Top 5 Smartest Fighters in Boxing

BHOP
Floyd
Ward
Rigondeaux
Marquez
Moreno

 

Wlad at 3? No way.
Wlad is an excellent fighter, but he actually has a very low ring IQ. He doesn't really make adjustments, he does not vary his attack plan. He does not change the angle of his punches to find a target. When his opponent isn't standing directly in front of him, he gets a bit confused. When things don't go his way... he holds. It's his all purpose back up plan. It works becasue he's so big and strong.
Vitali is way better in this regard. Vitali changes and adapts. He switches the angles, moves when he needs to, mixes it up other times.

 

Top 5 are right and I would leave it at that because you are stretching to hard to find someone.

I think what really separates the top five from everyone else in boxing is (especially 1,2&3 who I consider the throwback fighters) are their vision . . . they see everything that is going on in the ring and they stay calm under pressure. they can see fighters next punch just how they position their body. Rigo will be top 5 once Toney or bhop call it a day

 

I gotta agree with most of this. Wlad is well trained by Manny so he knows what to do in certain situations but I do not think he has the instinct that his bigger bro has. Even Big Bro is not in my top ten if you look at the LL fight he did not make the adjustment to protect his face that was getting busted up.

 

There is a difference between knowing had to handle a situation and another to be trained to do it. Manny has trained him how to deal with his flawed jaw.

 

idk man, i know ametuers dont really matter in the pros, but his ameteur career is impressive as ****. probably one of the best ameteurs ever.
gotta be sharp dude to accomplish what hes done.

im just amazed everytime i see him fight. he moves like a cat and his left hand is always perfectly timed plus he has great power.

i know its early but i rank him behind Floyd and Ward in the talent/smarts department

 

Ward

Hopkins, Mayweather, Marquez, Martinez

 

to me ring IQ is part training but part instinct as well. but i think what people dont talk about is Vision which is what really is what separates fighters.

Wlad has been well trained to deal with his flaw chin and maximize his physical advantages. But like what someone mentioned earlier he does tend to look a bit confused in there at times and when that happens he is trained to tie up. While fighters like PBF and Toney are fully aware what is going on in front of them and take full advantage of the situation. Wlad is smart5 enough to be able to dictate the pace of a fight but I think that is really Manny's training that has made him that way.

 

Ward will be up there, maybe up to number two. Lack of big fight experiance keeps him at 4.

I did stretch, but I considered all types of ring intelligence mate. At around about number 7, I ran out of steam. Brave fighters are a dime a dozen, but ring technicians are like pixie dust.

 

Floyd
B-Hop
Ward
Rigondeaux
Marquez

 

Rigo is up there on my list but right now he has not fully transformed to a pro fighter. he is a pro in his precision attack and his movement ( he really has very little wasted movement. But still at times to me thinking like an amateur . . . almost like he is thinking like its an amateur points type system. each fight I see of him I see less and less of this.

 

My three favourites in this area are:

Hopkins
Marquez
Mayweather

It's particularly nice to hear Hopkins and Marquez discuss boxing. Marquez really gets into the technical details and mechanics of the sport, while Hopkins will go into the importance of mentality/mindset, defence, etc. Mosley and Bradley both tried to copy Marquez's smart boxing against Pac, and both failed.