I'm not talking about the best, the fastest, the biggest puncher. I'm talking about the most fundamentally sound elite fighter. Think about: * Proper stance, footwork and maintaining balance * Punching technique - ability to setup second/third/fourth punches because proper postining/balance is maintained. * Left jab - for offense and defense * Counter punching * Blocking/rolling with/slipping punches Keep in that fighters like Roy Jones, David Haye, Prince Naseem, Martinez....while amazing...had horrible fundamentals (hands down, lunging, sticking chins out, etc..)
It's Marquez. I understand why people are saying Hopkins, and I understand why rorschach51 describes him as virtually flawless. But it's not true IMO. Throwing a punch then lurching into a clinch is not "Technically sound". It's unsound. It's the reason he was "injured", or injured in his last fight to start with. His greatest assets now belong to the realms of tactics, of which the above is an example. It's not the same as technical excellence. Marquez on the other hand, throws perfect combinations off a quality jab, pressures the space as well as any man alive, counter-punches as well as any man alive, and has great (if compromisable) footwork. He's the clear choice IMO.
I love Pacquiao....but don't ya' think that Marquez is something special...something better? Seriously, Pac-Man can punch the crap out of the locals, but can he make the old ladies not freak out?