A great example of a fighter who isn't the fastest, isn't the most athletic, hasn't got the best chin, hasn't got the best reflexes, isn't the strongest, doesn't hit the hardest.... but who combines all of those things in good enough measure and combines that with an unstoppable heart.
Tim Bradley Tiny, chicken legs, really deficient power, far from elite speed. Just a good overall athlete , with surreal chin and heart. Worked harder than anyone and understood his strengths while attacking your weaknesses.
Willie Meehan, well he beat Jack Dempey twice (ok over 4 rounds) but one of those wins was just 10 months prior to Dempsey beating Willard for the title. ATG to many no, but dam if i had managed to win twice against Dempsey i sure would label myself as a ATG, and ensure everyone i ever met knew i had beaten the Manassa Mauler, hell yeah. Meehan had to do it with IQ and skill as he sure was no chiselled physiqued Adonis or possessor of a big ko punch.
Bingooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Always said this to Mayweather fans who insist that Mayweather beat Juan Manuel Marquez because he was simply the better boxer. To them I've said, if you took all of Mayweather's physical attributes, height, reach, strenghth, power, speed, and exchanged it with Marquez, but each fighter was allowed to keep their own boxing ability and know how, Marquez would have beaten Mayweather 12-0 in rounds and would have put a massive hurting on him if not knocked him out altogether. The point I was trying to make to them is that Marquez dwarfed Mayweather in every physical attribute where as there was absolutely no way one could say Mayweather's pure boxing skill is what beat Marquez. All one has to do to see my point of view is look at each's fight with Manny Pacquiao, Marquez nullified Pacquiao's physical attributes by using his boxing acumen and know how, unlike Mayweather who couldn't for the life of him deal with Pacquiao's speed and aggression without holding and clinching Pacquiao. Here we have a case where Marquez dealt with Pacquiao's athletic advantages by using his pure boxing skills and know how. Not the case when Mayweather faced Pacquiao.
Bradley was a better athlete than an old Marquez. He beat Marquez on the cards by winning through what I call an athlete posing. Bradley was hopping and skipping and posing like he was the more athletically gifted and the masses ate it all up despite the fact that their connects were virtually identical and Marquez had outlanded Bradley by a fair amount in power shots. My point, athleticism can create the illusion that you're superior but for those that look at fights and look for effectiveness, they see a different fight altogether.
Floyd's IQ when it came to cherry picking was through the roof. I would love to be a fly on the wall while Floyd and his handlers were discussing his next opponent. I'd like Ellerbe's take on Floyd's first, fake, retirement.
Erik Morales at the end of his career fighting at 140 was getting by on his ring IQ he managed to school the unbeaten much younger Cano at the time and he gave Maidana trouble and hung with DSG in the first fight he even mocked him a bit during the fight if I recall correctly.