Disagreed. Zab would either get KO'd or he would go into a shell as soon as Prov lands a clean punch & he loses a decision. A "prime" Zab was getting his ass whooped by Baldomir (which was a close fight). Prov is at least close to the same tier as Baldomir imo and he hits much harder. Prov's style resembles Baldomir's more so than Matthyssee. A guy with power & a chin that is all in your face is Zab's worst nightmare.
I get disappointed anytime a boxing fan tries to use boxing math to justify their argument. Your saying since Zab "beat" Matthysse, he would beat Prov. There is just a lot of things wrong with that statement.
It seems your implying Matthysee & Prov are similar fighters which isn't true. Have you seen any of Lucas' fights in Argentina? The man was a boxer/puncher who happened to hit hard. He did not rely on his power. Against Zab he fought his usual boxer/puncher style. He just started fighting more aggressively a couple years ago because he knew he wouldn't get any decisions over here. If he would have brought that aggressive approach to the Zab fight I believe he would have beat him decisively. Many felt he won the fight anyway, myself included.
So you just compared Prov to the "boxer/puncher" Matthysee of 3 years ago fresh off of Argentina.
Or are you saying because you believe Matthysee is a better fighter & you felt Zab won, that Zab would beat Prov? Either way none of it makes any sense. Every fight is different. Your talking about 2 guys with 2 different approaches & although I do agree Matthysee may be better, it's not like he's significantly better than Prov. Who is better head to head doesn't really matter in this case. It's all about styles.
Zab is just more athletic & has faster hand speed. Bradley is a much better fighter than Zab. I don't understand how ANYONE can pick Zab anytime he fights. This guy went into a shell against Demarcus Corley in his prime. It was ridiculous. Anytime he gets hit he goes into a shell & hopes to survive. The guy can't hold it together for a whole 12 rounds against top tier competition. How can anyone confidently pick him to win against a puncher?
Disagree with most of what you said. Zab would get killed by Prov now. Thats about as far as I would go. Other than that, Zab was a more talented fighter than Bradley and I believe a better fighter. He went defensive against Corley because he broke his hand. Corley still been upsetting nikkas up to 2012 and lets not forget Corley hurt Floyd prob more than anyone I have seen. (Shane caught Floyd and rocked him, but after the initial shock value, every time I watched it again, it didnt look like he was hurt as bad as people made it out to be)
Really, prime Spinks is as tall an order for any WW in the past decade because he was a boxing fool. With Bradley, he is solid, but what I see is names. Big names. A green Alexander (but one that was on a nice winning streak) a born again Manny after all the doping allegations (a fight he lost IMO), and a great win over JMM which even I overrated in the beginning. Have to remember, JMM not prime, way past best weight, and never looked good against fast world class fighters even at featherweight.
I do agree about using boxing math...I really dont do that because styles make fights. At the same time, I do factor in how good an opponent really is. I just believe Matthysse is clearly better than Prov, even if only by a small amount.
Your statement proves my point. "A guy with power and chin all in your face...." Matthysse had the pressure on Zab and got outboxed. That fight was not controversial like people make it out to be. Those of us that came up with the theory that Swift would beat Matthysse based on how he looked against Zab and Devon....proved right with that theory.
I just think we overrate most fighters out there due to particular wins. Bradley is overrated a bit because he got that win over Manny....who was perceived as the man at that time at WW...but that was overrated as well...and I will get into that at a later time. Before that, Bradley resume was solid but unspectacular.
Prov is even more overrated because before Bradley he was an ESPN fighter who had already lost. He gets a lot of high praise for losing a war with an admittedly stupid Bradley and stopping a fringe fighter like Alvarado
Prov aint that good my dude....
He would lose to Swift and Matthysse and I would pick a Roach-trained Khan to beat him as well. I even think Maidana is a better fighter than Prov.
All in all....I still say Zab was a better fighter, just that the career defining win for Bradley was bigger in stature than Zab's was. Their resumes are easily on par with each other, its just that Zab never was a true WW. He was overpowered by stronger guys. I dont see Bradley beating Cotto or Clottey either. Even with Zab's mental lapses, he wouldve been a better fighter had he stayed at 140, but the money was at 147 just like today so
Zab just wasnt built for 147 but he did face NATURAL WWs.
The only TRUE NATURAL WW on Bradley resume is Abregu. So I dont get caught up in that hype....and also I dont give a fukk about putting it out there but prime Spinks would box circles around Manny at WW.
I respect your opinion but cmon breh. Bradley's D>>>>>>>Zab's Bradley wins more rounds than Canelo and Guerrero combined (I think floyd would win 8-4 or 7-5). But if the current boogeyman of 140-147 couldn't finish off Bradley you think Floyd would?? It should be noted I'm a stan of floyd's boxing skills.
