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View Full Version : Ossie Ocasio Discussion

Russell
02-09-2009, 10:44 PM
Rarely seem him mentioned in as a "great" cruiserweight or what would be considered one in the talent light CW division. He seems to be held in pretty high esteem in some circles though.

Can't fault a CW half assing it and managing to beat Qawi, Jimmy Young, Coetzer, taking Dokes to a draw and Ray Mercer to a SD.

So, what were his strengths? Could he have been greater?
scartissue
02-09-2009, 10:56 PM
A very busy fighter, lacking a punch. He was given an absolute gift of a decision over Qawi. I think I nearly gave Qawi a shutout in that fight. But that gift got him a title fight with Holyfield.

Scartissue
My2Sense
02-10-2009, 01:20 AM
But that gift got him a title fight with Holyfield.


...which he never tried to win, and basically just backed away and covered up the whole fight.
zadfrak
02-10-2009, 06:45 AM
His big moment in the sun came when Young came in woefully out of shape and Ocassio got the W. The problem was that victory put him in with heavies and it didn't take long for Holmes to completely outclass the guy and introduce him to an in shape heavweight toolset. After that licking, he was pretty much an opponent on the Don King cards and eventually dropped down to the new cruiser division where he was better suited.
mr. magoo
02-10-2009, 09:01 AM
I was never very impressed with him to tell you the truth. Though, I really only saw him fight late in his career when he was on the decline. Nevertheless, I found him to be a rather boring and non-aggressive fighter without much hitting ability. I suppose the best that can be said for him is that he went the distance with a lot of good heavyweights in their primes and even held a fragment of the cruiser title for a while. But winning an alphabet strap in the cruiserweight division during the mid 80's, was about as meaningful as being the vice president of pencil sharpening at a company run by 10 employees.
biglads
02-10-2009, 10:20 AM
Wonderful nickname, "Jaws". Best remembered for being decked by a Holmes jab.
My2Sense
02-10-2009, 07:15 PM
And yet somehow, he went the distance with Lennox Lewis. :admin :huh
My2Sense
02-10-2009, 07:19 PM
His big moment in the sun came when Young came in woefully out of shape and Ocassio got the W. The problem was that victory put him in with heavies and it didn't take long for Holmes to completely outclass the guy and introduce him to an in shape heavweight toolset. After that licking, he was pretty much an opponent on the Don King cards and eventually dropped down to the new cruiser division where he was better suited.

He was one of a bunch of fighters around this time (like Leon Spinks) that might've had more success if he'd been able to fight in a cruiserweight division while still in his prime. At this time, the heavyweight division was in transition between the "small heavyweights" era and the "215-pounds and up" era, and fighters like Ocasio were caught in the middle.
catasyou
02-10-2009, 07:28 PM
Man did Lennox look like shit against him.He was booed off the ring after the fight while Ocassio was applauded,this all happening in England.
Bigcat
02-10-2009, 08:07 PM
It was the first time Lewis had to settle for a decision...

A few times i saw him live , one time i saw him come here and tackle a very decent heavyweight we had in Britain called Jess Harding.. Jess was making a nice name for himself beating top domestic fighters and when a fat Ocasio arrived in London it looked like Jess would have a nice easy night.. How wrong we were , Ocassio stopped Jess's career in his tracks, and shut the Londoners eye before bashing him up badly..
Bummy Davis
02-10-2009, 09:04 PM
He was one of the originals at that weight but I was never impressed with him...He did not have punch and got lucky with Young showing up with TITS (totally out of condition) He had the right connects got a shot against Holmes with 13 fights....
TBooze
02-11-2009, 06:21 PM
He was no mug, and taught Lennox an awful lot. Indeed being an experienced journeyman was probably where he got most respect in his career, as he also gave Mercer a valuable lesson.
Titan1
05-30-2009, 02:22 PM
Gave Dokes problems in the first fight, second fight, Dokes coldcocked him.
CANNONBALL
05-30-2009, 04:33 PM
low moment being ko'd by john gardner,who in all fairness ,as british h/ws go wasnt that bad
Russell
05-30-2009, 04:35 PM
So just how good was Ossie at his dedicated best?

Was he a top 10 cruiser? Boxrec seemingly thinks very highly of him.
mr. magoo
05-30-2009, 06:35 PM
So just how good was Ossie at his dedicated best?

Was he a top 10 cruiser? Boxrec seemingly thinks very highly of him.

A top 10 cruiser, possibly. But, lets keep in mind that the cruiser weight division has only been around for a couple of decades, and has been used primarily as a transient venue for Light heavyweights or heavyweights traveling from one big fight to the next.......

Ossie Ocasio was a durable fighter with a lot of survival tactics, but didn't posses much in the offensive category... I saw his later fights at heavyweight against prospects in Ray Mercer, as well as a declining Tyrell Biggs, and I can tell you that it was a most unimpressive display.... Had it not been for the creation of the cruiser division, Ocasio would have been limted to the title of mere " opponent ", and little else...