Russell Westbrook if was boxing would be a natural LHW. He came into the NBA walking around under 190 pounds.
Eh, it happens. Such things are cyclical. He'll be knocked off the perch soon enough, by Father Time if nothing else, and things will revert to normal where you virtually every champion (and certainly the overwhelming majority of lineal and/or unified champions) being talented as well as well-schooled.
He just hits extremely hard, has very long arms and has been feasting on a steady diet of tomato cans, geriatrics whose heads are magnets for right hands and fellow low skill (heavy emphasis on low and skill) late starters who transitioned from other sports. Stiverne took up boxing at 19 Breazeale - took up boxing aged 23 Washington - took up boxing aged 30 albeit he had a handful of amateur fights as a child Duhaupas - took up boxing aged 19 Molina turned pro aged 24 after only having 4 amateur fights so he's another late starter Molina and Szpilka are glass-jawed with a capital G Arreola was shot to bits and Liakhovich shot to 100,000 bits Ortiz was a couple of weeks shy of his 39th birthday for the fight against Bootleg D and stylistically, just like Stiverne was, with his magnet for right hands huge noggin, short reach and slow feet, was a very favourable match up for him. AJ, Whyte, Lucas Browne, Big Baby Miller, Joe Joyce, Prince Charles Williams and Chisora are all late starters too.
Not really, at the end of the day boxing is a sport where the top dominate due to natural talent or athletic ability. Wilder lacks boxing fundamentals but he more than makes up for it by having the strongest punch by far at heavyweight, great stamina, supreme dedication on his craft and great athletic ability. Most of the HW's today are fat, slow, have poor stamina and most of all lack dedication. We're honestly living in a absurdly bad HW division, this is why fighters like Ruiz, Wilder, Parker and Martin could become champs. Take Dillian Whyte for example, a possibly top 3 HW contender who looked like a fat, slow, sloppily grotesque fighter in his last bout. It's honestly embarrassing.... hopefully Usyk can be the real deal and restore proper order in the HW division. The man punches like a little girl though, so who knows. Perhaps we're doomed to suffer this HW drought much longer.
Yeah you actually make a great observation. I kind of feel the same Way about Ward. There's really not one thing you can say Ward does great. Hes not the best jabber, doesnt have fast combos, isn't a particularly hard puncher.....all he really ever did was wrestle with guys and land punches when he could, yet he consistently beat guys who all the boxing elitists would bow down to, often times roughing them up severly
I don't really agree. I mean I'm a Kawhi fan but the guy's hardly durable on a basketball court. I can't imagine he'd suddenly become an iron man in the ring despite those massive hands of his.
It's great for boxing. A man who puts knockouts before anything else is exactly what the sport needs. A man who refused to play B side despite having such low numbers is exactly what the sport needs. Lesser men would have bent over and played to the tune of a superstar like AJ.
Yeah I hate ward, calzaghe's style would have been a nightmare for ward. I think joe would win by 9 or 10 rounds easily, out working him and roughing him up when they wrestle.
Shaquille O’Neal wasnt “skilled” either...He had no jump shot, post moves were basic at best, had a little jump hook but relative to the big men of that era he was a crude bully. “All he can do is dunk”, this was a mantra for his haters...he turned out all right. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that a guy broke the mold and did it his way.
His skill was winning fights...but that's comes as much from.growing up on the streets Oakland than it does from jumproping in the gym
Not really he’s just had huge breaks in his career and has been matched up with average fighters. He’s lucky the Povetkin meldonium thing happened because he would have gotten knocked out cold in Russia and lost everything.
I am a fan of both. This would have been a fabulous matchup of two great champions of contrasting styles. I'd pick. I think he's physically stronger and would push calzaghe around in the clinches. Also i don't see joe getting off his usual high rate of punches