Exact moments you thought a fighter went from good to great?

I wouldnt say there is a moment when a fighter goes from good to great but rather moments when they highlight why they are great.

Like Ali getting up against Frazier; Robinsons left hook on Fullmer etc..

 

Holmes getting up from Shavers, Hopkins beating Trinidad, RJJ beating Toney, Pryor withstanding Arguello's assault, Frazier dropping Ali the way he did and just the whole first Ali fight in general, Shane against Oscar in their first fight, Leonard beating Hearns, Duran...well he's Duran nuff said.

 

Darren Barker

good-when i heard about him

great- when i saw him fight

Paul Smith- never on both counts

Hard to say seriously, i like how Greg put it though. Moments like Benitez just settling into a rythm against Cervantes early on and proceeding to have every viewer spellbound. Oh how that must have been to see live.

 

In the title defense against Bennie Briscoe, Carlos Monzon bridged that gap between very good and great by surviving that momentous moment when Briscoe nearly had him with that big right hand, surviving that crisis, and then not only going on to win, but trading with Briscoe down the stretch. I'm also amazed at how, throughout the fight, Monzon scored so easily with a wide variety of weaponry, jabs, hooks, etc., and scoring more fluidly than how he's usually remembered (unfairly) by some.

 

Yeah that vid that got made shows the piston like punching fluidity when he was in battering range. He usually did this when a guy got a toe inside his jabbing range, he'd just unload on their torso sometimes until they backed off. No wonder they stayed outside and just ate the jab. But like you say, at times there was very nice-to-watch fluidity in them battering shots, especially the ones to the head which would loop over and under.

 

Joe Frazier's performance against Ali in FOTC ensured him a place in the pantheon of greats, irrespective of any thing else he subsequently did, or did not do.

I am a huge Ali fan ,but that night in MSG,Frazier, by his sheer will,determination, and heart acheived greatness.

 

Hearns beat Cuevas and Benitez and I thought that almost got him there, but it was sealed when he destroyed Duran easily when no one else did or could have. Hopkins was Tito. Tyson was a different case. He was almost great just by winning his title. For Leonard it was beating Hearns and showing he was a complete fighter mentally and physically. For Hagler it was Hearns. Hearns might be the only fighter who made two guys great. I would say Frazier might be another guy who made two guys great Ali and Foreman, although I am not sure Foreman was great when he beat Frazier.

 

I hate to say it (and I don't know if he counts as "great") but Pavlik getting up to beat Jermain Taylor showed me a lot more of Kelly than I believed he had.

 

What a great idea for a thread.

It wasn't exactly the moment where he went from "good to great" in my mind, but I remember thinking "this guy is even more special than I thought" when Pacquiao purposefully lay on the ropes and waved Cotto in during the 4th round of their fight, then sprang into action and dropped Miguel on the deck. The commentators were saying it was a bad idea, they were saying that Freddie Roach had warned Pacquiao not to do it, and yet you could see that Pacquiao was so in control of everything that he knew he could do it. Thrilling moments, and a truly beautiful punch for the KD.

 

I'd go with Sal beating down Danny Lopez in their first fight. As he broke Red down it became obvious that a great fighter had emerged.

 

Interesting thread.

A few spring to mind....

Pac demolishing Hatton in the way he did.

Lewis coming back from the Rahman KO in such epic fashion.

Ali - not sure, but I do recall wondering how much greater a great could get (and then begging that he'd retire before it all went horribly wrong)

Haglers utter demolition of Minter gave me nightmares, but made me realise the man was a great (I should have known before that of course)

 

If there was a moment for Pacquiao i would have to say when he moved up and dominated Barrera. At the time only the hardcore boxing fans knew he was very good at 122 and tearing up that division, and was one of the best. Barrera was number three p4p in the Ring i think, then it happened.

 

Yes, that has to be the Paq moment. He was something of an unknown quantity at that time, but dominating Barrera put everyone on notice.

 

Salvatore Sanchez vs Gomez.....

Duran = Dejesus 2-3

Hagler= Hearns

Monzon=Benvenuti+Napales

Leonard=Hearns