If you could take the specific characteristics below from any fighter in any era,what fighters would you pick and why.
The 5 characteristics are:
Ring IQ
Hook
Right hand/Left hand (Depending on stance)
Jab
Defence
Orthodox
Ring IQ- Sugar Ray Robinson- Unparalleled in terms of ring IQ for me. The guy was poetry in motion in the ring. Everything was fluid and easy for him but he had a graceful viciousness. The frequency with which he fought meant he could adapt and change tact in an instant. He had seen every style there was to see.
Hook-Joe Frazier - Smokin Joe possessed a devastating left hook, the best ever in my opinion. That was his signature punch and he threw it with menace. It might not look as crisp or as sharp as other guys but the impact and the damage his hooks done were unmistakable.
Right hand-Tommy Hearns- This was a close one for me between Hearns and Marciano but i went with Hearns because of the accuracy he had on it. His right as we know had power but it also had precision and versatility. He could land that right at will and we saw that against SRL.
Jab-Pernell Whitaker- Not only was he technically proficient he was a smart fighter and with his jab he gave fighters all sorts of nightmares. It was lightening quick and it had incredible accuracy. I recall the fight with DLH where he obliterated DLH with his jab. Ali had a good jab also but he didn't throw it like Pernell did. Whitaker used it for offence and defence. He controlled fights with the jab and he neutralised opponents with it.
Defence- Floyd Mayweather Jr- Simply put I think Floyd defensively could be an all time great. You can question his power, his antics outside the ring and his persona but the boy can fight. He knows how to avoid getting hit. Even in his prime he barely got touched. If you watch videos of fighters on the inside trying to land and then seeing Floyd neutralise and slip the punches it is exceptional. As he aged so did his reflexes but the guy was taught the fine art of defence and he could dodge rain drops in a phone box. Of course his famous shoulder roll makes it difficult for opponents to tag him but Floyd can defend just was well without it. If i had to think of a complete defensive fighter it would be this man.
Thoughts?
The Ultimate Boxer.
posted on 29/6/15
Not a big fan of these things as there are many other factors that lend themselves to fighters having a good right hand/defence and jabs etc like footwork judging range and reactions (not reflexes cos all boxers will have the same relfex speed) its just so hard to categorise them now. For example Fraziers left hook wouldnt have been anywere near as effective if he didnt have the headmovement and chin to be able to get in close to land that left hook. Lewis' right hand wouldnt have been as effective if he couldnt judge range as well as he could and have a stiff jab to keep opponents at that range etc if you know what i mean.
posted on 30/6/15
I think you also have to include some other characteristics in this, for instance the pure will and iron chin that Micky Ward had would be good in any situation, Gatti for the same reason probably.
Ring IQ, I think you should consider Chris Eubank, he had a lot of ring smarts that he probably doesn't get the credit for.
For hooks then at the moment you would have to say GGG. He is a master at hitting to the body, both with power and amazing accuracy. henry Cooper probably deserves a mention in this category, it was his signature punch and did knockdown the greatest of them all!
Jab I would have to say Klitscko has made a career out of it. From the past then maybe someone like Lewis, there was a lot of spite in his jabs I always thought.
Defence is hands down Mayweather, he is a master at it.
posted on 30/6/15
A lot of historians would argue Willie Pep had a better defence than floyd did. Personally i havent really seen any of him so i cant say ...Ward is also insanely good defensivley
posted on 30/6/15
comment by delboy82 (U7141)
posted 1 hour, 22 minutes ago
A lot of historians would argue Willie Pep had a better defence than floyd did. Personally i havent really seen any of him so i cant say ...Ward is also insanely good defensivley
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Possibly, I can't say for the same reason. i think Mayweather is getting the plaudits in that category simply because he is the best at it in recent times. I have watched boxing since the 80's and I haven't seen anyone as good as him in that time.
posted on 30/6/15
IQ - Duran. Very underrated IQ, great subtlety and guise to his aggressive style.
Hook - Frasier
Right hand - Shavers
Jab - Holmes
Defence - Whittaker. Picked over Mayweather because he stayed in better positions to hit back.
Could add some more like:
Chin - Ali
Footwork - Mayweather
posted on 1/7/15
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posted on 1/7/15
I suppose you could say that they could all for in to other categories as well, depending on the fighter and their style.
posted on 1/7/15
Good point on the physical attributes, too. I maybe went too much for power when picking punchers as they're all heavyweights
posted on 1/7/15
But then you can get into the argument of how much is reflex and how much is the skill of timing the punch... Everyone always says Mayweather and Ali have great reflexes, and the do, but reflexes can only get you so far. The timing of the punch is definitely a skill, although there are quite a lot of variables so difficult to account for it in terms of the point of the article
posted on 1/7/15
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