Dream Middleweight Tournament Round 1. Who wins these fights and how?

Sugar Ray Robinson is better suited for the pro ranks and it shows in a wider than expected decision loss for Papp. Robinson hits the deck for a four count in the middle rounds courtesy of a right hook but for the most part Robinson is in control.

Sugar Ray Robinson by UD

Zale after losing the early rounds forces a fire fight with the great Monzon. It is heating up by the middle rounds, Zale firing blistering bodyshots while Monzon punishes him with combinations. This goes on, both men are cut and it seems like Zale is pulling ahead by pushing Monzon back, but suddenly Zale is down for an eight count off a right hand to the back of the head. Monzon pounces on him and rakes him with punches along the ropes and eventually forces the ref stoppage, while Zale protests it. It would of been great to see what Zale would of accomplished had he not lost his prime years in the war. He was a great body puncher with sound boxing skills and had he competed at those times people might of been talking of him along with guys like Monzon, Robinson, and Hagler, he was a true warrior in every sense of the word.

Monzon by ref stoppage in the late rounds.

Hagler and Ryan feel each other out for the first few rounds, but by the fourth Hagler has taken the lead and is trying to work his way ont he inside but is having trouble passing the jab of Ryan. Once he does though his punches are telling and it becomes obvious that he is the stronger man in the ring and starts banging home lefts to the head of Ryan, who has no answer for them. Hagler fires right hooks to the body and eventually lands a right uppercut-left cross combination to put Ryan down for the count in the middle rounds.

Hagler by mid rounds KO.

Greb comes out for the first round swinging and Fulmer is giving ground stabbing with his jab and walking Greb into his punches. Greb is the faster of the two but Fulmer isn't much slower and he is making Greb work. The exchanges on the inside are hellish but both men are not backing down from each other. Fulmer would probably adapt and try to box his way to victory but I don't think Greb's punch output could of been matched by him and he would of probably lost a close decision that could of gone either way, depending on your judging criteria. In my opinion Fulmer would of probably faired better in an era with guys like Walker or Greb. He was a very adaptive fighter who had very underrated boxing skills and an impressive way of formulating a game plan. He is truly one of my favorites of the past.

Greb by close UD.

The pressure fo Cerdan would win him most of the early rounds but the hard blows coming from Ketchel would of probably start to slow him down going into themid to late rounds. Ketchel would pour on the pressure and Cerdan would be right in there with him, but i think the puches that Ketchel brought would of took their toll on him and stopped him in the 14th or 15th round, but if he lasted he might of tooken a razor thin decision.

Ketchel by last second knockout.

Mickey Walker would of tooken the initiative from the start and would of been in La Motta's face all night and while he would of been fighting back I don't think he would of been backed up and outworked. I also think the attack to the body would of slowed La Motta down and he would of faded in the late rounds.

Walker by comprehensive UD.

Hopkins would of outboxed the rampant Fitzsimmons, he would of missed his jab and counter him with short, sharp punches, all in combinations. Fitzsimmons might have his moments if he can pin Hopkins against the ropes and flurry but I see him getting outmanuvered and outboxed for the full fifteen, he may win the last rounds if Hopkins tires down the stretch but I don't see him stopping Hopkins or winning on the scorecards.

Hopkins by UD

I see Roy Jones Jr. winning a tough decision against Burley. I honestly don't think Burley was as good as the hype makes him out to be and Roy was spectacular when you put a spectacular opponent in front of him. The only way I see Burley winning is if he can find Roy's chin consistently and I don't see that happening.

Roy by close, but clear UD.

Robinson... sugar ray what can I say?

Monzon... The Man was great. Very underrated.

Hagler... He beat Leonard in my book!

Greb... the guy was an animal! He fought like 400 times!

Ketchel... he had enough power to knock down johnson!

La Motta... Great heart

Hopkins... His turtle style is tuff to crack!

Burley... the guy was avoided by Ray Robinson for a reason

group A Laszlo Papp Nino Benvenuti Oscar De l. a. Hoya Thomas Hearns (in spite of the undeniable fact that Jackson consistently has a punchers threat) group B Terry Norris (rather a %. 'em, yet on the 2nd i basically provide the sting to Terry) Denny Moyer Mike McCallum Sugar Ray Leonard

Robinson-nuff said

Monzon- outboxes Zale

Hagler- too much overall skill

Greb-kayos fullmer

LaMotta-decisions Walker

BHOP-too dirty for fitzsimmins

RJ in his prime easily beats Burley

ray zale hagler greb stanley jake hpkins roy

Robinson

Monzon

Hagler

Greb

Ketchel

LaMotta

Hopkins

Jones Jr.

Robinson

Zale

Hagler

Greb

Ketchel

Walker

Fitzsimmons

Burley

ROBINSON vs PAPP

Lazslo Papp was a very good fighter who would most likely have won the middleweight titie, if given the chance. Still, he'd be a class below the original Sugar man.

Robinson by TKO in 12

MONZON vs ZALE

Zale would give Monzon everything he could handle. He'd hurt him and rough him up. Still Monzon would tough it out and score enough points in the later rounds, after a see-saw battle, to earn the win.

Monzon by clear unanimous decision

HAGLER vs RYAN

Unless you make a few drastic changes in Ryan's style, I don't see him being much trouble for Hagler. Ryan fought during a time when boxing was quite different. At his best, he would have been no match for Marvin Hagler's modern style. It's like Jack Johnson. He was great for HIS time. People often compare him to Muhammad ALI. NOT EVEN CLOSE.....Johnson was a "poor man's" Larry Holmes at best.

Ryan would be tough for Hagler in the early going. But he didn't have enough power to suggest he could even seriously hurt Hagler. He'd trouble him for a while but Hagler has faced many different types of fighters. He'd be ready for Ryan.

After a tough beginning, Ryan would enjoy moderate success in the middle rounds until Hagler figures out a pattern in his style. People remember Hagler, as he fought against Hearns. They forget that Marvin fought Hearns the ONLY way he could beat him. He FOUGHT him. Marvin is a much better boxer than people realize. Ryan comes from a crude era and Hagler would be too sharp for him. He wouldn't fight him as he fought Hearns.

Hagler by TKO in 12

GREB vs FULLMER

This fight isn't very hard to pick. Fullmer was tough as an iron block but he had no boxing ability to speak of. In terms of ability in the ring, everything Fullmer could do, Greb could do better. and he was just as tough.

Fullmer would have a slight edge in strengh. He was easily as strong as a light heavyweight. Still, he was crude and his style would work against him as Greb would maul, brawl and foul his way to a late round stoppage.

Greb by TKO in 13

KETCHEL vs CERDAN

Another tough battle. Ketchel is legendary for his toughness and, of course for decking Jack Johnson. Cerdan would likely have regained the title he unfairly lost to Jake Lamotta, had a plane crash not put an end to his chances--and his life.

Overall, Ketchel was a little tougher. But he was crude. I'm going out on a limb to say that Cerdan was just tough enough to take what Ketchel could dish out. In the trenches, Ketchel would out-rough the proud Frenchman.

If Marcel reaches a point where he by-passes his pride, he could take a decision. If he continues to rough it up with Ketchel, he would find himself on the losing end of a distance fight. It really all depends on which way Cerdan choses to fight.

Ketchel by close, hard fought decision

WALKER vs LAMOTTA

This would be a great fight because you have two fighters who can take a lot of punishment but really don't hit very hard. Lamotta was a bit protected and is often given credit for his toughness. His last fight with Robinson, which he lost the title, and the fact that he only went down once, late in his career in a fight that is rumored to be fixed, give many the reason to believe Lamotta was invincable.

Walker is from a different era. Having fought many between welter and heavyweight, Lamotta isn't likely to dish out anything Walker couldn't take. Mickey would add a little style to his toughness and grinde out a distance win.

Walker by clear decision

HOPKINS vs FITZSIMMONS

FITZSIMMONS is another who is given credit for standing out in an era where much was yet to be discovered in the sport of boxing. He'd be tough for Hopkins but that's only because he could take what Bernard dishes out.

That is exactly what would happen. Hopkins would be doing the "dishing out" and Fitz would be doing the "taking". Bob could dish it out but he'd be no match for the tricky Hopkins. Bob could also take it and that's why he'd go the distance. But there is nothing that suggests that Fitzsimmons could take a points win over Hopkins.

Not only does he LOOK a little like Kelly Pavlik, he'd fight the way Pavlik did against Hopkins, with everything falling just a little short. This one's not hard to call. Like Ryan against Hagler, Fitzsimmons wouldn't even know how to cope with Hopkins' tricky style.

Hopkins by clear decision

BURLEY vs JONES

Everyone likes to praise Burley as the fighter no one wanted to face. But there is only one recorded fight and that's not much to go on. From everything I've read, Burley was very talented. I think there is more to his having never faced Robinson than legend suggests. I find it hard to believe Robinson was afraid of him. Still, he was avoided by many.

I just don't see Burley overcoming the natural ability of Jones. I dare say that many, who SHOULD NOT, would go the distance with Jones. Burley is one of them but he'd come up short like the rest.

Jones by close decision

robinson

monzon

hagler

greb

cerdan

lamotta

hopkins

jones jr