“Chapo” rebounded in 1985 with four wins, including a decision over Frankie Randall, and was rewarded with a title shot against Hector “Macho” Camacho. Rosario came so close to defeating Hector Camacho in 1985. Further slippage in Rosario’s technique was evident just a year later when he barely outpointed Howard Davis Jr., and six months after that he suffered defeat for the first time when he was stopped in a short but very violent battle with Ramirez that was 1984’s Fight Of The Year. While he out-boxed Ramirez in the first half of the match, he found himself fighting for his life in the late stages and won the title by the narrowest of margins on the scorecards. Ramirez was one tough Mexican warrior and he subjected the younger fighter to pressure and pain the likes of which Edwin had never encountered before. Rosario and Ramirez rumble.Īnd already one could see the cracks in Rosario’s game. So instead Rosario took on Jose Luis Ramirez for the vacant WBC title. All agreed he was a sure-fire future world champ and there was talk of matching him with lightweight king Alexis Arguello, but then the Nicaraguan legend moved up to 140 to challenge Aaron Pryor. Having turned pro days before he turned sixteen, “Chapo” was a top contender in the lightweight division before he was twenty, with the poise and fighting instincts of someone much older. When Edwin Rosario emerged in the early 80’s, many were impressed with the young Puerto Rican’s blend of smooth boxing skills and devastating power. And some, such as Sam Langford, Sugar Ray Robinson, George Foreman, Bernard Hopkins and Archie Moore, astonished everyone with their ability to ignore the calendar and keep scoring big wins more than two decades after their pro careers began.īut then there are the champions who appear to have all the natural talent and skill but, for whatever reason, just can’t last. History’s greatest boxers have lengthy primes and defeated top contenders and champions well into the second decade of their careers. This has less to do with the span of time between a pugilist’s first contest and their last, and more with how long they were able to compete at the elite level. When we compare and rank boxers of the past, something all serious fight fans love to do, one of the key criteria is longevity.
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