How good would Ian Napa be if...

Discussion in 'British Boxing Forum' started by TFFP, Sep 10, 2009.


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  1. TFFP

    TFFP The Eskimo

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    Last night I had trouble sleeping. I initially pondered waking the Misses and giving her a good seeing to but thought better of it. Naturally I started to think about Ian Napa's European title loss and how disapointing it was. He lost to a guy that is nowhere near as skilled as him, in truth. I think this could be applied to a lot of Napa's losses.

    I noticed in all his losses, and furthermore nearly all his fights, he is 4-5 inches shorter than his opponent. That is a huge number. To study the heavyweight division, the last 3 decent champions in the division have been Lennox Lewis/Vitali/Wlad and they all have significant height advantages over opponents. There is no coincience there IMO. I think that is even more a problem in the smaller weight classes where height is not sacrificed for speed, and punch power is not such a big factor. Which leads me on to the fact Napa has 10% of Malignaggi's power...

    Imagine:

    TFFP discovers backwards time travel is not only theoretically possible but easily achieveable (for me). TFFP enters the traversable Wormhole, the science community is stunned at what I could possibly do but the only purpose of my endeavour is to ensure Ian Napa's mother eats more Weetabix and gets more protein/iron in her diet, stays away from crack and cigs, and generally leads a healthy existence during pregnancy.

    The results are two-fold:

    - Ian Napa is now average height for a bantamweight, around about 5'5 or 5'6, he is leaner and less chubby/dense. He also has the arms of an adult human as opposed to a toddler.

    - Ian Napa has respectable world level punch power. He's not a knock-out artist but he can crack an egg with his punches and get the respect of non-Belgian opponents to head and body.

    How good would Ian Napa be if this scenario took place?

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    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
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  2. Flea Man

    Flea Man มวยสากล Full Member

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    To be honest with you, a better choice would be;

    What if Ian Napa could make Flyweight???
     
    Flea Man, Sep 10, 2009
    Flea Man, Sep 10, 2009
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  3. doug.ie

    doug.ie 'Classic Boxing Society' Full Member

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    what a post.

    i love the fact that napa has been so good...and you mention mallinaggi too...without having big punch power...i like that the sport isnt about power alone, skill can win
     
    doug.ie, Sep 10, 2009
    doug.ie, Sep 10, 2009
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  4. TFFP

    TFFP The Eskimo

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    True, he's obviously too dense which is why I proposed making him average height and reach but leaner.

    However we should award him punch power also.

    On a related note, can any of the wannabe-trainers inform me as to why Ian can't punch? I know why Joe Calzaghe and Paulie Malignaggi can't punch because they don't even try, have crippled hands, and no punch technique. As far as I can see Napa's punching form is good.
     
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
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  5. TFFP

    TFFP The Eskimo

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    Not a single of the top 10 STRAWWEIGHTS are smaller than Ian Napa, most are 1-2 inches bigger and nearly all have a longer reach.

    Yet he managed to be a bantamweight Euro champion.

    This is a valid question. Ian Napa is undoubtedly skilled...just how much has this held him back in combination with a seeming lack of natural power?
     
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
    #5
  6. neil hibbert

    neil hibbert Well-Known Member Full Member

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    ill be watching a lot of him next week wit gary so ill have some input (davies ko napa) heard it here 1st lol!!
     
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
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  7. TFFP

    TFFP The Eskimo

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    Davies has a good chance, Napa lost his Euro title so he might not get up for this. Should be a good fight, everybody knows how to beat Napa, but something tells me Davies will mesh for a nice fight.

    Anybody that uses their height and reach, keeps the fight long, circles the ring and makes Napa come forward and take advantage of any openings can beat him quite easily. That's the sad thing, if he wasn't such a midget this wouldn't be the case.
     
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
    TFFP, Sep 10, 2009
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  8. kosaros

    kosaros Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Napa will give him a boxing lesson as he becomes a two-time European Champion :bbb

    Napa would have reached the world stage in my opinion if he didn't have a massive height disadvantage against him and had some pop in his shots.
     
    kosaros, Sep 10, 2009
    kosaros, Sep 10, 2009
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  9. neil hibbert

    neil hibbert Well-Known Member Full Member

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    people are underestimating garys ability to box, they look at his stoppage record and think hes just a banger admittadly he was a banger a while back but since he has been settled he has become a lo mor reliant on his boxing ability than just raw power, trying not to be biased like but i spoke to someone who has recently sparred both men and he didnt know who i was and he said gary will be too big and too strong for napa and gary boxed better than he thought, oe gary gets a chance to show his ability in this one as i have a suspicion the winner may land a crack at the euro title!!
     
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
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  10. Leather_Face

    Leather_Face Member Full Member

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    I ilke this post
    Any yound boxer wanting to learn how to fight well defensivly and off the ropes can do worse than watch Ian Napa
    The fact of the matter is there are no opportunities at the lower weights for British boxers.
    The BBBofC and the EBU dont sanction fights at light flyweight and minimumweight so someone like Napa has had to go up the weights.
    Napa has himself said he can make the lower weights but its just a domestic merry-go-round as theres only half a dozen professional boxers to fight.

    The fact he has been successful at bantamweight is really impressive and testiment to his boxing ability.
     
    Leather_Face, Sep 10, 2009
    Leather_Face, Sep 10, 2009
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  11. kosaros

    kosaros Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    On boxrec, the bout is listed as being for the Euro title. Is that not the case?

    http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=115565&cat=boxer
     
    kosaros, Sep 10, 2009
    kosaros, Sep 10, 2009
    #11
  12. neil hibbert

    neil hibbert Well-Known Member Full Member

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    yer i think napas best weight class would be super fly and i think hed have a lot more power at that weight because he tends to look a it podgy at bantam, going to be a cracking fight and i cant wait!
     
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
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  13. neil hibbert

    neil hibbert Well-Known Member Full Member

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    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
    neil hibbert, Sep 10, 2009
    #13
  14. dan-b

    dan-b Boxing Junkie banned

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    I've missed these kind of threads from you TFFP!:lol:

    Yes indeed, it's a very good question. You'd have to think he could hang with the best of them. I'd say he'd be as good as, if not better than, Mijares.
     
    dan-b, Sep 10, 2009
    dan-b, Sep 10, 2009
    #14
  15. Flea Man

    Flea Man มวยสากล Full Member

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    I dunno about that. Napa is good, but I wouldn't expect him to be able to put on the masterclasses that Mijares put on against Navarro, or Arce.

    Or, at Bantam for Napa, say Moreno and Monshipour for instance.

    Napa is damn good. This is an interesting thread because I've often thought his power would mean more at Fly or super-fly. Not much more.

    I think the reason he doesn't punch hard is because his body just isn't built for it. I'm not sure that Calderon has bad hands; he, also being tiny, can't punch for **** either.
     
    Flea Man, Sep 10, 2009
    Flea Man, Sep 10, 2009
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