What are some examples of ring intelligence being the difference in a fight? The two that come to mind for me are: Ali - Foreman | The rope a dope tactic. Corrales - Castillo | Corrales spitting out his mouth piece after both knockdowns, and taking the point deduction in return getting extra recovery time. You may consider it cheap, but it was the sole reason he had enough time to recover and come back to knock Castillo out IMO.
Marqeuz timing Pacquiao while he lunged forward with a perfect counter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGQ-ywiuB_w [yt]BGQ-ywiuB_w[/yt]
I assume we're talking about pure in the ring intelligence and not technical skills that a fighter possesed all the time? Maybe Alvarado-Rios II, Alvarado is no boxing genius but he made the right adjustements in the rematch which Rios failed to do
Leonard vs Hagler - Both before the fight was made, and during the fight itself. Hopkins in every fight he's won for the last 5 or 6 years.
Marco Antonio Barrera-Naseem Hamed with Barrera changing his style(he had already rehearsed it in previous fights but this is the most notorious one) from a come forward brawler which would probably lead him to a knockout loss to a patient boxer boxing of his backfoot and behind his jab looking to counter and to prey on any mistake Hamed made, that strategy lead to the biggest victory of his career and one of the best if not the best performance of his career. Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad- Leading up to the fight Hopkins would go on and on about that the only chance he would have to win was to make it an ugly, dirty inside fight and that was what most observers including Trinidad were expecting but instead of doing that he did the opposite he used his footwork and boxed from the outside beating Tito to the punch, everytime Tito got his feet set to punch Hopkins would hit him with a lead right hand and move leaving Tito hitting nothing but air, he did that round after round making the pre-fight favorite Tito look like he didnt belong there,then he put the finisihing touch of his masterpiece in the 12th and last round when he closed the show like the great champion he was knocking out the undefeated Trinidad, winning the middleweight tourney, going straight to the top of every pound for pound list and most importantly getting the recognition he waited so long for . I find most of Hopkins fights to be boring but this was one of the most impressive displays of boxing i have ever seen.
Not a flattering example but Oscar getting on his bike? :conf Gotta admit it was savvy recognition on his part. "I can't let Felix touch me after gassing, hell no..." Of course, it didn't net the official W (although on most fair cards...) - but did spare him a debate-free KO loss...
Ali Foreman will always be the classic example and is as important a reason as any why Ali should be regarded as GOAT.
Bernard Hopkins Last fight... his Ring IQ is what got him that Belt... not that he was faster or stronger than his younger oponent... :bbb
are you out of your mind? Rigo put on a Boxing clinic not only on Ring IQ alone.. he is the better Boxer and one of the most gifted boxer you have seen in boxing history... thats why
- Mosley beginning to move and box midway through the first ODLH fight - Corales fighting 'taller' and more controlled with the jab in the Casamayor rematch. - Cotto's selective use of the low blow against Judah.