I'm also going to put in a word for RJJ. Not having a conventional guard does not mean the man did not know the rules; he just broke them better than anyone else to his advantage. Take away the fact that his hands were often down, and you're left with great punching form, great ring generalship, expert feints and baits, proper counter-punching knowledge, upper body movement with a purpose, efficient footwork, and a masterful control of distance. Nobody becomes a dominant ATG just by being reflexively quick and having a punch.
How come nobody has mentioned Harold Johnson. This guy is one of the best textbook boxers ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8xqtIkXsk His fights with Ezzard Charles and Willie Pastrano are great technical battles. Also you should check out his schooling of Doug Jones
Mike McCallum was great technician. His fights with three other master technicians James Toney (I & II), Sambu Kalambay (I & II), and Donald Curry were simply beautiful
Great mention, he jabbed Charles's head off in their fight. I reckon he took the Pastrano fights by a hair to.
JMM/Diaz 1 The way JMM broke this guy down was a thing of beauty. Obviously Morales/Floyd/Ward as well
What you want but klitschko bros have very nice technique too, perfect game plan, great measuring of opponents and always technique working while minimizing danger.
I was tempted to mention Sumbu when I suggested McCallum,because he's certainly a very sound technician, but I've found that if you bring him up at certain times of the day and discuss how good he was,a certain loss always seems to get mentioned as if that made him ****.
Slightly surprised no-one has mentioned Miguel Canto yet. For me, he is the definition of technical brilliance. [yt]PPeORmLXpl8[/yt]
I know it was a schooling and a robbery, but Whitaker-Chavez had some of the greatest display of technical skills shown by both fighters ever...Specially the first half of the fight.
Klitschko bros are just big. Wlad has a very good straight right. Vitali has a good chin and remarkable reflexes and handspeed for his size. Neither are technically brilliant. Prime Holyfield would KO Wlad and outpoint Vitali. Prime Tyson would KO Wlad and probably outpoint Vitali. In terms of technique, I don't see Wlad or Vitali ever using much besides the same punches every fight, this is why people view them as robots. Wlad just throws a jab and his very good straight right all night long.