Stanley Ketchel. Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued by him. I think I'll buy 'The Killings of Ketchel' next pay day to read more about the man, but having watched footage of him fighting Papke, I came away relatively unimpressed. There wasn't a lot of fighting on display.
Yeah, he was the first that came to mind for me too. I believe he was a truly great fighter, and from reading descriptions of him I think he must have had the kind of style that I'd like. But the films I've seen don't impress at all. Yeah, but what else in there of him on film ? I've only seen the Papke fight (4th fight I think it is) and him being completely over-matched against Jack Johnson. Neither film is at all flattering.
Harry Greb was the 1st to jump into my head. There is hardly any footage of him available but he is unfortunately often berated for how he looks in training.
Most Cubans have a predictable way of moving two steps maybe thee and than they stop. You can set a watch to them.
Yeah, that's a head-scratcher for me too. Considering his physicality for a man of his size in that division. There's not a ton of subtlety or finesse but he certainly looks like a terrifying opposition at that weight.
I suppose I'm going against the grain here, but I think Monzon's performance in the first Benvenuti fight was one of the most impressive in MW history. IMO, this performance is on par with Duran-Buchanan, Olivares-Rose, and Sanchez-Lopez as one of the most impressive "birth of a legend"s in modern boxing. [yt]AHU1FN0OUco[/yt] I do agree that Monzon could look "lazy" in some subsequent fights, where he seemed to only bring out what guns were needed to win. However, he looked like an absolute dynamo in this fight IMO. He was also similarly impressive in the 1st Bouttier fight IMO.
Most have the same technique/general style, too...especially the taller ones. Advance/use lateral movement behind a long jab looking to land big, looping right crosses followed up by other punches such as hooks and uppercuts. Will often throw more than just one or two jabs at a time, but will do it while moving in a straight line. Ribalta and Prescott fight almost identical, imo.
Tunney's performance against Gibbons is one of the greatest displays of aggressive counterpunching I've ever seen. He was like a non-stop punching machine in this fight, yet without sacrificing his technique. (Forward to 2:40): [yt]YnXYeCq7_mU[/yt]