yeah, some classic boxer Tua was.:yep If you're talking fighters with strong overall textbook skills, it tends to be the offensive beasts that naturally fall into a seek and destroy mode who struggle. Leonard might be the most high profile "slick" boxer-puncher i can think of who never really demonstrated an ability to fight on the slow retreat\turning fighters, only taking a lateral step\pivot or two when dictating range. He really needed to be planted to get his punches off and tended to disengage entirely when employing movement.
When I saw the tittle "Classic boxer that couldn't fight on the back foot". I thought to myself isn't that what a classic boxer dose?
This is generally true, but don't you think he became much more fluid at sticking and moving towards the end of his career? His use of straight punches while pivoting out was excellent against Lalonde. Not that that qualifies as a "backfoot" game, which I agree he never really employed.
I read that wrong too.....I thought by boxer he meant only a boxing fighter , not boxer the style.....
Trinidad had trouble fighting going backwards, he was much better going forwards. Same with Rosario, although I wouldn't call him a "boxer"...
Norton...... and Frazier tried to box in Foreman Fight 2.....but ended up heading to the canvas anyway.
He was better against Hearns in the rematch as well for economical movement. I think with how major those fights with Duran, Hearns and Hagler were..and how good the fighters were he was taking on(especially Hagler where he was a disadvantage in size and activity level\fitness having been retired) played a part in him opting to play it safer than maybe was really needed and likely did him a slight injustice technically.Winning at all costs being more important. With less pressure he was much more economical.
I think you may be right. I liked his movement much more in the third Duran fight, where Duran was too old and slow to put on real pressure, than in the second, for example. In his prime, I remember his fight against Green as one where he had relatively nice movement. As for the thread, most have already been mentioned, but Louis?
Think Joe did it well for as long as it lasted, though. As well as being shot at that point he just didn't have the physical dimensions to outbox George. So all things considered, I think Joe boxed very nicely on the back foot in that one.