Most Technically Perfect Boxers

Perfectly summed up...

 

While hopkins maybe technically old school and excellent i think this can be overrated...Sometimes an urgent fight calls for unorthodox moves and risk taking which just sticking to basics wont allow....Many of the greats had great technique but also a certain 'unorthodoxy' based on their natural style and their extra gear when they needed to from come adversity to win...Ali,ray leonard,duran,tyson,tsyzu and guys like these didnt have pure technique but i think they were better fighters than old timers who just stuck to 'set old school' techniques and so were less able to adapt and more methodical.

 

Quote,"When Roys reflexes,when Roys unorthodox style that entertained us,had us going ,Oh wow, when that lft him,he was a dead man walking,""I allways said thisbefore,Roy Jones is a great Hall Of Famer,had his run did a great job.Im not going to kick a man when he,s down.But I compare Roy to a basketball player friend of mine,Allen Iverson.When Allen Iverson loses his speed ,and his reflexes and his quickness,he will bea basic player.When Roy Jones lost his speed and his quickness he became average."Roy Jones used to be able to jump in and land shots.He was even able to jump in and land a left hook on me.But Roy never had the basics". BERNARD HOPKINS.

 

But you must take into account the physical assets a boxer comes with. If you are slow and don't hit hard, even the best technique can carry you only so far. On the other hand, owning a gifted set of physical attributes can only be enhanced with a solid grounding in basics.

In Hopkins case, when he was younger, he did not posess all the skills he has today. In fact, in some fights, he was pretty wild and raw, like in his first title fight against Segundo Mercado. If he had gone into that fight utilizing the solid basics he has command of now, Mercado wouldn't have gone the distance let alone come away with a draw. And likewise, if Hopkins was not the current master of fundamentals, there is no way he would still be competetive against these much younger tigers today.

Leonard, Duran, Tyson all had very good fundamentals as well as specialized skills. Ali made up for his lack of fundamentals with a great chin, ring smarts, superb speed and reflexes, and stamina. But, Tszyu would have been anihilated by most greats with his stand up, lead hand outstretched, lean away Euro style which even the current Euros are now abandoning. Not to mention his questionable heart and shaky defense.

The old-time greats all had unique talents that, on it's own, wouldn't have stood up, much like Tszyu, but combined with solid basics to fall back on, served them very well. If Tszyu had a better set of basics, there is no way Hatton would have mauled him. But he doesn't even know how to dip his knees to block a left hook to the liver and come back with a short right uppercut. I was taught that by my trainer in the amateurs. Frankie Randall used it with great success against Chavez.

In any case, some of the unorthodox moves employed by very old school technicians... Ezzard Charles could leap in and out like a cobra, with the knockout blow delivered in between, like nobody could. Pep would be sliding left, then suddenly feint right, step back to the left and catch his opponent turning back to him with his left hook almost thrown like a southpaw left. Marciano had his Suzy Q and the rolls culminating in uppercuts. Robinson had his triple and quadruple hooks. Mayweather has the shoulder roll mastered like no one before him. Toney's got the jab, step, right hand which he uses at exactly the right moments. Duran had the leaping right like a friggin missile launcher. Gavilan had the bolo punch down pat. And on and on.

And they all had great fundamentals in case their special weapons didn't work out.

And the so-called more methodical old-timers would have smashed most of the unorthodox fighters provided they had enough natural physical attributes to stay with them.

Remember, successful unorthodox fighters are relatively rare compared to successful old school fighters. And who knows, maybe the reason we see so many unorthodox fighters today is simply because no one is there to teach them the real fundamentals. Maybe a whole lot of those old school fighters started unorthodox but got the right schooling from the myriad good trainers back then, and became classic fighters, better than they ever would have been had they just retained an unorthodox style... just food for thought.

 

Gene Tunney and Harold johnson..both had the ideal technician's temperment to go with their skills...their tendency towards discipline...same with Tommy Loughran.

 

I'd disagree, I don't see Winky Wright being that technically sound at all, I'd say he is very one-dimensional.

Lopez is great, he just lacks that inside game I'd say.



A wee list of fighters I would consider as being 'technically sound':

Bernard Hopkins
Charley Burley
Luis Manuel Rodriguez
Holman Williams ( although I can't confirm nor deny this)
Ezzard Charles
Joe Louis
Miguel Canto

 

Apollo Creed

 

I just don't understand this. The film of Burley definitely doesn't show a technically sound fighter. I know you wouldn't try and replicate his moves.

 

I threw it out there because he is technically sound, but not fundamentally sound. I will explain it in more detail, just wanted to be a bit controversial. I knew you would pull me up on it though.

 

Of the oldtimers I would see, I rate Tippy Larkin and Billy Graham as perfect examples of
technical boxing skills..Fluid, and by the book. Wonderful to watch...

 

Couldn't agree more, bb

 

Basically, to sum it up easily, is there any area that you think Burley shows any weakness. I think he has all bases covered, despite his technique not being exactly by the textbook, although it is not entirely dominated by his athletic ability (see Roy Jones Jr), it is just an unorthodox style.

 

in my opinion...

SRR
Hopkins
Harold Johnson
Eder Jofre and Roberto Duran
Ezzard Charles
etc, etc......

 

Fernandez is a dude whose complete bouts against Duran, Davis, Jr., Kenty, Arguello I & II, and at least a couple other televised bouts should always be available on-line to study and learn from.

I viewed his penultimate career win, and he effortlessly buckled Angel Cruz in the opening round with a pinpoint right. (He also decked Lampkin in the opening stanza. Only Duran and DeJesus had previously floored Ray.) Rather than go for the kill, he opted to put on a clinic, his usual preference when dealing with an outmatched adversary. But it was the sort of display where he revealed how he could retire a veteran contender like Monroe Brooks in two rounds. He didn't look like a boxer about ready to call it quits.

Vilomar was around 5'5" with a reach of 59 inches. His final win was a decision over Billy Parks, who boxWRECK records as standing 6'2" tall. Considering how he could deal with the likes of Arguello, Davis, Jr. and Kenty from long range, it wouldn't surprise me if he just embarrassed the bejesus out of Parks. Vilomar would start pumping his knees, then be off to your left and out of range in an instant.

Now, the following action footage was not available on-line when I originally brought up Vilomar on page three in post #42 of this thread back in July 2007, but now we have it, so anybody who hasn't seen him yet can judge for themselves. (But his controversial loss to Davis, Jr. should also be made available, to show that he could swarm aggressively and slug as well was make fleet with the feet.) Davis, Jr., Kenty, Arguello and Duran show that he could box with absolutely anybody if competition sharpened and at his best:

The opening of his challenge against Kenty:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNZrVBrE5jo[/ame]


Vilomar's monumental upset of a peak Arguello:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyIwetAWBME[/ame]

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I've never been a big fan of Fernandez.A solid enough fighter overall, but a bit of an unimaginative runner in comparison to a good number of other superior technicians at the time.