IntentionalButt
09-25-2009, 02:17 AM
Couldn't take a punch as well as he could dish one out, but boy did he have some heart.
After establishing his power with a pile of unconscious opponents left in his wake, including a single round dispatching of Marcus Geraldo (who took Leonard and Hagler the distance), the reputation for rising off the canvas burgeons when he gets off the canvas to stop strong, 6'2"/81" wingspan Jerry Holly (used as a Hagler and Barkley sparring partner to emulate Hearns) in 4.
<No video of Holly available, but by accounts and judging by his lean and cut physique for his size, he seems to be the type you had to work at stopping if you didn't want to get stopped yourself - he has few wins of note but did KO Sam Nesmith significantly faster than Sugar Ray Seales in either attempt>:
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Then the '81 Classic against LoCicero
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And, ultimately the misfortune of running into a ferocious mid-reign Marvelous Marvin.
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And that was that, with the exception of a pair of comeback attempts in the late 80s after serving his first time for armed robbery...which he would ultimately do thrice.
He had this to say about the last stages of the contiguous portion of his career, in a jailhouse meeting with another incarcerated Kronk amateur alumnus, Aram "Rocky" Alkazoff:
"What the hell happened against Hagler?" Rocky asked. "I figured you were going to go to war with the guy. You got the break when Goodwin pulled out, and I figured you would fight him like a animal."
"I wanted to," he said, perking up at the mention of boxing. "I planned to. When Mickey pulled out and I got my chance, I was in good shape. But the fight with the Puerto Rican took too much out of me Rock."
"Real tough," he said, thinking back. "I thought one of us was gonna die. Johnny LoCicero was a tough dude. He could hit, but I wanted that fight so bad. I would'a died rather than lose. But against Hagler it was different Rock."
"Man it was a different atmosphere Rock," he said, shaking his head. "It was too clean. Too controlled. Hagler was so smooth, so confident. He came right out and nailed me. It wasn't as hard as LoCicero hurt me, but it was from him. From Hagler. He was too good. I stayed down. To be honest with you Rock, I think the LoCicero fight took it out of me. I wasn't the same. Then I got a few bucks and everything got crazy."
Had he kept his nose clean (literally - cocaine problems began during or shortly after the time of the Hagler challenge) and fought on through his prime and improved under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward - he could well have been recognized as one of the top contenders of the decade, rather than a footnote with a Ring Mag ROTY against a tough trial horse and a blowout loss to an ATG as his chief merits.
After establishing his power with a pile of unconscious opponents left in his wake, including a single round dispatching of Marcus Geraldo (who took Leonard and Hagler the distance), the reputation for rising off the canvas burgeons when he gets off the canvas to stop strong, 6'2"/81" wingspan Jerry Holly (used as a Hagler and Barkley sparring partner to emulate Hearns) in 4.
<No video of Holly available, but by accounts and judging by his lean and cut physique for his size, he seems to be the type you had to work at stopping if you didn't want to get stopped yourself - he has few wins of note but did KO Sam Nesmith significantly faster than Sugar Ray Seales in either attempt>:
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Then the '81 Classic against LoCicero
y9K3YHpVAJQ
LSRBfgfreiw
And, ultimately the misfortune of running into a ferocious mid-reign Marvelous Marvin.
L5yi5KGY1JA
And that was that, with the exception of a pair of comeback attempts in the late 80s after serving his first time for armed robbery...which he would ultimately do thrice.
He had this to say about the last stages of the contiguous portion of his career, in a jailhouse meeting with another incarcerated Kronk amateur alumnus, Aram "Rocky" Alkazoff:
"What the hell happened against Hagler?" Rocky asked. "I figured you were going to go to war with the guy. You got the break when Goodwin pulled out, and I figured you would fight him like a animal."
"I wanted to," he said, perking up at the mention of boxing. "I planned to. When Mickey pulled out and I got my chance, I was in good shape. But the fight with the Puerto Rican took too much out of me Rock."
"Real tough," he said, thinking back. "I thought one of us was gonna die. Johnny LoCicero was a tough dude. He could hit, but I wanted that fight so bad. I would'a died rather than lose. But against Hagler it was different Rock."
"Man it was a different atmosphere Rock," he said, shaking his head. "It was too clean. Too controlled. Hagler was so smooth, so confident. He came right out and nailed me. It wasn't as hard as LoCicero hurt me, but it was from him. From Hagler. He was too good. I stayed down. To be honest with you Rock, I think the LoCicero fight took it out of me. I wasn't the same. Then I got a few bucks and everything got crazy."
Had he kept his nose clean (literally - cocaine problems began during or shortly after the time of the Hagler challenge) and fought on through his prime and improved under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward - he could well have been recognized as one of the top contenders of the decade, rather than a footnote with a Ring Mag ROTY against a tough trial horse and a blowout loss to an ATG as his chief merits.