He was a big right hand puncher (ask Lockridge) and was technically skilled. His downfall, as many know, was that he didn't let his hands go enough. Gave Pedroza Hell, gave a young Chavez a tough fight, but was whipped solidly by Sanchez, Gomez, and surprisingly, McGuigan.
A real pro fighter, a lot of skill, good puncher. I would love to know why he so often fought like he had to put a dollar in the jar every time he threw a punch.
His best performance was his title winning stoppage over that tall dude whose's name escapes me cause I dont have time to Boxrec at the moment.
Stylewise they had little in common but it kind of reminded me of watching a few Rocky Juarez matches. WHY DON'T YOU THROW SOME PUNCHES!?
When assessing Mexican greatness, does it look more favorable that Sal Sanchez beat the crap outta a young Laporte and Chavez struggled with an old Laporte?
He also has the distinction of having beaten his Canadian doppelganger: https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/44385
I think Chavez's struggle with LaPorte is an indicator that he didn't reach his physical peak until he moved up to 135.
LaPorte gave him a decent fight for a few rounds, but Sanchez took over and gave him a fair beating down the stretch. It was a gutty display by LaPorte though, given that he was giving away quite a bit of experience at the time. The common thread among LaPorte's losses seems to be that if you pressed the action and forced the pace (like Sanchez, Gomez, and McGuigan did) you could keep him on the defensive, but if you gave him room and tried to box off the back foot (like Pedroza, Chavez, and Nelson) then he could remain competitive with you.
i saw laporte at some fight years ago and asked him who'd win outta them two, he was convinced sanchez beats chavez.
I met him a few years ago. He was very nice. I wanted to talk to him about boxing but we were at a funeral so I just told him it was a pleasure meeting him. I don't think anybody else recognized him.
A lot of fighters would have killed for the physical and technical tools he had at his disposal. Big power, an atg chin, decent handspeed, excellent form and mechanics, timing etc. Three toed sloths move with more urgency than he did, though, especially when he was forced to fight at a pace. Just lacking the focus, mind set and consistency of ethic to be a great fighter despite having great tools. A right frustrating fecker. He has a bobby dazzler of a CV when it comes to opponents faced, maybe the best of his era. Sanchez, Gomez, Castillo, Chavez, Lockridge, Pedroza, Nelson, Tszyu, McGuigan etc. I asked McGuigan years back about the 9th round of their fight where Laporte had him on queer street after being outworked and harried up to that point, and he just winced, smiled a bit ruefully and shook his head. Said that he used to go in a toy shop in Ireland as a little lad called Mrs Keegans, or Keenans, I forget, looking around and feeling dazed at all the goodies on show. Said that was where he thought he was nigh up until the final bell after Laporte hit him, it was quite funny the way he told it, hehe.
Nah. If you listen to Juan LaPorte he says that Sanchez was a smarter fighter than Chavez but if you listen to Ruben Castillo, he says Sanchez was overrated and Chavez was better. Who do you believe? I think they're both just reflecting their own experiences and based on those, they think the other fighter is better. I don't think one is conclusively better based on their testimony or based on how those fights panned out.
Whenever REED Thinks of Juan LaPorte, the Rocky Lockridge Bout Immediately Springs to Mind...REED Watched a Lot of LaPorte and Lockridge Growing Up, But MISSED Their Head to Head Meeting... When REED's Ol' Man Told Him LaPorte KO'ed Lockridge, it was Unfathomable...Literally the ONLY KO Loss of Lockridge's Career, in the 2nd Fucking Round, No Less???... Once Boxing Videos Started Appearing on Youtube, LaPorte vs. Lockridge was 1 of the 1st 5 Searches REED Ever Made...Random, But....Yeah... REED
Laporte-Lockridge used to be on YT, looks like it's not there anymore. I didn't see the Laporte-Lockridge KO until YT came around. The very first Laporte fight I saw was his fight with Pedroza, which I had on VHS.
