I know some Tito fans claimed he was over his best weight, but going into the fight Tito easily disputed that claim by stopping then WBA champ William Joppy who had defended the title on a number of occasions.

Great way to unify the 3 main belts. Champ vs Champ & one turned in a masterful performance.

Side note- I saw something in that performance no one talks about; To me, there were several times Hop wanted to clinch & Tito stopped it by using his elbow to push off on Hop's collar bone. Hop adjusted to it. Even though he had his back to the ropes, he kept moving, never laying on the ropes.

I also note that the final knockdown was completed by a bit of a push, but hey, the master knew every trick in the book!