Ali- it's his late career fights that stand out to me. His movement is tapered but knows exactly when to flurry, when to hold, how long he can sit on the ropes despite being far from his physical prime has hungry tough fighters gassed and getting pummeled in the late rounds. E.g- Ron Lyle. Larry Holmes- it wasnt always pretty but vs Ray mercer comes to mind. A totally savy old fighter calculating each move precisely as he does it. At times during the Mercer fight you can see him thinking each move out as if to say"ok can't take any more shots like that" or "its my time to fire back quickly do it old man then turtle up of those ropes". Bernard Hopkins- Rarely makes a mistake in the ring. Perfect technique mauling on the inside, transitioning to smooth jab and move on the outside then spoiling an opponents rhythm with clinching and taking breaks without getting cleanly hit as a conservation strategy when he's past his prime. E.g- Vs Glen Johnson, Trinidad, Pavlik, both Pascal fights and even the Kovavlev fight (amazing that a 50 year old man was able to stay upright and did eventually take a beating but was still savy to minimise the damage when most old timers would have been blown out of there). Again this is not really a good thing for the fans, but even when nothing is happening in the ring B-Hop is in total control, fights and engages when he feels like it and opponents are so neutralised they can only wait. Paulie Malinaggi- You can't really hurt your opponent and you really only use 1 hand to fight with - how can you be moderately successful? Fighters should walk right through you and tee off but Paulie is a craftsman. Im not a fan of his but he makes the most of his talents. Always aware of where he is in the ring and never makes huge errors. Mike McCallum
Carlos Monzon probably deserves a nod, Never panicked, luxuriated in the 15 rounds distance, had a good look at his opponent, then put the icing on the cake in the later rounds.. Carlos Ortiz also comes to mind
Absolutely! It's a pity that you're the only poster so far to mention Monzon. His ring IQ rates alongside or even ahead of those others mentioned here. Monzon's ring IQ was perhaps his greatest attribute. That it was stellar is evidenced by his record.
Hi Red, And Apparently outside the ring Carlos enjoyed something of a playboy lifestyle, Remarkable that he kept it all together to finish his career successfully with two wins against probably his most talented and dangerous opponent in Valdez, Sad to say it all went awry in retirement, Bonavena, Galindez, Monzon Iron Men who fell quickly in retirement.
SRL, Hopkins, Pep, Floyd, Monzon. Honor mention goes to Whitaker I'm sure Benny Leonard should probably be on there as well, but I personally never saw enough of him to comment on whether he makes the list or not.
Yes,...the Argentine Curse...Monzon flouted all the rules,...smoked like a chimney,..wasn't a work horse in sparring,....but at least he believed in getting his rest,....reclining on beautiful females...
Archie Moore could set traps that loads of his opponents fell into. Mike Mccallum made fighting look easy and used more tools than most other greats, from stuff that novice amateurs use to the tricks only the elite can get away with. Ray Leonard looked even smarter once hed slowed down and his skills were easier to follow.