Which fighter broke the most fundamental rules and still ended up being ATG?

Which fighter broke the most fundamental rules and still ended up being ATG?

I say its Roy Jones Jr. Dude used to leap in with his chin up, used to keep his hands down, used to lead with left hooks instead of jabs. Yet he still ended up being a first tier ATG.

Ali is another good candidate but in fairness, he did do some fundamentals well such as his fundamentally sound jab, keeping his hands high at close quarters vs Foreman etc.

 

Rocky Marciano. According to many, his very existence, as an all-time great Heavyweight, broke the most fundamental rules. And yet, there he was!

 

Manny Pac all day for me. His footwork was all wrong, wide open for a counter, couldn't jab, and even though they say a fighter doesn't carry their punch up in weight, he did and kept winning. I predicted his demise so many times and he always proved me wrong.

 

Not particularly an ATG but Tyson Fury is a pretty awkward fighter.

 

Ali and Roy Jones first spring to mind, though them doing things all wrong definitely caught up with them.

 

George Foreman moved strangely, threw punches strangely, blocked them strangely, but this method made sense. however, he was certainly not a stylist.
Naseem Hamed did everything that the coaches forbid, but apparently it is an advantage for someone with such movements, reflexes, flexibility... very unpredictable

 

I'm not sure Marciano broke many rules ,except with his fouling,he was just an unlikely success story probably the greatest overachiever.
Ali did lots of things technically wrong but his reactions allowed him to get away with them,dittoJones Jnr.

 

Semi ATG, probably solid fighter for his own weightclass but Koichi Wajima,dude was Marciano on meth, nonexistent jab and absolutely wacky but exciting style.

 

Hamed probably falls short of ATG, otherwise him. RJJ is the one who most flaunted fundamentals relative to the success he had imo.

 

Pre-exile Ali, Roy Jones Jr, and Naseem Hamed did literally everything boxers are taught not to do, yet it worked for them.

Ali actually did know what to do; he just chose not to. He got a lot more orthodox as he got older.

 

ATG puncher and showman, at the least.

 

I remember talking with a friend of mine after a Pac fight in 04 or 05. We agreed that he was going to get timed jumping in and was a KO waiting to happen. And we were right but it took 7 or 8 years and a lot of rounds.

 

Hamed, Jones Jr, Sweet Pea