Who is your favorite that you rarely, if ever, pick against in Mythical Matchups?? Besides from prime Roy for me, It's Aaron Pryor. I can't see anyone at 140 who would have beaten him in his prime. He would stop Manny inside of 5 rounds. See what I mean:mj:
I wouldnt pick any fighter from 130-140 in history to beat Pryor except for Duran, and maybe Whitaker. Thats just how I feel. Pryor was a baaaad man.
I'd favour Ken Norton over Ali, without a second thought. He'd win at least two out of every three against him.
McCallum at 154. Give me any opponent and I'll make a case for McCallum beating them. Marciano at cruiserweight. Same as above.
Do you really think that the Ali who fought Norton was the same version...PRE-EXILE...who fought Liston, Williams, Foley etc?
I think I'd pick Chavez to beat him. There is no way imo in which Pryor stops Chavez, but I can certainly see JCC slowly breaking Pryor down to the body and head and taking him out late.
Ditto... REED Likes Pryor's HEART, WORKRATE, DETERMINATION & Underrated Level of SKILL Against just about ANYBODY, Mythically... & for those that Favor Duran OVER Pryor, Remember that Pryor MOVED UP to 140 Because he COULDN'T Get a Title Fight @ Lightweight...THEN, when Duran Moved Up, he BYPASSED 140 Altogether... REED:hammert:
REED, I know part of the Pryor legend is built around "nobody wanted to fight him", but in the case of Duran, it doesn't really fly. When Duran moved up from 135 to 147 in 1978, Pryor only had 14 pro fights and had beaten nobody of consequence....which means he had done nothing to earn a title shot at that time. I was only 15 then, but I don't recall anyone clamoring for a Duran-Pryor fight in 1978. Also, I can't fault Duran for skipping 140 if he took on Ray Leonard at 147. I can't imagine anyone would suggest that, for Duran, Cervantes at 140 (or any of the other 140 lb champs) was a more demanding challenge than the winner of Leonard/Benitez...especially since Benitez had already beaten Cervantes without much difficulty. And since Duran willingly took on the likes of Leonard, Benitez, Hearns and Hagler, I can't buy into the notion that he was especially worried about Pryor...especially at the time Duran made the move to 147. Now none of this is meant to diminsh Pryor, but rather to examine the notion that Duran "ducked" Pryor. If Pryor was ducked at 135, he was ducked by the fighters who followed Duran as champion.
Agreed. Pryor just wasn't significant enough when Duran sailed past 140. And unlike other guys, Duran wasn't coming back to 140. Ever. That being said, I like Chavez at 140 against Pryor.
Chavez vs. Pryor = Chavez vs. Taylor I...Pryor winning the rounds... but taking a brutal beating..the difference being Pryor stays vertical.
my favorite MM fighter? Harold Brazier no, seriously I don't know I never really thought about it are we saying the BEST or our personal favorite? I tend to like putting Chavez against really annoying people because he is probably the best example of a fighter that gave people slow, prolonged beatings where it didn't seem like much was happening and then all of a sudden the other guy looks like a gargoyle I also enjoy Arguello against guys with shaky chins but lots of heart because it means that they will be knocked down several times and keep trying before they are rescued by the ref or put to sleep by the Thin Man and of course Whitaker because he was so hard to beat that I can argue all day for him winning against just about anybody, which naturally I am more than happy to do on his behalf :hump:
You've hit the nail right on the head. Many folks do their very best to make their own personal favorites into the winner of any and all MMs And yes, Whitaker is one of those fighters where a case can be made for him beating anyone in in the 135 -140 lb range. I don't see the same for him at 147 where I can't see him coming out as the winner against the likes of Leonard, Hearns, Ray Robinson, etc...
LOL. Somehow, some way, you manage to make everything about McCallum. :: I don't disagree with a case being made for McCallum against anyone at 154. Without this turning into a 15 page debate ::, I don't know that I would pick him over Leonard or Hearns, but these would be good enough fights where I can see where some folks would also pick McCallum.
agREED... Whitaker just wasnt big or strong enough to beat welterweigths of THAT caliber And, in my opinion, if I was going to invent a fighter in a lab to beat Whitaker, that fighter would be Thomas Hearns
