Who are the top Five geatest swarmers P4P

1.Tyson
2.Duran
3.Prince
4.Frazier
5.Gamboa

 

haven't seen this one yet surprisingly

like you're list, i'll add a couple of also-rans: fulmer, briscoe, jesus chavez, and of course duran deserves a mention

 

1. Fighting Harada

The rest

 

Marciano...Frazier...Greb...Armstrong...Fullmer...

 

Greb
Armstrong
Walker
Basilio
Ted Kid Lewis

 

berg
harada
pryor

all deserve a mention

 

i was struggling with pryor. my inclination is swarmer but he darted in and out and threw combinations from middle range. he could be a swarmer but i wonder if his style was such:think

 

I honestly tend to think of Duran as being more of a boxer-puncher these days rather than a swarmer. Certainly capable of a swarming look and characteristics, but honestly so are plenty of other boxer punchers(Pacquiao, Robinson, etc)

 

Are we talking about volume pressure fighters or guys who knew how to go in for the kill when their oponent was hurt?

 

In the Buchanan fight, Duran was in ultra-swarmer mode and swarm****ed him up.

I've made this point before, not sure who would agree, but i think that a successful swarming style is more impressive the heavier up you get. Because of the added danger you're in of getting blasted out by powerful heavyweight fighters, and the lack of speed needed for running people down and slipping your way in. Also the great drain on stamina this particular style has, the more weight you have to move around the quicker you become exhausted.

Due to this, i think Joe Frazier fits right into the top 3. Along with Armstrong and Greb, who had so many fights and at so many weights, fightin bigger guys. An iron-cast beard and limitless stamina are MUSTS for the style to be successful against larger opposition. And thier records show that they had both in spades, and proved it so many times, having so many fights. Iron chinned swarmer is the ultimate style

1) Armstrong - Pure swarmer. Had success with it against larger opponents, hardly ever stopped, fought hundreds of times(swarming-style is risky, you'd expect a few lucky shots to get through over so many fights)

2) Greb - Same reasons as Armstrong. The right attributes for it. Fought even more times than Armstrong, but in a shitter era.

3) Frazier - for the reasons listed above. The style is a somewhat double-edged sword the heavier you go up. His supreme will and heart complimented the style, was able to swarm-**** the GOAT HW, Ali.

4) Marciano - Success at HW like Frazier. Wouldnt call him a pure swarmer...maybe a slugger or a pressure fighter or whatever, the lines are blurred anyway...the very best fighters should be like water(like the Bruce Lee said) with their styles. Marciano has the HW angle also, the heart and will that compliment the style, and on top of that the limitless stamina that compliments it hugely. He was undefeated also..and yes it does say something when you've swarm-****ed elite killers like Louis, and dangerous trapsmiths like Charles and Walcott at HW.


5) Duran - I wouldnt call him a pure swarmer. But Duran exhibited elite swarming skills against a top shelf elite boxer, Buchanan(infact perhaps the greatest display of the style we have seen). He was also able to swarm-**** the uber-elite Ray Leonard, a larger, quicker and very dangerous puncher. His natural aggression complimented the style also.

Harada was mentioned above, and is techincally the best pressure-fighter i've seen. But i wouldnt call him a swarmer. He doesnt really hunt you down, corner and smother you. He applies his pressure from all ranges and weirdly does it on the backfoot in the Jofre fights. Outstanding pressure fighter, but he is no swarmer.

To me the true mark of a great swarmer is the ability to swarm-**** a great boxer/puncher. The swarmer should be the counter to a boxer style, and the power of a puncher is the added risk he has to take whilst pulling off the style successfully.

I cant tell you who the examples for Armstrong and Greb are, but looking at their records you can see so many fights, rarely lost, very rarely stopped, going through several weightclasses up against larger oppositon. So it speaks for itself anyway.

Frazier has Ali, perhaps the greatest boxer-type ever P4P, certainly at HW, and it wasnt particularly close, he swarm-****ed him.

Duran has Buchanan, definatley one of the very elite boxer-types at LW, and it was nowhere near close, well and truly swarm-****ed. Up against Leonard, it was ver close yet still mightily impressive as Leonard had the physical advantages and in an all-rounded sense, he was an ascended physical and technical freak, much like Ray Robinson.

Marciano has Charles and Walcott. Charles apparently a master boxer-type, havent seen enough of him myself, though his record speaks for itself, swarm-****ed nonetheless. The more impressive victory is over Walcott though, who is a boxer-type, but a very unique boxer-type, with deadly knockout power. His boxing style was not always to keep you away, but to also lure you into a trap...and obviously a swarmer is walking straight into that trap. Walcott may have had the counter-style to a swarmer(just speculation, someone more informed on his opposition would be better answering this).

Depending on how broad the definition of swarmer is, the broader it is the higher i would probably put Marciano.. But as is, The top 2 are the pure, proven swarmers. Frazier is the HW version of Armstrong. Duran twice put on perfect examples of what to me, "swarm****ing" is all about.

I'm not saying theres an ultimate style, because there isn't. But if i was to create a perfect fighter he'd be a pure swamer with an iron chin and limitless stamina. This hypothetical monster would flex with everyone short of Sugar Ray Robinson(ie. everyone else ever)

 

Duran was a slick all-rounder.

 

I'm sure most elite level pro's are slick all-rounders to some extent. Not really a style is it? You need to look at particular perfromances of which a certain style is displayed to judge who was the best at it.

 

You're becoming quite the nerd, aren't you?