Ricardo Lopez or Roman Gonzalez?

[Crimson Glory]

I'm curious who you guys think would win in a face off between the two had they competed in the same era and who you think is more technical/skilled?

Both are small guys, but pack a big punch and are technically very sound, and were/are P4P in their era respectively.

For some reason, I look at Lopez and I see a better fighter, he just seemed to get hit less.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

Both guys are about as good as you'll ever get, technically. I think Roman's footwork might be the best I've ever seen. He hits like a freight train and is blindingly fast. In terms of greatness, Finito is obviously higher but Roman will likely surpass him.

Head to head, it's way too close to call. I could see Roman's pressure and power backing Finito up and Roman winning on points or I could see Finito edging a close decision in close quarters. Tough fight to call.

 

[Crimson Glory]

Both guys are about as good as you'll ever get, technically. I think Roman's footwork might be the best I've ever seen. He hits like a freight train and is blindingly fast. In terms of greatness, Finito is obviously higher but Roman will likely surpass him.

Head to head, it's way too close to call. I could see Roman's pressure and power backing Finito up and Roman winning on points or I could see Finito edging a close decision in close quarters. Tough fight to call.

The thing I like about Roman, or atleast in one of the few fights I've him in, was, he has very effective aggression, but has good defense paired with it. I remember in one fight, I think it was on a GGG card on HBO, where he was literally moving forward almost the entire fight, yet almost barely getting hit, just pressuring the guy and dodging everything that was thrown at him.

This was the fight that really impressed me most from him.

He's a fighter I need to study more.

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

The thing I like about Roman, or atleast in one of the few fights I've him in, was, he has very effective aggression, but has good defense paired with it. I remember in one fight, I think it was on a GGG card on HBO, where he was literally moving forward almost the entire fight, yet almost barely getting hit, just pressuring the guy and dodging everything that was thrown at him.

This was the fight that really impressed me most from him.

He's a fighter I need to study more.

Yeah he definitely doesn't get hit hard at least. He's really good at getting his arms in the way of punches and pulling away enough to avoid most of his opponent's power. He's very similar to GGG for me. Constant pressure but incredible boxing ability.

Another similar stylistic fighter in JCC Sr. was renowned for having an incredible chin. I don't know if we'll ever find that out about GGG or Chocolatito. They both look untouchable right now.

 

[ironfist05]

The thing I like about Roman, or atleast in one of the few fights I've him in, was, he has very effective aggression, but has good defense paired with it. I remember in one fight, I think it was on a GGG card on HBO, where he was literally moving forward almost the entire fight, yet almost barely getting hit, just pressuring the guy and dodging everything that was thrown at him.

This was the fight that really impressed me most from him.

He's a fighter I need to study more.

I'd go with Roman in this fight

You're probably thinking of the Viloria fight. I was there live, Viloria is no joke, probably as good as the top guys Lopez fought and Chocolatito steamrolled him. Lopez has always been a bit overrated: fantastic fighter with not that strong a resume.

The guys I think would beat Roman (below 112) are Chang, Carbajal, and Zapata; Lopez is 50-50. I'd give a shot to Gushiken, Calderon, Yuh, and Chiquita, but I'm not sure I'd pick any of them with total certainty.

We'll have to see a bit more of Roman before he gets stacked up to the best of all time at 112. His wins so far have ranged from decent to very impressive, I'd love to see a rematch with JFE, a fight with Ioka, Nietes, or Inoue.