If the guy listed first was in or least very close to their prime. The fights still take place at the same weight in which they occured though. So for those fighters who were not in their prime weights you have to imagine they moving up against the same opponent. Barrera - Khan Vargas - Mosley Mayorga - Cotto Castillo - Hatton JM Marquez - Casamayor Tszyu - Hatton Wright-Williams
prime Vargas beats Mosley, any Mosley, at 154. prime Castillo still has trouble with Hatton's tendency to hump and hold his opponents, and loses a decision. At 147, with 8 oz. gloves, I'd pick Mayorga to stop Cotto. But I recognize this would be a close fight. Prime Casmayor, at 135, knocks out Marquez. A Tszyu who is hungrier and a split second faster knocks Hatton out. Williams beats Wright, period. I think his height and ability to throw hundreds and hundreds of punches means he's always going to beat Wright. Khan, simply by virtue of his size, would've beaten any version of Barrera, and arguably, a prime Barrera, who's not at all acclimated to 140 (but instead fought his last fight at 126), would've been easier for Khan.
I think those are all pretty likely outcomes. I think Vargas-Mosley would have been by far the best fight of them all and possibly the closest.
MAB-Khoward MAB was in his prime at 122 or 126 and Junior Jones proved you could outbox him (rematch). Khan's height and reach would always be an issue for MAB. MAB's clearly the greater fighter but in terms of the matchup I can see Khoward winning by decision. Vargas-Mosley Neither were in their prime when they fought but I'd pick Mosley to win probably by decision. Would have been a great fight though. "Nando was able to land flush shots on Shane and Shane didn't go anywhere. Was stunned a few times and I think the same happens if both were in their primes. Cotto-Mayorga The only difference between Mayorga then and the subsequent years was how long he trained or didn't train. I still say Cotto wins. Castillo vs Hatton Have to stick with Hatton who wouldn't have been at a strength disadvantage like most of Castillo's foes at 135. Castillo had non-title fights at 147 while champion at 135. The only question I have is what happens when Hatton gets caught coming in or with the shot Cesar Bazan nailed him with. I doubt Hatton comes close to hurting Castillo but could have outworked him. JMM vs Casamayor the one stinker fight. Casa would have stunk up the joint. I get the feeling it would have been JMM vs Gainer II. Kosta vs Hatton Kosta in a walk.He wasn't doing poorly in spots as it was. I don't see how Hatton handles Kosta's stiff left jab and Ricky doesn't have the long right hand to seriously hurt or deter him. I think Ricky finds it rough getting close enough to smother Kosta. Plus, Kosta's timing was a thing of beauty. Wright vs Williams who cares?
Tszyu JUST MISSED on several shots that would have really altered things vs Hatton... I think at his best, he is winning that one handily
Barrera would beat Khan by stoppage. Vargas would beat Mosley at 154. Cotto beats Mayorga every time. Hatton beats Castillo, prime for prime. Marquez beats Casamayor Hmmm....I'll go with Tszyu but its close. Styles issue. Williams always beats Wright.
He landed plenty of flush right hands. I don't think he has the punch to stop a prime Hatton. Tsyzu never liked pressure. I still think Tszyu wins, close, but he still had his punch the night he faced Hatton and couldn't do a damn thing with it. I'm not so sure any of the shots that missed were any more powerful than the ones that landed.
I saw him missing most of his real heavy shots... I think he definitely could hurt Hatton if he landed those shots... I never saw him land anything real telling in that fight, he just a split second late... Hatton was just managing to roll with the shots
Casamayor is NOT KOing Marquez. It was a close fight in 2008, and would always be so, but no way, no how does Casamayor beat Marquez inside the distance.
I love how people will predict the fight but won't break down the how or why they feel a certain way. MAB-Khan - Honestly I don't know about this one. I'd lean to MAB because IMO he's just a better more skilled fighter who was comfortable brawling or boxing and was great at doing both. However I don't know how well he'd deal with the size and speed advantage, and honestly I haven't seen much of Khan. Mosley-Vargas - I go with Mosley on this one because Sugar Shane Mosley was a beast and aggressive guys like Vargas just got eaten up by Shane. The 2 worst things you can do when fighting Mosley is be overly aggressive and be Latino. (I'll admit this one's tainted with a smidge of bias.) Cotto-Mayorga - Easiest fight of the bunch. Mayorga was a 1 hit wonder who made a name and career off a lucky punch. He was pure garbage and Cotto would have beaten him to a pulp. Castillo-Hatton - I believe Castillo was the better overall fighter so I favor him in this match. Hatton might have been able to break him down though, with his vaunted body attack which was a key technique for beating tough Mexicans. JMM-Cassamayor - Back in his heyday Cassa was a pretty good fighter but JMM has always been on another level. A prime Cassa might do much better than in his last fight against JMM and maybe doesn't get KO'd but prime for prime Cassa still loses to Marquez 10/10 times. Tszyu-Hatton - Got to go with Tszyu in this one. I was really surprised Hatton was able to beat even an over the hill Tszyu. I'd think in his prime Tszyu would pick Hatton's aggressive style apart with well timed counters and a jab. Wright-Williams - Another one I have no real comment on. Not sure how this one plays out, especially since I missed the one fight they did have.
Barrera - Khan stays the same, Khan is much too big for a prime Barrera Vargas beats Mosley 10/10 times The Mayorga from the Lewis/Forrest fights would make it a great fight, I can see Cotto losing that but I wouldn't bet on the outcome Castillo probably beats Hatton, he'd still be big at JWW and was more skilled than Hatton. Hatton makes it a fight though. Casamayor in a close stinker vs Marquez I think Hatton could've replicated that effort against a prime Tszyu, he was a man possessed that night.. Zoo needs space to land his best shots and Hatton wasn't giving it to him. Change the ref to one that doesn't allow Hatton to cheat and maybe that's a different story Wright vs Williams - like someone else said, who cares
Barrera - Khan At 140, I think this is always tough for Barrera, I think Khan would hold on for a decision Vargas - Mosley Vargas has a very good style for Mosley. Would have been a great fight in Vargas' prime but I think Mosley would be able to decision him, still Mayorga - Cotto Close. Potential draw close. Castillo - Hatton Hatton always wins this pretty clearly. JM Marquez - Casamayor Casa might well pull that one out. Tszyu - Hatton Close decision, either way. Tszyu hadn't declined that much, IMO. Wright-Williams I actually think Paul just has a perfect style to beat Winky. Williams.
Where's the evidence in the Leije or Mitchel fights that Tszyu was much declined? We'll assume he'd lost a bit of speed but I can't see enough to think he'd have 'walked' it at his best.
No, you don't understand....he was way past his best, and Hatton fouled his way to a dirty win. Never landed a single punch. As soon as Hatton fought somebody his own size, he lost. athetic: Hatton ran from Witter and that means Judah > Witter....Judah went the distance with Floyd, Hatton did not. Hatton also was a woman who cried.:truce:
Barrera-Khan: Con still wins simply cause of size. P4P Barrera was the better/greater fighter by a light year. Vargas-Mosley: No differance in outcome. Vargas would be more competitive prime for prime, but prime Mosley would STILL be too fast for prime Nando. Castillo-Hatton: I could actually see a younger, fresher Castillo grinding Ricky down. But its possible Hatton's size and quickness would always be too much for him. Therefore, I'll say it'd have been a pick em. JM Marquez-Casamayor: Prime Casa would be a very tough fight for Marquez. However, I'll say that JM still lands the cleaner shots and wins by close decision. Tszyu-Hatton: Ive never been a Tszyu fan, but this is a no contest. The circa 99-00 Tszyu would have fucked Hatton up brutally. Wright-Williams: Another easy one to call. Prime Winky schools the shit outta Fall Paul. Not ONLY was the Wright that Williams beat old, and shot. He was old, shot, and terrible inactive. Paul's ONLY chance against a prime Wright is to get another gift decision.
You forgot Cotto-Mayorga. Know need though, I can see from your predictions you know enough to pick Cotto.
Something I don't get. Why are people given Mayorga such a great chance against Cotto? Y'all do realize he was an overrated bum who made a career off a lucky KO against Forrest. What did Mayorga do in his career to make you think he'd do well against Cotto? Also I can't believe how many pick Cassa to do well against JMM. Sure Cassa was crap by the time he fought JMM but that JMM wasn't as good as the prime version either.
I don't believe it, but I actually agree with ALL of this. I hated Ricky Hatton, but he was always a stylistic nightmare for Tszyu.
1) Cotto doesn't have the power to hurt or KO Mayorga and Mayorga is deceptively difficult to outbox, without that. Only Spinks managed it and Mayorga was one round away from a draw. If Mayorga had won the last round against Mosley he'd have gotten a draw there, too. Even the 100 year old version Cotto fought took 3 rounds off him.....Prime Mayorga makes it very close. 2) Their fight was even on two cards after 10.
Forrest did it in the rematch and would have won too if he hadn't been terrified the first 6 rds. Also are we really going to judge that version of Mosley against Mayorga? That was not the same Mosley that fought Cotto. Did you even see that fight? Come on dude, you know damn well JMM kicked the shit out of Cassa which is the reason he stopped him. You're wrong to quote obviously skewed judges scorecards to try to make a point. Look Cassa was an okay fighter but he rarely dominated anyone. He'd struggle or do okay against even average fighters. JMM used to fuck guys up from pillar to post, and once even had a guy throwing up between rds. I just see no way in which Cassa was ever on JMM's level as a fighter other than an overrated reputation that he never lived up to.
Forrest should have gotten the win in the rematch but it was close and I'd say Forrest was a better boxer than Cotto I'd make Cotto favourite against Mayorga, I just think it'd be really, really close. Nobody beat Mayorga easy except Oscar & Tito....and even Tito lost a couple of rounds.
Fair enough. I do think the only reason Cotto would have trouble with Mayorga is the size and reach advantages by Mayorga, but other than that Cotto beats him.
Tszyu liked time and space to control the distance and tempo of the fight. It's not easy when you have a fast footed guy swarming and humping you from all angles. Tszyu would most likely win, but I think Ricky makes a pretty good fight out of it.
Yup. And the Tito fight wasn't at 147, Mayorga was not the shredded fighter from the Forrest, Lewis & Spinks fights. Spinks' performance was downright embarrassing, it looked more like he was trying to play tag than box. Especially toward the end, where he started falling down every 5 seconds to avoid getting hit.. Cotto wouldn't fight like that. Agree that Cotto's the favorite, but Mayorga is very live and has the right style to give Cotto trouble.
I'm only going to comment on Cotto - Mayorga for now...but I see some discussion on it. There should be no discussion. Prime for Prime Mayorga knocks Cotto THE FUCK OUT! Anyone who thinks otherwise is a heel.
People have forgotten how good Ricky was in his prime before the coke, the booze and the weight issues. He's a top 10 140lbr, all-time, easy, and he more than holds his own with many of the greats.
Based on what? One win over Forrest in a fight where Mayorga never looked that lethal again? Who else did Mayorga ever beat to make you think he'd without a doubt beat Cotto? Mayorga was a skillless overrated tough guy who became nothing more than a name people like Tito, ODLH, and Mosley fought just to put a name on their record and collect a nice payday. Oba Carr would have beat Mayorga.
