Originally Posted by
CutMeMick
MAB can argueably be the greatest Super Bantamweight ever....
IMO, MAB was the epitimy of a professional fighter. Someone who fought thru the rankings and earned his shot at the big times by doing so. When he won his 1st title the Mexican Super Fly. he showed the tools were there they just needed to be polished some more. For his 1st defense he took on Jose F. Montiel the last name sounds familiar to you because hes from the long list of family members of Montiels who have boxed along with Pedro Montiel, Eduardo, Manuel and current WBO Super Fly. champ Fernando Montiel. Tho Jose Montiel was not a note worthy opponent as far as a record goes Montiel was wll schooled enough to poses some thread but MAB disposed of him in 2 rounds. In '94 whe he earned a shot at the WBC super fly title he failed to make weight and struggled immensly with Salazar whom IMO, MAB should have blasted out. Would he have made weight he would have fought Jose L. Bueno for the title instead we were introduced to great Japanese fighter Kawashima who went on to beat Bueno for the title.
A lot of people don't know this but MAB actually retired in 1995 when he won the WBO title from Jimenez he went back to Mexico announced his retirement. I believe his trainer & people convinced him to continue to fight and he thank god he did.
Through his career he has beaten some great fighters and some of the best fighters of his time. One of the best fighters was Kennedy when he faced MAB in the famous HBO:BAD 1st telecast... What a fight that was tremendous heart and determination by MAB shown that night. I dislike excuses so to me the JJones loses are just that loses. JJones at that time was just on one whether the personal issues had something to do with it or not is another topic all in itself I mean certain people deal with certain circustances in different ways so who knows. Then theres the 1st match up with Erik whom a handful of people think he won... I don't need to go to deep into it as I think we all know what took place that day. Another thin that people don't either know or mention is that the WBO gave MAB the title back when Erik moved up in weight to fight Kelley. Then came the NAZ whom people like to recognize as MABs signature victory. He mastered Naz and showed how smart he could be in the ring countering Naz all night long, jabbing him and keeping him busy with it. He then rematches Erik and this time people think he lost but he won a decision.... So now he had settled the score with Erik. He went on to fight the great 'Mi Vida Loca' Tapia and what turned out to be more of boxing session/lesson then anything else but showed tremendous skill again with his hand speed and defense. Along the way he also defeated Kelley prior to facing Manny in which he lost by TKO. Again lot's of things happening in his personal life some that I can't even hint at on here. But those who are deep into MABs career and or have done the research know what I'm talking about. Anyway no excuses he lost and that's that he moved on. He took on Ayala prior to facing Erik for the rubber match in what would close out one of the greates trilogies ever made. Part III was IMO a time capsule of both Erik & MABs career two great warriors just doing what they do best, fight. I'd like to point out the Fana win cause the guys moved on to positive things and has become a champion. Fana hasn't lost since then hes won 5 fights and is the current IBF Super Feather champ.
He put on some masterful teachings vs. Juarez the second time around and what he did in the JMM fight was just brilliant. Tho I must mention I have just started liking/respecting MAB due to me being an Erik fan more. One has to admit that MAB was as talented as they come.
From boxer very early in his career, to brawler in the contender stages of his career, to boxer puncher as a champ. to the technical master that he showed he could be to the brawling with Erik and trading with JMM. This dude had it all.
Most def. one of greatest boxers of this era.
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