Unathletic, uncoordinated, untalented fighters who succeeded

Those three things can only amount to one dude: Tony Galento.

 

There probably isn't any. No fighter gets to the top without some form of talent. Even the ones who overcome a relative lack of talent - relative to other top fighters - they do so with either higher workrate, supreme toughness, or boxing technique. Aerobic capacity is definitely a form of talent in my opinion, and boxing technique isn't effective if a fighter isn't coordinated. So if a fighter can't throw massive amounts, can't be quick, powerful or strong, won't be accurate or defensively responsible, and subsequently won't even be able to box properly?

I can't think of a single, top fighter who fits that bill. I suppose the closest to it is probably somebody like, Manuel Medina.

 

Rocky Marciano. Won fights on sheer heart and willpower.

 

Although, if you were to show somebody with very little talent to emulate, I'd probably give them somebody like Miguel Canto. Canto's entire style came to win without any physical advantages; and the basic premise of stay out of harm's way, use your jab and be intelligent is pretty clearly the "safest" way to box.

I'd probably have them working jab drills and actively advising them to move properly while sparring. After they've started to get the hang of stepping into range with the jab and stepping away while still moving laterally, I'd have them work more on feinting the jab. Sooner or later, they'll need to use some more angles as stepping straight in and straight out with just a jab isn't gonna cut it. That's when you'd teach them to hook off the jab, and you start drilling defensive sequences into them. The vast majority of cool head movement is the result of drills rather than just sheer talent. Somebody prepared for common punches to counter a left hook, even with little talent, can still be elusive.

 

Good call on Medina. Another guy that comes to mind is Mayorga. That guy had terrible footwork and was almost always off balance especially when he threw his overhand right. How he was able to beat Forrest twice is beyond me. I lost a boatload on the rematch because I thought Mayorga was lucky in the first fight and Forrest would take him apart the 2nd time around. I never would have thought he would outpoint a boxer as seasoned as Vernon Forrest but he did.

 

Guys who weren’t good fighters who were good fighters is the topic I want next.

 

Medina is an interesting guy. I would guess that he didn't get a lot of instruction, and he turned pro very young and kind of figured it out on the fly. He did just about everything wrong, but he got very good at doing it that way, got himself in good condition and was obviously no dummy in the ring. Created a nice career for himself.

 

It is a tough question for sure. Because even great fighters who had glaring flaws still had some sort of talent or athleticism of some kind. I suppose John Ruiz was fairly ordinary for a world class fighter. Not a particularly fast or fluid guy and nor was he a big puncher. His style wasn’t particularly impressive to watch either. yet he still had some success.

 

Mayorga was the guy I was thinking of....

 

Technically Marciano was at least athletic though.

 

The guy was tough as nails and had a brutal right hand but he did almost everything fundamentally incorrect. With that said he has some pretty good wins over guys that that he shouldn't have been able to beat. Andrew Lewis, Forrest, Picirillo and even though Fernado Vargas was shot, I didn't think he would best him.

 

Carlos Maussa