The Stoics

How about a thread for those Spock-like ring masters who never showed emotion.

I’m talking about guys who could have been poker kingpins, never showing their hand nor any sign of a tell. You watch them fight and you will never know if they are in inner distress or pressing to get the job done with urgency or baffled by their opponents. These rare boxers, by design or disposition, simply never gave away by facial expression what was going on inside their heads (or how their bodies were holding up).

Part of this, I think, is fighting at an even pace and relying on precision rather than trying to up the ante by winging wildly in hope of capturing lightning-in-a-bottle magic to pull one out. Steady as they go.

Johnny Tapia, Prince Naseem Hamed and Hector Camacho need not apply.

Here are a few for starters:

Alexis Arguello: A cool assassin. Kept his pace and his game plan so well that even when knocked down or knocked about he merely kept his poker face and kept dealing his cards at his own pace. Or when he had an opponent in trouble, never seemed to get reckless or overly urgent.

Salvador Sanchez: You could hit him in the face with a brick and I’m not sure he’d blink. Tell him the funniest joke ever and he wouldn’t crack a smile. Sanchez was a technician who was so absorbed with his work that he didn’t show any glee when things went well nor furrow his brow when his opponent had some success. He was as cool in round 15 as he was waiting for the opening bell.

Danny “Little Red” Lopez: A victim of Sanchez, Lopez gained a rep as an ultra-exciting knockout artist who also had a questionable chin. He went down many times in title defenses only to pop back up and win by KO. But he seemed to do either without his pulse rate ever rising. Everything was in stride. He had the power and believed sooner or later that it would prevail, but never seemed to force the issue. He let the game come out him.

Older “Big” George Foreman: I’m talking about the guy on the remarkable, unlikely comeback trail who ended up upending Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion. Unlike the crude, powerful brute of his first career, this Foreman was relaxed and almost seemed bored at times ... even when trading with the likes of Evander Holyfield or swapping bombs with Gerry Cooney. Never seen a transformation in a fighter quite like it. Old George was as comfortable and confident in the ring as he was flipping burgers on his famous grill.

Those are the four that I thought of right off the bat. Who else belongs in this club?

 

Yeah, inside the ring where the opponent is alive and can hit back.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

 

I thought with more people having more time on their hands during the Lockdown Era, that I would try to revive my old thread and see if there might be some new input on this topic.

If so, a second life to the stoic discussion. If not, let it die another death.