What's the hardest style to overcome overall?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Colonel Sanders, Sep 14, 2021.



  1. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King Full Member

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    Reminds me of this guy I sparred with years ago. Short guy but wide and thick, built like a David Tua with short but very strong arms. Very heavy handed with zero regard for whatever was being thrown his way and fully committed to getting close and unloading tons of clubbing shots.

    First round all I could do was jab and cover up, didn't know what the hell happened. Felt like I was in a blender with various objects and someone turned it to the highest setting. Second round, I started to use lateral movement and tried countering him with straight right hands down the middle to give him something to think about. The pace slowed down a bit as he had to respect my power and reach, but he was still a pain in the ass to fight.

    One time he smacked me with a perfect hook, and it was such a powerful punch my headgear spun around 180 degrees and all I saw was pitch black from the back of the headgear obstructing my vision. :lol: it was like something out of a cartoon. They had to stop it for a moment to turn the headgear back around and redo the straps.
     
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  2. Dempsey1238

    Dempsey1238 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    That is pretty funny.
     
  3. HandsOfSt0ned

    HandsOfSt0ned New Member Full Member

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    For me is a swarmer pressure boxer like Fighting Harada/Henry Armstrong at his peak, that is an awful style to deal with.
    Even if you are quick on your feet they can cut the ring and catch up, they stick to you and always makes you work a lot.
    If you dont have the power to make them respect you they just walk all over you non stop.

    Another choice could be the outboxer type like Kalambay but im not so sure, pure elite boxers are hard to beat too
     
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  4. Showstopper97

    Showstopper97 The Icon Full Member

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    Fighters that are complete. They're good in every aspect of boxing. These tend to be Boxer-Punchers. Examples are:
    - Joe Louis
    - Ezzard Charles
    - Sugar Ray Robinson
    - Marvin Hagler
    - Sugar Ray Leonard
    - Julio Cesar Chavez Sr
    - Mike McCallum
    - Floyd Mayweather Jr
     
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  5. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 I’m become seeker of milk Full Member

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    Not a thing, the hardest boxer to overcome is the one closest to the book. It gets lost because it’s hard to fight that way all the time and it’s easier to be a barbarian. Jose Napoles even had his moments. If you can focus and you have the functions for it the best boxer would probably look the closest to Ricardo Lopez. Probably.
     
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  6. BoB Box

    BoB Box Rollin with the punches Full Member

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    The 'Towering Inferno' good mention!
     
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  7. KasimirKid

    KasimirKid Well-Known Member Full Member

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    A run and/or grab guy.

    Examples: Grabbers -- Sammy Angott and Rocky Castellani. Runners: Willie Pastrano, Muhammad Ali, Willie Pep, Ralph Dupas, and Del Flanagan. Run and grab: the master of all stinkers Joey Maxim.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2022
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  8. Terror

    Terror free smoke Full Member

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    The hardest style to overcome is the style you're not prepared for. Fighters become successful by making their style hard to overcome for the other guy. Pressure movement and outside (keep away) movement are a yin-yang but I think Floyd is the blueprint for hardest style to overcome ever. A style is about developing a system. I think system is more apt, but style is more fun to say, so style it is.

    I prefer a fundamental defensive style of sorts, examples include:

    Bernard Hopkins
    Andre Ward
    Winky Wright
    Lennox Lewis
    James Toney

    These guys can fight inside and outside, tough with boxing skills. They thrive in their opponent's area of weakness. You like to infight? Now you're neutralized there. Want to trade straight punches at range? Now you're dealing with an ultra-clever counterpuncher. At the mid range/closing the gap, you're having to deal with shoulders, elbows, head strikes, extreme cuffing (in Lennox's case), and unconventional defensive techniques from the 1950s (Ward/Hopkins esp. took notes from Walcott and Charles).

    Neither Ward nor Hopkins had great power, but they could fight in all dimensions of the game and would figure out your gameplan and have you fall on your own sword trying to stick to it. If I were to pick one style that is most replicable, it would be this. I think Lennox fell within this paradigm and his infighting and gamesmanship in general don't receive enough credit. Winky Wright as well, but I can't recall his particular brand of defense being ever replicated (Clottey?), he was good at all ranges and hard to hit cleanly, hard to beat decisively at his best as well.

    Here are some guys who I thought had an amazing style of boxing, and their mental system gave people bad times in the ring. Their physical attributes matched their approach to boxing perfectly.
    Marvin Hagler: ultra versatile, ultra steady, unshakeable.
    Pernell Whittaker: otherworldly movement, underrated pop, incredibly savvy.
    Mike McCallum: going to crush your body, good power, range, durability.
    Glen Johnson: so incredibly awkward defensively and offensively, so tough.
    Dwight Muhammad Qawi: determination, skills, tough, tank.
    Azumah Nelson: the professor. movement, power, IQ
    Mark Johnson: too sharp. skills, head movement, punch selection.
     
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  9. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

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    Agreed. Especially when they have exceptional chins and Supreme endurance. That ring starts to feel very small.
     
  10. Tockah

    Tockah Ingo's Bingo Full Member

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    Fighting Harada and Qawi come to mind as both having indomitable punches.