Five Most Deceptively Great Fighters

Jimmy Bivins

 

Ketchel and Wills, because of what is available of them

 

If you look that way, then how about Jeffries? The only long footage with decent clarity we have of him is against Johnson. He looks far better against Ruhlin but it's only a round against badly hurt opponent.

 

In their primes?

 

Charles was past his prime, but still great fighter in their first fight. Moore was likely still in his prime.

 

I dont think Monzon is fan friendly, but he is definitely a great fighter.

 

Moore wasn't prime for Rocky.

 

Joe Louis. To the untrained eye he looks like just another slow moving plodder with a good jab and a big right hand. Julio Cesar Chavez and Roberto Duran were deceptively good, many brush them off as tough guys who ate punches for lunch, breakfast and dinner. Jake LaMotta also had a reputation as a granite chinned slugger but he was a very skilled and intelligent ring master.

 

He wasn't at his absolute best, but he was definitely in his prime.

 

Sung Kil Moon. Not technically flashy, but made of concrete, and destroyed fighters who were 'better' than him with his awkward style and rhythm.

 

Jake had excellent defensive skills, and a truly great left hand. These traits also apply to Basilio IMO.

 

Pascual Perez looks like a midget brawler. A very effective and great one.

 

Yes ..starting around 76 you can already see how slick he was. He was doing the Fitz shift by then and all of his cute inside work. Early version Buchanan and a few yrs after he was overwhelming with his aggression and power almost exclusively.

 

I don't think that many people would have that opinion of Louis. He was demonstrably a little heavy-legged at times, but it doesn't take a boxing connoisseur to discern his hand speed, inside fighting skills and accuracy.

Interesting should on La Motta, mind you. I don't rate him as highly as the legend often influences others to do, but he could box a bit as well as just plough forward face-first. Haven't watched the fight for a while, but my memory of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is that Jake kept it pretty even for about seven rounds, and in fact might even have been a little ahead at that point. He doubled up his lefts, picked some good combinations and was even out-jabbing Robinson for periods. Starting from about the eighth round Robinson took over but La Motta had competed well with him in a pure boxing sense until that point.

 

Wladimir Klitschko