Hey guys, I've recently suffered a pretty nasty wrist injury hitting the heavy bag. I'm going to spend my recovery time just watching and studying boxing so I wanted to compile a list of great defensive fighters. However, I'm not looking for guys who rely on reflexes or physical attributes (Roy Jones, Pernell Whitaker). Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, JMM, guys like that. Thanks in advance.
I've seen that thread but I was asking more for pure defensive boxers than all around guys, thanks though. Do you really think it's safe to emulate James Toney's risky shoulder roll defense?
If you're looking for a tight guard, check out Clottey (vs. Margarito and Judah), Mayweather (vs. Judah), Winky Wright (vs. Mosley, Vargas, Quartey), Quartey (vs. Jung Oh Park, Vince Phillips, de la Hoya)
To be honest, I wouldn't recommend it unless you had a really good trainer who could teach you how to fight in it effectively, but Toney is still a good defensive fighter though who doesn't rely on his athleticism too much. Whenever I ask people, they always tell me to watch Ricardo Lopez since his technique is closest to perfect. Here's the first fight I found of his. You can see how he uses his footwork to avoid punches and uses his gloves to block and parry as well as good head movement [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppXov9Dqwmk[/ame]
Defense like Toney's does rely on some athleticism and natural talent. Look at Nicolino Locche, who some say has some of the best defense ever. He completely disregarded training and smoked regularly. There are guys who train much harder than they ever did who can not grasp it, even with good trainers. Marvin Hagler had the complete defensive package. Watch some of his fights in the late 70s, early 80s. There wasn't an area where he was weak defensively, and he didn't really rely on any physical advantages.
A few guys that haven't been mentioned yet... Jack Johnson Chris Byrd Billy Conn You should be able to get extensive footage of Byrd's fights but I'm not so sure about high quality footage of Johnson or Conn.
Agreed, he did have extraordinary skill but having reflexes like that didn't hurt one bit. I think the thread starter wants examples of boxers who compensated for a lack of obvious athletic ability(reflexes, hand speed, etc) with skill.
Holy ****! You are right... completely forgot about heavy weights. BTW, you must be between your 40s-50s. Good pick!