Ricardo Lopez and Salvador Sanchez

[joseph5620]

Two of my favorite fighters and IMO the greatest Mexican boxers ever.

What are your thoughts on these two legends? How do you rate their skills and technique, and who do you think was the better fighter overall?

Overall I rate Lopez higher based on longevity. How far Sanchez could have gone will never be known. In terms of tecnique both rate high but I would give the edge to Lopez there too.

[Steak]

Only 13 fights is more than a little green when you're thrown in a championship fight. Sanchez was one of the best fighters in the world at the time and you don't see that type of situation today with the way fighters are protected. Julio Cesar Chavez jr has had probably close to 50 fights and still has yet to face a real threat.



I think Sanchez would have continued to be a great fighter but that fight with Nelson says far more for Nelson than it does for Sanchez. Sanchez had already beaten Danny Little Red Lopez and Wilfredo Gomez. Beating a replacement with 13 pro fights doesn't add to that IMO.

I dont care about the number of fights, its just a number and misleading. A guy with 50 pro fights can still be more green than a guy with 9. All you have to do is watch their fight to notice that Nelson was already a quality fighter, and not too far removed from his performance against Wilfredo Gomez.

And of course beating a pro with 13 pro fights matters if that guy is an ATG named Azumah Nelson.

Was Nelson in perfect condition? No. He was not prime. But seeing him in action in that fight its clear as day that he was still an excellent fighter. And you could easily argue that Sanchez hadnt even reach his prime either.
Nelson could have beaten him in a rematch, but Sanchez could also have beaten him again. Its all speculation.

[SCtrojansbaby]

1.Chavez
2.Barrera
3.Sanchez

everything else is up for grabs

[joseph5620]

I dont care about the number of fights, its just a number and misleading. A guy with 50 pro fights can still be more green than a guy with 9. All you have to do is watch their fight to notice that Nelson was already a quality fighter, and not too far removed from his performance against Wilfredo Gomez.

And of course beating a pro with 13 pro fights matters if that guy is an ATG named Azumah Nelson.

Was Nelson in perfect condition? No. He was not prime. But seeing him in action in that fight its clear as day that he was still an excellent fighter. And you could easily argue that Sanchez hadnt even reach his prime either.
Nelson could have beaten him in a rematch, but Sanchez could also have beaten him again. Its all speculation.

Only 13 pro fights are not misleading. It is what it is. Nelson was an inexperienced fighter at that time. Which is why you rarely see fighters at that stage of their careers put in that situation. And you can pick any fighter in history no matter how great, they were not rushed in championship fights after only 13 fights for a reason. That goes for Robinson, Duran, Leonard, or whoever. The fighters who were rushed were almost always either exposed or burned out quickly. Which was the whole point that this fight said a lot more for Nelson than it did Sanchez.

[Steak]

Only 13 pro fights are not misleading. It is what it is. Nelson was an inexperienced fighter at that time. Which is why you rarely see fighters at that stage of their careers put in that situation. And you can pick any fighter in history no matter how great, they were not rushed in championship fight after only 13 fights. That goes for Robinson, Duran, Leonard, or whoever. The fighters who were rushed were either exposed or burned out quickly. Which was the whole point that this fight said a lot more for Nelson than it did Sanchez.

there are many fighters who were prime before they even had 13 pro fights. Simply having 13 pro fights doesnt automatically make you super green.

Nelson wasnt prime, but still an excellent fighter. In the Sanchez fight, he doesnt look drastically different from how he looked against Gomez.

Ill whoeheartedly agree that the loss was actually more of a win for Nelson than it was for Sanchez, but I still give a lot of credit to Sanchez for the win nonetheless.

[RubenSonny]

Sanchez vs Nelson confirms that both of them were great. excellent fight.

While its very true that Nelson was unprepared and a little green, he was still an excellent fighter, all you have to do is watch their fight to know that. And Sanchez was still really young, he could have gotten better from that point.

Had Sanchez and Nelson II happened, I think that fight would have been a toss up.

Sanchez probably would have burnt out quickly...he was fighting HOF fighters and top ranked guys on the regular, and over long bouts, and at a young age. but it would have been a hell of a ride.

He had never fought outside of Africa and none of his opposition was of note or rank, so its more than a little green now isn't it. He took the fight on about 11 days notice and without a proper mouth piece (the reason why his mouth was so swollen in that fight) and he managed to take a great to hell and back. Sanchez was great there is no denying that, but that fight certainly didn't prove it, and I'd doubt you'd give anyone else this much credit for the same thing (save for Chavez and Hearns of course ).

[Clegg]

Only 13 pro fights are not misleading. It is what it is. Nelson was an inexperienced fighter at that time. Which is why you rarely see fighters at that stage of their careers put in that situation. And you can pick any fighter in history no matter how great, they were not rushed in championship fights after only 13 fights for a reason. That goes for Robinson, Duran, Leonard, or whoever. The fighters who were rushed were almost always either exposed or burned out quickly. Which was the whole point that this fight said a lot more for Nelson than it did Sanchez.

I pretty much agree with this, a guy with 13 fights giving a boxer who (young or not) had already done enough to achieve HOF status, such a tough fight says a hell of a lot for him, especially as he didn't have much notice.

But at the same time I still think it's a notch on Sanchez' belt, so to speak. When I think of the 13-fight Nelson, I see a boxer who would've been good enough to beat a lot of very good fighters.

It's not exactly the same, but I think the situation bears some comparison to RJJ-Hopkins.

[Steak]

He had never fought outside of Africa and none of his opposition was of note or rank, so its more than a little green now isn't it. He took the fight on about 11 days notice and without a proper mouth piece (the reason why his mouth was so swollen in that fight) and he managed to take a great to hell and back. Sanchez was great there is no denying that, but that fight certainly didn't prove it, and I'd doubt you'd give anyone else this much credit for the same thing (save for Chavez and Hearns of course ).

I never said thats what made Sanchez great, his wins over Lopez and Gomez were more career defining since Nelson wasnt prime.

the win over Nelson is just a very solid win that adds to his legacy, but doesnt define it.

likewise, although Nelson gained a ton of respect from me in the loss, his career isnt defined by that loss whatsoever, his body of work and high level wins are what make him great.

Their fight just reaffirms that both of them were great. Nelson was one of my favorite fighters of all time, I even made a highlight video of him.

[RubenSonny]

I never said thats what made Sanchez great, his wins over Lopez and Gomez were more career defining since Nelson wasnt prime.

the win over Nelson is just a very solid win that adds to his legacy, but doesnt define it.

likewise, although Nelson gained a ton of respect from me in the loss, his career isnt defined by that loss whatsoever, his body of work and high level wins are what make him great.

Their fight just reaffirms that both of them were great. Nelson was one of my favorite fighters of all time, I even made a highlight video of him.

....................

Sanchez vs Nelson confirms that both of them were great. excellent fight.

Nelson win doesn't do much for me especially considering that he had so little time preparing for it, not to mention the fact he went life and death with an opponent in very bad circumstances. It confirms that people hold name value in much higher regard than the condition of a fighter.

[Steak]

....................


Nelson win doesn't do much for me especially considering that he had so little time preparing for it, not to mention the fact he went life and death with an opponent in very bad circumstances. It confirms that people hold name value in much higher regard than the condition of a fighter.

confirms does not = makes. it means reaffirms.

and all you have to do is watch the Sanchez and Nelson fight to see that Nelson, while unprepared and still a little green, was still an excellent fighter.

incidently, Nelson had fought in the USA prior to fighting Sanchez and won by KO, and wouldnt lose again for years. You dont need to have beaten anyone of note to be a good fighter, which Nelson obviously was when he fought Sanchez, although(again) not prime and unprepared.

I think of it somewhat like Hopkins-Jones. Hopkins wasnt prime, nor had beaten any worthwhile competition. but it was still a very good win in hindsight. Im not pretending Nelson was prime at all, but its obvious that Nelson would have beaten almost anyone else at featherweight at that point.