Prime for prime, Rick Roufus vs Don Wilson who wins?

[Peter Smits]

Back in the day Don Wilson used to show up to Roufus fights and heckle him, saying Roufus would never beat him. In 2000 Wilsons trainer Brooks Mason asked Ricks brother Duke if they could get some amateur fighters from their gym on a card in Florida Wilson was going to fight in, to which Duke asked why not have Rick fight Don? Brooks said Rick was too big for Don, and when Duke replied Rick is under 200 lbs right now, Brooks said "I am friends with Donnnie Wilson and I wouldn't put him in there with Rick Roufus".

I think everyone agrees 2000 Roufus destroys 2000 Wilson. What about prime vs prime? Don Wilson is actually an inch taller but I think Roufus legit boxing and athleticism would give Don too many problems to handle.

Both have lost to Piotrowski, but Roufus lost via decision then beat him via KO in the rematch. Both have wins over Mo Smith. Roufus basically beat Kaman twice, who was a force in his day. Roufus also beat Ernesto Hoost for possibly his best win, whereas Wilsons top win may be Branko Cikatic, though some may say Denis Alexio. Wilson drew with Jean Yves Thireault, Roufus beat him.

Another consideration is that though Roufus record may look worse, he consistently fought world class fighters throughout his career and in K-1, something that didnt exist in dons heyday.

 

[Vaio]

Yeah, Roufus was probably the more technically skilled fighter and Wilson's style looked less impressive, but Don always got the job done against anyone they put him up against. He was crafty and a much better fighter than most give him credit for. A prime Wilson vs prime Roufus fight would have been great.

Wilson fought an in his prime JY Theriault to a draw and Roufus beat a 39 year old ready to retire JYT - no comparison there really. With Mo Smith - Wilson fought Mo when he was just starting out and Roufus fought Mo when he was pretty well washed up. Piotrowski also beat a prime Roufus and a fairly well past his prime Wilson.

Also, Wilson won 4 of his 5 fights vs Thai fighters under Thai rules and we all know how Rick did against Changpuek.

I don't know who would have won, but would have loved to watch it.

 

[tru3f4n]

Don is over a decade older then Rick and had already retired for the first time before Roufus hit his stride and under what rules would they fight?

 

[MadSquabbles500]

When was KB deeper during Wilson's era, or Rick Roufus era?

how come neither fought Rob Kaman?

 

[Vaio]

Roufus did fight Kaman twice . In 1991 he originally won a 12 round unanimous decision over Kaman, but apparently the fight was declared a no contest due to the fact that the timekeeper let one of the rounds in the fight go for only 1 minute. And then in 1994 Roufus KO'd Kaman in the 2nd round, this fight took place exactly 2 weeks after Roufus KO'd Mike McDonald in the 1st round at Lake Tahoe.

 

[tru3f4n]

When was KB deeper during Wilson's era, or Rick Roufus era?

how come neither fought Rob Kaman?

It depends on what style you're talking about Full Contact/American Kickboxing was at it's height during Don's era and started to go down hill during Rick's era. Both of them are known mostly for their fights in Full Contact but Rick did switch over to the type you'd see in Holland & Japan which had better fighters in the '90s.

 

[Peter Smits]

Yeah, Roufus was probably the more technically skilled fighter and Wilson's style looked less impressive, but Don always got the job done against anyone they put him up against. He was crafty and a much better fighter than most give him credit for. A prime Wilson vs prime Roufus fight would have been great.

Wilson fought an in his prime JY Theriault to a draw and Roufus beat a 39 year old ready to retire JYT - no comparison there really. With Mo Smith - Wilson fought Mo when he was just starting out and Roufus fought Mo when he was pretty well washed up. Piotrowski also beat a prime Roufus and a fairly well past his prime Wilson.

Also, Wilson won 4 of his 5 fights vs Thai fighters under Thai rules and we all know how Rick did against Changpuek.

I don't know who would have won, but would have loved to watch it.

Rick fought Changpeuk when he was only 22, Don fought a few thai cans in his prime and still lost one - no comparison. Roufus didnt have much problem with Muay Thai world champion Stan Longinidis low kicks later in his career, so I dont see Donny hurting him with his legs if they did use international rules. But they would be fighting for "best American light heavyweight kickboxer"-Belt so theyd probably use full contact rules

Don Wilson has the cleaner record but only a handful of his wins come to known fighters, whereas most of Ricks opponents since 1991 are familiar names. And really, Don lost to some very bad boxers - like, 1-10 bad, then they beat Don and become 2-10, while also never facing a boxer with a winning record. Rick actually faced some legit boxing competition and won a couple times like against Sean McClain. Only way I see Rick losing is if he stops respecting Wilsons power and marches right into him like what Branko Cikatic did.

 

[jtwarwagon4life]

Don fought a few thai cans in his prime and still lost one - no comparison.

Samart and Attapong were way smaller than Wilson, but definitely not cans.

 

[tru3f4n]

Roufus didnt have much problem with Muay Thai world champion Stan Longinidis

so does that mean Andy Hug is a Muay Thai World Champion?

 

[Peter Smits]

so does that mean Andy Hug is a Muay Thai World Champion?

Lol no one said he would be just by beating Longinidis. Im stating Roufus perceived weakness to low kicks as a 22 year old (when he had never fought with them before) wouldn't be a path to victory for Wilson against an experienced Roufus, obviously.

 

[tru3f4n]

Lol no one said he would be just by beating Longinidis. Im stating Roufus perceived weakness to low kicks as a 22 year old (when he had never fought with them before) wouldn't be a path to victory for Wilson against an experienced Roufus, obviously.

Roufus always had problems with low kicks though not just in the Changpuek fight.

 

[brucelee]

It would have been an alltime classic and epic match. In my book Don Wilson would have won in the late rounds just as he won his fight against Ferdinand Mack in Berlin. In that fight he was far behind against one of the best kickers in the fullcontact game ever and managed to score a 9th round knockout. Wilson always managed to make his opponents look bad with his superb defense skills. He wore them out and killed them in the end. Very smart guy, not just as a fighter.
Roufus on the other side was always an offensive fighter. He never had a good defense.

 

[Peter Smits]

Roufus always had problems with low kicks though not just in the Changpuek fight.

Thats your opinion. How would Wilson beat Roufus with low kicks? Roufus would be the one kicking his ass with low kicks since Don never fought with them, Rick did.

 

[tru3f4n]

Thats your opinion. How would Wilson beat Roufus with low kicks? Roufus would be the one kicking his ass with low kicks since Don never fought with them, Rick did.

I never said he'd beat him with them just that Rick had issues with them his whole career.

 

[Vaio]

Thats your opinion. How would Wilson beat Roufus with low kicks? Roufus would be the one kicking his ass with low kicks since Don never fought with them, Rick did.

Wilson never fought with low kicks ? Are we talking about the same Don Wilson ? Wilson fought the majority of his career in the WKA, which is basically International rules allowing low kicks. He had way more low kick fights than Roufus. With the exception of the Changpuek fight, Rick didn't start fighting low kicks until the tail end of his career when he got into K-1. I also agree with tru3f4n above that Rick had problems dealing with low kicks and it was those low kicks that most likely contributed to (if not caused them outright) the injuries that pretty much finished him as a top notch fighter.

 

[Peter Smits]

Wilson never fought with low kicks ? Are we talking about the same Don Wilson ? Wilson fought the majority of his career in the WKA, which is basically International rules allowing low kicks. He had way more low kick fights than Roufus. With the exception of the Changpuek fight, Rick didn't start fighting low kicks until the tail end of his career when he got into K-1. I also agree with tru3f4n above that Rick had problems dealing with low kicks and it was those low kicks that most likely contributed to (if not caused them outright) the injuries that pretty much finished him as a top notch fighter.

Thanks, in the fights Ive seen of his there werent low kicks so I made an assumption. Do you remember what injuries finished Roufus off?

 

[Vaio]

Thanks, in the fights Ive seen of his there werent low kicks so I made an assumption. Do you remember what injuries finished Roufus off?

His knees. IIRC, he really hurt one bad in his fight with Carter Williams, that whole tournament probably took it's toll. His knee had a huge lump on it. His kicks just weren't there anymore at the later part of his career.