Inspired by Loma, obviously. Out of his five bouts at lightweight, he either struggled or was less than impressive in four (Lopez, Linares, Cambell, Pedraza) and shone only against Crolla. Weight and size aren't the only factors here, but outside Teofimo he obviously fought better opponents in lower classes, and was more impressive. Hatton is a prime example of a guy who struggled a lot as soon as he shifted his division. Even Floyd struggled a bit when he left super-feathers (against Castillo) and was, imo, never as impressive as he was at 130 lbs, but he found a way to adapt his game and achieve great things. Same with Mosley and his outgrowth of 135 lbs - he lost something, but still made a formidable career higher. So, list good or great fighters who had bigger than usual trouble switching their divisions.
The very first who came to mind was Wilfredo Gomez, who was honestly as good a fighter as you'll ever see in his 122 prime. Like Loma, Gomez was considered by many the P4P #1 before he lost to Sanchez. He could never translate that dominance at 126. He may be the best example, considering how great he was at one division, to just merely good in the next. And related to Gomez, Carlos Zarate applies as well. Dominant, and spectacular champion at 118, never found much success at 122... though you can blame that on Gomez. Bob Foster is another great example. Dominant at 175, complete shit at heavyweight, although granted that's an entirely different situation because it's a far more significant jump. Foster could have benefitted from a cruiserweight division.
Floyd's a WEIRD One, Looking his Absolute WORST @ '35 (Castillo 2x, Sosa)...Floyd's Only IMPRESSIVE Lightweight Performance was Against N'Dou... '30 was his Best Weight, as You Stated, But from '40-'54 Floyd Looked Better than he Did @ '35, For Whatever Reason... Sugar Shane was Paper Chasing, Skipping '40 Altogether in Pursuit of Dela... Wilfredo Gomez Immediately Sprung to REED's Mind...Perfectly Suited for 122, Won Titles @'26 and '30, But Wasn't NEARLY as Effective @ the Higher Weights... REED
Lol. Adding to the list: Mel Taylor was never as effective at 147 as he was at 140. Don Curry was never as effective at 154 as he was at 147. Same goes for Ike Quartey.
Orlando Canizales. Great at 118, but came up short against Wilfredo Vasquez and Junior Jones at 122. Lionel Rose. Also great at 118, but struggled above bantam.
The Most OBVIOUS Example is Sugar Ray Robinson, as his Welterweight/Middleweight W-L Records Attest... Even in his Prime, Sugar Ray Leonard Struggled a Bit, Winning the '54 Title from Ayub Kalule, Before Moving Back Down to Unify w/Hearns... REED
Yeah but.........he wasn't even close to the real man he had been at 147. Meldrick Taylor, at 147 WITHOUT first fighting Chavez {@140} might beat Chavez @147 cos JC couldn't fight for shit at 147 either.
Could be a bad call but Popo Freitas looked a killer at 130 but utterly shit at 135 but then again there is the question of competition but he did beat Casamayor at 130
Hadn't Seen it in a Awhile, but REED Recalls it Being COMPETITIVE Early-Mid w/Leonard Eventually Taking Control and Commencing to Beating that Ass... REED
Chris Eubank had two title fights at Cruiserweight and lost both of them having made the step from 160-168 beforehand. A bit harsh perhaps as he damn near won the first fight but he did move from 168 {he probably walked around at 190} to 190...and did lose both fights there.
It was only competitive in that Ray stood stationary (because Kalule wasn't a puncher) which allowed Kalule to land on him. But i don't recall Kalule winning many rounds. Ray's handspeed dominated, then he knocked Kalule out. It was actually one of the Leonard's best performances.
Until Today, REED Hadn't Seen This Fight in 39 Years...Literally Took Place ON REED's 10th Birthday and his Present was Getting to Watch it On Closed Circuit...Hearns KO'ed Pablo Baez in the Co-Main Event... That Said, the Bout Wasn't UNLIKE How REED Recalled..."Struggled a Bit" was a Mischaracterization, Because @ No Point was Leonard in Danger of Losing, but it was a TAXING Affair for Sure...It Wasn't an EASY Fight for Leonard by Any Stretch... There were Some FURIOUS Punching Exchanges, But Leonard's Handspeed Allowed Him to Get the Better of Them... To the Point of the Thread, the Higher Weight was Definitely an ADJUSTMENT for Leonard...He Never Hit Welters w/THAT Many Clean Shots Before w/Out Visibly Compromising Them... In Fact, Knowing Hearns I was Right After, REED Would Dare Say this was THE "Toughest" Fight of Leonard's Career to that Point, Aside from Duran I...One of Leonard's Most Fan-Friendly Performances, But Not Sure About One of his "Best"... Like You Said, Leonard Wasn't Overly Concerned w/Kalule's Punch, But it Certainly Wasn't One of Ray's Most POLISHED Performances...Took a LOT More Shots than he Customarily Did and Missed WILDLY w/Several Home Run Swings... FUN Fight for Sure, but Kalule Made Him EARN It...& the Stoppage was a Tad Premature... REED
I remember the stoppage being a bit premature, but it was all academic anyway as Leonard was arguably the GOAT finisher.
Yeah, it Wasn't Going 15 Regardless... Leonard Exhausted a Good Bit of Energy Getting Kalule OUT of There in the 9th, But Worst Case, He'd Have Taken the 10th Off to Catch His Breath and Finished it By the 11th or 12th... On a Side Note, REED's Been Birthday Boxing Blessed a Few Times... Leonard-Kalule/Hearns-Baez Doubleheader Floyd-Gatti Roy-Vinny Paz (Day Prior to REED's Actual B-Day)... REED
He was also moments from taking Frochs ZERO.........which would not translate as a struggle at 168 per se. Just saying.
Duran & Mosley above 147. Both of them had their longer reigns at champs at 135, and their biggest wins/best performances at 147. Shane rarely impressed me at 154. I don’t know why the oddsmakers had him favored over Winky when they fought the first time. I know Shane was the bigger name, but don’t they have boxing insiders to help out with that? Everyone here knew it was an awful matchup for Shane. Duran was less consistent above 147, after 1980. He did more than Shane did above 147, obviously a big reason for that was just the fact that he was a higher caliber of fighter than Mosley. He tweaked his style a bit. He wasn’t as light on his feet as he was at 147 and below and had to adapt to that. For that matter, I also thought De La Hoya lost a little bit when he went to 154. He also wasn’t as light on his feet, and there was a certain sharpness he had before that he never fully recovered. But almost any fighter who goes thru the divisions will reach one where they lose something noticeable. Sometimes it’s a lot, sometimes it’s just a little. He was better at welterweight, but I think the drastic change in the W-L record is due to age. When Ray originally retired after the Joey Maxim bout, he was 132-3-2. When he came back, he was almost 34, and had all that mileage on him, and started losing more regularly.
Robinson needed a junior middleweight division around in his era - he would have killed at that weight.
Oddsmaker make odd based on how they think people gonna bet (they want the amount between each fighters to be as even as possible). Not much to do with whom they think will win
Roy Jones Jr is the opposite of this thread. Completely impervious to jumping up in weight, making opponents in each successive division appear to be motionless punching bags who don’t belong in a boxing ring. Roy was his own worst enemy towards his legacy. During his prime he clowned opponents to the point of them being rendered irrelevant. And again, in keeping with the ‘opposite’ thing, it ended up being a jump back down in weight that was his downfall. Then afterwards proceeding to further destroy his honor to the best of his abilities over several numbingly pitiful years...
