Back-to-the-ropes beasts

Any great counterpuncher wants his back against the ropes inviting a visit. I'm reminded of the Ellis-Quarry elimination title fight in Oakland in 68. Jerry laying back on the ropes wanting Jimmy to come in; Jimmy staying in the middle of the ring. All in all not the best 'WBA championship' fight we would have wanted. Look at the scorecards for that one? Weird. As I've said before, many counterpunchers have a hard time getting any respect from the scorecards.

 

You beat me to it. Quarry was very dangerous off the ropes and Angelo Dundee specifically instructed Ellis "do not engage him on the ropes." People think of Quarry as this tough guy banger but in reality he was not comfortable coming forward and was much better counterpunching, particularly from the ropes where he could nail you with those sneak uppercuts and hooks. I think the Ellis fight messed Quarry up psychologically (and he basically admitted that) in the aftermath he was criticized for being too passive and letting the fight get away. After that more often than not he tried to be a banger and as a result he took way too much punishment and made fights much harder than they had to be.

Benitez for me is the best off the ropes. In an early round against Hearns hes backed into a corner and Hearns just winging these blistering combos that in slow motion look like hes swinging a morningstar. The best he can do out of a dozen or two punches is to gently brush Wilfredo. Fantastic display.

 

Nigel benn was certainly dangerous on the ropes. An opponent could have him pinned then suddenly benn would launch an explosion and the other guy would be hurt in turn.

 

Definitely Victor Galindez

 

Hey love your videos man

 

Defintely James Toney.

 

Floyd is not very effective against the ropes. You saw that in his fights with Castillo and Maidana.
He is best in the centre of the ring displaying hisboxing skills.That is why most of his fights are kept away from the ropes

 

And the one time my man Tommy got carried away and EXPLODED on him there his defense was out of this world.

 

Good mention and by the same token i have seen Gomez explode along the ropes at 122.

 

Yeah, you're right-- I was only thinking about his defense. He's remarkably hard to hit cleanly, even when he's against the ropes. Guys like Castillo, Maidana, and Corley had him on the ropes and bombarded him with scores of punches and had a hard time landing anything significant.

 

Great thread, lads!!! So many great posts and mentions.

 

As he aged Bobby Chacon did some of his best fighting with his back against the ropes.

 

Absolutely

 

For some reason, reading that took my mind back to the Hearns/Duran fight where Duran showed just how dangerous it was to back up to the ropes and beckon Hearns in. Making yourself a target on the ropes for Tommy could result in serious trouble so it shows just how good Benetez was back in the day.

 

For sure. Duran was superb defensively but Benitez was thee finest defensive fighter of his era.