Who do you believe had the best footwork in boxing? Ali? Pep? Whitaker? I believe Ali has a good argument, but I'd like to hear some other viewpoints.
Footwork is a strange thing. For example Tyrell Biggs had great footwork but sadly other aspects weren't as good. Lennox Lewis as another example often had rather poor footwork but became an ATG. He had a terrible habit at one point of crossing his feet over. Ali obviously in his younger days was beautiful to watch.
Benny Leonard is up there. Loma is on his way. And as far as athletic footwork, for a guy his size, Waldo could scoot around the ring. Worth mentioning but not in the class of those mentioned.
Muhammad Ali. Without a doubt. Sure Pep was great. Whitaker, Ray Leonard were great too. But none of them weighed 210 lbs. Ali had the best footwork of all time.
Too many people equate "good footwork" with moving around a lot. In other words, they equate "good footwork" with wasted motion. Good footwork, in a boxing context, is economical. As with all physical motions in boxing, the objective is to do the least for the highest return.
100% agree with this. Willie Pep Willie Pastrano Jose Napoles SRR Wilfredo Gomez Come to mind, besides the usual suspects