Gone before their time

[RubenSonny]

Sanchez win over Nelson is highly overrated, his win over Gomez is greater.

[Tamis!]

Sanchez win over Nelson is highly overrated, his win over Gomez is greater.

Can I ask why sir.

Though I agree his win over Gomez was his biggest. But His win over the professor highly overrated? No agenda included just wanna know why you say so.

[goblin213]

Sanchez win over Nelson is highly overrated, his win over Gomez is greater.

Why is that? Nelson poleaxed Gomez.

[RubenSonny]

Can I ask why sir.

Though I agree his win over Gomez was his biggest. But His win over the professor highly overrated? No agenda included just wanna know why you say so.

Nelson was 13-0 and hadn't fought anyone of note(he was merely a prospect at that point), not to mention he was brought in on two weeks notice. Sanchez was expected to make quick work of him, it was a huge surprise that he gave him hell. I give him some credit for that win because Nelson showed good form after but not nearly as much as others who classify it as a great win.

[Tamis!]

Nelson was 13-0 and hadn't fought anyone of note(he was merely a prospect at that point), not to mention he was brought in on two weeks notice. Sanchez was expected to make quick work of him, it was a huge surprise that he gave him hell. I give him some credit for that win because Nelson showed good form after but not nearly as much as others who classify it as a great win.

Ah OK fair enough.

I guess the thing here was history was kind to the professor coz of how he developed as one of the greats, and afterwhich SS died and long after Nelson retired the win was hyped more than it was originally touted as.

[REMOVED SHARK 97]

It's sad that they died early, but some people do overrate them after death.

For Example, Imagine if Tyson died/murdered just before the Buster fight, alot of people would consider him the best heavyweight ever, ever (Though some still do now).

Because all their memory of Tyson would be domiating KO's and not the fights where he got outworked by physically bigger men because they would have never of happened..

Same could be applied here, Maybe if things were different and Salvador didn't die and went on and found that his weakness was slick southpaws and had loadsa losses to fighters due to the style, he would be remember as the great fighter who was crap against Southpaws.

[Tamis!]

It's sad that they died early, but some people do overrate them after death.

For Example, Imagine if Tyson died/murdered just before the Buster fight, alot of people would consider him the best heavyweight ever, ever (Though some still do now).

Because all their memory of Tyson would be domiating KO's and not the fights where he got outworked by physically bigger men because they would have never of happened..

Same could be applied here, Maybe if things were different and Salvador didn't die and went on and found that his weakness was slick southpaws and had loadsa losses to fighters due to the style, he would be remember as the great fighter who was crap against Southpaws.

Not my boy Pancho!

Men like him don't come often in our lifetime. He fought everyone available out there for him, not just bums but the best out there, heck, he even fought with a severely infected gum that he has to fight with one hand just to cover that injury. And that infection led to his death.

People may say whadda couda yada yada, but Pancho really walked the talk and he deserves the kindness history has given to him to be remembered as arguably the ATG flyweight.

[Trulatin]

Good topic...allow me to share the story of four other boxers who left us way too soon:

Masao Ohba was 23 years of age and the current WBA Flyweight when he was killed behind the wheel of his corvette one January night in 1973. He held the belt since 1970 and defended against the best of his era, including the very technical Betulio Gonzalez and tough Chartchai Chioni. He was one of Japan's shining stars, which included a championship lineup of Kuniaki Shibata, Featherweight champ, Koichi Wajima, Jr Middleweight champ, and Yoshio Namata, Jr Lightweight. His success in the ring and fate outside of it is eerily similar to that of Salvador Sanchez, 9 years later...

Tyrone Everett was a young and tough Philly fighter who was rightfully the #1 challenger to the Jr. Lightweight throne after losing (his only defeat) to reigning champion Alfredo Escalera in a highly disputed decision. Tyrone was indeed a feared and uncrowned champ having dispatched the top competition including fellow Philly native Sammy Goss, the very tough Filipino Burt Nabalatang, SF-based Irish Ray LunneyIII and a handful of tough Mexican foes, including Rafael Muro. He was set for a rematch with Escalera when his girlfriend gunned him down

Venezuelan featherweight Cruz Marcano was rated among the top in the world and certainly considered better than his countrymen Antonio Gomez and Alfredo Marcano (both would become world champions at the featherweight and Jr Lightweight division respectively) when he was killed (car crash?) in late 1969/early 1970. He only had 1 decision loss to his otherwise impressive boxing resume...

The last story involves Mexican Humberto Betillo Gutierrez, who had started his professional boxing career at age 15 and fought many tough veterans on his way to winning the Mexican Lightweight Belt. He had put together a string of 14 straight victories and added the Mexican Welterweight Title when he was killed in a car crash in Mexico in July 1982 (a month before Salvador Sanchez would meet the same fate). To some, Betillo appeared to be on his way to greater success in the ring, not unlike Carlos Palomino and Pipino Cuevas before him.