat Watson down with a methodical, eleven round working over to body and head. Canelo and GGG fought absolutely nothing like Mike McCallum. MTF
He would certainly try. But, as he isn't as fast as Mike, or as rangy, or as powerful, or as accurate to the body, or as good, I don't think he would succeed. MTF
Well despite shaking off some bombs, Watson did a very good job defensively of blocking Benn's shots and countering him silly. GGG was a more consistent and intelligent fighter and might land on Watson a lot more than Benn did. It's not that I am that confident of GGG beating Watson, but I wouldn't dismiss GGG's chances just based on the way Watson handled Benn's shots. Watson took Benn to school, it was similar to a middleweight Ali-Foreman, only more of it taking place in the middle of the ring. Watson would beat Canelo rather handily, provided the judges don't rob him (far from a guarantee). Competitive but clear win for Watson.
I don't completely dismiss Watson chance against GGG, but I don't think that him getting koed is a stretch. The benn he beat was raw as fuck and needed a desesperate punch to beat mediocre anthony logan a year before. Was far from as complete a fighter as GGG was.
We never really got to see how good Watson would have become because of what happened to him. He was only 26 when he got injured and seemed to be improving, based on his performances in the two Eubanks fights: he adapted and changed tack completely for the second and punched Eubanks all over the place. With GGG, we know what we are going to know about him. At 35, a fighter will always be 'more complete' than at 26. MTF
I think the divergence mostly comes from our respective opinions on Eubank. You rate him very highly while I think he was not more than a B+ level guy
