To be honest, the list is probably somewhat interchangable...but it is what it is. Post your list. 1) Hopkins 2) Mayweather 3) Wlad 4) Ward 5) Martinez
****, I forgot about Marquez. Damnit. But Martinez can't be underestimated. I know he has great athletic gifts, but he's also a very intelligent, versatile fighter that knows exactly how to execute a gameplan and adapt if necessary.
Wlad is very smart. He does a lot of subtle things in the ring I didn't identify in the past because I was such a hater. But, he is a very intelligent fighter. I know he has great physical gifts, but his footwork and judge of distance is phenomenal, and he's one of the best defensive fighters in the game in the sense that he rarely gets hit and he knows how to roll his body and use his legs to get away from punches.
Absolutely Hopkins 1st cause he makes use of boxing IQ to make up against strength, speed, pace, intensity so he's very, very smart and has excellent footwork and body language to go with it. Ward would be the heir to Hopkins cause he is always thinking and using tricks to score and get off. However you have to put Mayweather b4 cause the guys is absolutely cold blooded and thinks as he rolls and skips, slides, blocks and counters against the best of them. Ward would come afterwards. Take Wladimir outta there cause this guy is making up for his shaky chin with his large body and Manny is doing half of the work and the other half is sticking to the game plan which has not many variations. Martinez is smart and acts fast but you can't disregard JMM first cause this guy is over 38 and he's gambling in a high risk game based on small technical details and counter-punching, measuring his opponent's will and freshness as they go along so for me it's: 1st-Hopkins 2nd-Mayweather 3rd-Ward 4th-JMM 5th-Martinez
In the end this is all subjective. The smartest fighter may be some guy with terrible physical gifts that we don't know about. Anyway, feel free to post some lists.
1. Hopkins 2. Mayweather 3. Marquez 4. Ward 5. Toney (His body can't do what his mind tells it to) 6. Wlad (I agree with the TS) 7. Rigondeux (Ring experiance) 8. Antonio Tarver 9. Martinez 10. (really struggling.) Possibly Vitali.
Martinez? seriously? put a real "boxer" in front of him and youll see that hands down bull**** get thrown out of the window with no plan B. he aint Roy thats for sure
The TS has a point about Wlad though...given his chin isnt all of that...He fights a very smart fight to keep himself out of harms way...May not be the most exciting but he gets the job done.
Assuming they're still effective: Marquez Hopkins Mayweather Ward Martinez (people who don't think he's a clever fighter need to take a second look at the way he counters and sets up his shots.)