Fighting off the ropes - a lost art?

Why do you think it is that so few boxers today are not good at fighting off the ropes? This just doesn't seem to be a part of most boxers repertoires these days. It seems these days most fighters avoid the ropes at all costs, or when they hit the ropes, they immediately get off the ropes for fear of being trapped and hurt. I don't mean just touching the ropes once in a while then moving off within a few seconds, I mean staying there, being comfortable there, leaning back on the ropes and using the ropes for leverage to slip shots and counter punch? It seems like this is a lost art. Do any trainers that you know of specialize in teaching fighting off the ropes to their fighters?

The only boxer that I can think of who is a master of the ropes these days is Canelo, who showed he can go back to the ropes, stay there for prolonged periods without taking clean shots and actually landing counter shots and frustrating his opponents by doing so. He did this with great success against Floyd Mayweather and vs GGG in their first fight.

Who are some other fighters today who have shown the ability to go back to the ropes, and stay on the ropes for prolonged periods without taking damage while there?

I am looking for current fighters that you know of who have shown this rare ability in recent memory. Surely Canelo isn't only fighter today who has shown he can fight off the ropes.

 

Floyd looked like a fish out of water when he was against the ropes vs Canelo. That's not according to me, that's clearly seen by looking at the footage. Floyd was not comfortable staying on the ropes for a prolonged period of time vs Canelo, when he went back to the ropes in that fight, he was either getting hit to the body and head, dipping down below the waist repeatedly to hide his upper body, or moving off the ropes quickly. He did not stay on the ropes for very long nor did he look comfortable on the ropes there. Whether or not Floyd showed that he could fight on the ropes earlier in his career, we'll have to take a closer look, but in that specific fight vs Canelo I don't see how you can deny what I'm saying. Just watch it back, you'll see.

 

Agree about Toney, against Barkley, Toney did a masterful job fighting off the ropes. Toney was very comfortable staying there, and after he fell out of prime it was a good place for him to be to conserve energy with all that extra body weight.

As far as Mayweather, what fights do you recall in Mayweather's career where he stayed on the ropes and fought off the ropes for prolonged periods?

It's absolutely a lost art, and when I say that Canelo's the only fighter who has shown and willingness to go to the ropes and stay there for prolonged periods, and fight off the ropes skillfully without taking damage, people will accuse me of this being another Canelo this Canelo that topic, but the fact is that he's the only boxer that comes to mind these days that has shown an ability and a willingness to fight off the ropes and have success there making people look silly. And he's done it in high profile fights in critical moments. I'm looking for other examples of fighters who have fought off the ropes in recent memory, so if you know of any fighters who have fought effectively off the ropes in recent memory, that's what this topic is for to see if other fighters besides Canelo have shown that they can fight off the ropes.

 

So you think the lack of there not being as many inside fighters today is a result of referees breaking too often and too soon? When did referees start breaking too quickly and when do you think this started being a trend, and why? In some cases, surely refs breaking causes there to be more action, as tired fighters would just lean on each other in the clinch for half the round if a ref doesn't break.

I guess it's a matter of refs paying more attention and only breaking when fighters are truly tied up in a clinch. I know what you mean though, far too often you'll see a ref break just because fighters are coming together and in many cases they're not even truly tied up or in a clinch. But it's a fine line, because the longer a ref waits to break the more dull a fight can become if fighters are tied up and nothing is happening so a break leads to more action.