Was Hector Camacho the best pure boxer of the last 40 years?

So would Michael Vick be a great, elite boxer with a few years training? He's a great athlete after all. What would you classify Jones as? He had some of the best timing and was one of the best counter-punchers of all time. I consider him a boxer for certain. He was a puncher as well, but a brilliant boxer, just one who's physical gifts strengthened his game.

 

What exactly is a pure boxer sense?

 

Pretty self explanatory. This is a thread about pure boxers, so I was stating that they weren't as good pure boxers as Camacho.

 

Why so much emphasis on the jab? It is considered the only non-power punch, but that doesn't mean you're not boxing if you throw any of the other basic punches. I don't consider Lopez a brilliant technical boxer because of his jab, but rather his variety, accuracy, technique, movement, defense, etc.

 

He was the slickest.

 

B HOP deserves the win for beating De La Hoya, Trinidad and Winky after he turned 35.

 

So when Whitaker counters with his sharp little straight lefts you don't consider that boxing, you consider it punching/brawling?

There can be a mixture of the two, surely. Lopez was just as skills with the other punches in his repertoire as the jab, but I consider him to be the very definition of a pure, textbook boxer. Power doesn't automatically make someone a puncher. You don't need to be feather-fisted to be considered a boxer.

I'd say a straight right is a very common punch for anyone.

Sure, but that doesn't mean the only thing that defines "pure boxing" is the jab.

Never seen anyone call Jones a brawler or fighter. He was the definition of a boxer. Someone who countered beautifully and outpointed everyone he faced, without being hit in exchange. That is the definition of boxing.

Yeah, I think so, but I see where you're coming from. I just don't limit it to that because there are always fighters like Jones who clearly fit into this category.

 

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No, Terry Norris was.

 

Hit and not get hit, so Cotto/Hatton/Tyszu arent too fantastic in this category

 

Camacho would fall more into the pure athlete category.

Pure Boxer speaks to a fighter's technique, and a fighter's ability to win using technique first.

Camacho depended on his speed first and his technique second. Speed is an athletic quality.

 

So you believe someone gets outboxed by Vilomar Fernandez and is getting outboxed by Boza Edwards prior to the stoppage is the best pure boxer of the last 40 years? Arguello's game was relient on his timing and power to back it up. He was a very good boxer, whose reach and punch variety did him well, despite not having great speed. But he wasn't even as good a boxer as someone like Sanchez. His main weapon was his timing, punctuated by his power.