Could you tell watching a fighter train how he'd perform in a fight?

JG, I'd like you to describe some instances where somebody looked absolutely terrific, razor sharp in training, then bombed in competition. (As for fighters who looked awful in sparring, then won impressively, your particular favorite is well documented on this forum.)

 

Many thanks for that. Griffith-Carter II might have been interesting.

I recall Don Dunphy saying early in his broadcast of Jerry Quarry-Mac Foster that Mac didn't look especially good in training, and specifically that his jab wasn't passing muster in preparation, yet he looked superb in the early going, with both his jab and right hand actually overshadowing his more heralded hook at times.

 

I think you can get a pretty good idea if you know the guys, have seen them fight and train for the fights a few times.

If you know how they react to fights, you can tell heaps from their training.

 

I think if he doesnt train hard, its a lot easier to tell.

 

Not without seeing them fight for real.

I'd say seeing how nervous they are pre-fight is a big give away. And tense-ness whilst sparring.

 

I think you can predict a little bit of performance based on condition and perceptions of sharpness, but really you don't have a lot of ideas what's going on up top with any fighter.

 

A guy can look great in the gym and most of the good fighters do but in a fight the other fighter might have his measure. It might be that his opponent is just that little bit quicker or he can take his punch or the fight is too fast a pace. THis is very true of Marciano how many fighters underestimated him until they were in the ring with him, Walcott and More did.

 

You can definitely pick up flaws of a fighter by watching training sessions, which will translate into the fight.

For example i picked up Cotto's flaws well before they truly came to the fore, by watching his training i noticed he always trained at the same rhythm and tempo. Therefore he wasn't conditioned for the second wind.

Training can sometimes lie though and you have to know what your looking for. Some fighters can look sensational in training session, when in fact they're not in great condition to win a fight and vise versa. Some look horrible but their intangibles are off the chain.