Best technical boxers ever?

Leonard v. Benitez is a great one.

For me, a "technical fighter" has all the fundamentals down and improvises upon them to deliberately neutralize an opponent's weapons and set up their own. I don't see it so much as a technical fighter VS a non-technical fighter, but a continuum of sophistication in the application of technique. For example, when Maidana times an overhand right over an opponent's jab, he's being technical and savvy, even though his offense is applied more instinctively and aggressively and his style would not be called technical.

Other great chess-matches are Toney-McCallum, Barrera-Marquez, Marquez-Casamayor, Duran-Hagler, Hopkins-Taylor, etc. Plenty more I can't think of at the moment.

Dominant performances where a fighter uses a variety of tricks to neutralize an opponent include Hopkins-Pavlik, Mayweather-Hatton, Mosley-Collazo/Johnson, De La Hoya-Mosley 2, Toney-Barkley...less competitive but they show the effectiveness of advanced technique more obviously.

 

Marquez-Barrera was a fight with GREAT display of technical skills shown by both fighters.

 

McCallum vs Toney 1
McGirt vs Whitaker 1
Hearns-Leonard 1

 

Ricardo Lopez.

He was a better version of Juan Manuel Marquez.

Lopez and Marquez trained together, which is why they're so similar.
And it's why Marquez is so good.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EROmDLnbB7M[/url]

Last fight in his career, 3rd fight at flyweight, 35 years old dominating the nr2.

 

That's a bit of an insult to Marquez tbh, compared to him, Lopez had a far easier ride during his career, and fought inferior competition. Yes he was a great technical fighter, but not in marquez's league imo.

Although I would agree that Lopez's talent far exceeded his record, and could have achieved so much more during his career. His best display was against future champ Saman Sorjaturon, whom he sparked in a couple of rounds. It would have been great to see him against the other greats of his day, such as Carbajal and Gonzalez for sure, those fihts would have been classics.

 

It isn't an insult.
Lopez fought in considered a much weaker division, Marquez beat men who were considered better than Lopez his opposition.
Marquez is greater no doubt, p4p h2h Lopez is better.(Lopez also was p4p naturally a harder hitter and two handed, though that means nothing when we're comparing how technical one is)

Also the minimum weight division has a lot of beltswitching and fighters generally don't last very long while Lopez stayed on the top for extremely long.

And again not trying to make Marquez look bad, he's an atg.
And he has his own qualitities, and a true warrior.

 

I think "better" is more a question of opposition. Without comparable opposition, you have to go with the man who beat greater foes. That's how I look at it anyways. Otherwise Linares starts looking like the next Sal Sanchez to people. (Not an analogous situation at all but you get my point.)

 

I'm glad somebody said McCallum-Toney 1. That fight is probably THE best ever display of two technical masters going at it.

Leonard-Benitez is a good example also, but a newbie might consider that fight boring.

McCallum-Toney 1 was a war, yet it was brilliant chessmatch of a war with great skill involved from both fighters.

To this day, I think Toney won that fight.

 

Fixed.

 

With better I mean, the man who is better in h2h situations.
With greater I mean who has the better resume, how much he was able to overcome size advantages of opponents (or other advantages the opponent had), longetivity, and doing great things.(Leonard after a 3 year lay off beating Hagler is something I consider a great thing, Roy Jones moving up and beating Ruiz to a maybe lesser extent)

 

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfc58XeQXQ&feature=player_embedded[/url]

As said before, Marquez is much greater.
Lopez was a finer technician.

Marquez still belongs with the finest but isn´t the finest technician ever.

(I love that outside uppercut)

Beristain truly is one of the greatest trainers ever too.

 

Floyd Jr /thread.

 

No.

Duran