Guest
Prefight records; Sanchez 43(31)-1-1, Nelson 13(10)-0. Although they were both around the same age (Sanchez at 23, Nelson at 24), their level of experiences were far different at this point; Sanchez’s career began in May 1975 where he was fast tracked due to his immense talent and became the WBC Featherweight Champion at 21. He had since successfully defended the title 9 times. On the other hand, Nelson was largely unknown outside of Ghana with only 13 pro bouts and he was a last minute replacement for top contender Mario Miranda who pulled out of the fight. Thus, only 5575 fans showed up at Madison Square Garden that night as there were no expectations of an entertaining bout. However, those who did was treated to a surprisingly thrilling night of boxing. Despite his inexperience at top level, Nelson put up a tremendous performance as he fought with a nothing-to-lose attitude against one of the Best P4P Fighters at that time. The fight was an all out war from the opening bell where both warriors battled it back and forth to produce one of the greatest World Featherweight Title Fights of All Time; Nelson as the huge underdog fought with nothing held back from the opening bell, starting with and maintaining a fast pace for the most part of the first half where he connected with a number of clean shots particularly right hands on the champion.
