Gentleman Toughguy,
One of the Greatest fighters of all time stops Floyd in the !3th round. Simple reason being Henry beat and knocked out the far better competition. Floyd tuck and roll style wouldn't work against a fighter like Henry, Henry would take the first half of the fight figuring out the style the the second half destroying Floyd.
The Fighters back in Henry's day were just a different breed of fighter compared to todays guys. There were no million dollar paydays but those guys had more class and character than most of the fighters today. Champions were Champions and Henry was one hell of a CHAMPION.
Thanks Gentleman Toughguy.
People don't realize how much of a game changer 15 rounds is. My picks for specific fights changes dramatically depending on the amount of rounds fought. I have a hard time picking any great fighter from the 12 round era over those of the 15 round era. Boxing was almost a different sport back then.
Anyone as far as the fight goes. I don't recall any fighter who didn't KO Henry Armstrong being able to keep him from coming forward and throwing punches nonestop, I'd pick him to outwork floyd over 15 rounds. I will say though Floyd probably does a lot of damage over the first 8 rounds. Additionally my pick is based on them fighting at 135-140.
Armstrong in his best prime could sustain his whirl-wind, piston-like volume punching for 15 rounds or more. There's also no question about his taking power and resistance to cuts. Being small for a welterweight, he could conceivably have been not far behind in terms of quickness and speed compared to Floyd. Most pointedly, he could hurt with either hands. He could be the nearest thing to a prime best Manny Pacquiao except that Armstrong perhaps had better balance and posed a two-fisted threat.
The question therefore is, could Floyd sustain his stone wall defense for 15 non-stop, to and fro action-packed, violence-filled rounds?
I doubt it.
Armstrong UD 15 Floyd.
A young Armstrong would have given Floyd a savage beating, but the old shell that Robinson beat might have had some trouble catching Floyd much like the trouble he had catching a young Robinson.
15 rounds at welterweight
