Quote Originally Posted by mikeeod View Post
Spicoli- AWESOME call on Tapia vs Ham Johnson! Loved both guys, and think both were genuinely great fighters, although often underrated and overlooked due to their size. Tapia had the personality to become more famous, but Johnson was such a solid and great fighter, that it's a shame his lack of charisma held him back on the world stage. As much of a fan as I was/am of Johnny, I think Johnson would've won that one. It would've been extremely close, and a phenomenal fight, but I think Johnson was a great talent that only true fans appreciated (like Finito Lopez).
It's a tough call for sure. Real shame it never came off as seemingly all of the pieces were there and once Johnson moved up, conveniently Tapia moved up for a shot at Ayala. Johnson was brilliant and simply fought top notch opposition from beginning to end. When people speak of best speed and defense he is badly over looked. He wasn't a back foot prevent defensive guy and could sit in the pocket and feint a guy out of his shoes. He'd make you pay dearly. What he did to Arthur Johnson was just brutal!Still lean ever so slightly to Tapia in that one as Johnson did run into a few times where he would opt to bang. Both simply tremendous talents.