Defensive fighters are treated unfairly in this era

:rofl
I think you caught on bro:think
:smoke

 

This is the pros, you gotta actually hurt your opponent to score pts

 

One thing is to fight defensively and another is to fight scared. Crawford is a brilliant defensive fighter, yet he has no problem gaining casual fans respect.

 

Incorrect.

Negative/defensive fighters got treated badly in other eras also.

 

Hopkins, Calderon, Mayweather, Marquez, Winky, Wladimir... some of the best in the era are defensive wizards of varying sorts.

People always fall for the offensive fighter with power. 'Tis the natural thing to do for people who want entertainment to find the one doing damage, not evading or capitalizing on it, to be the more fun to watch.

 

The real skill is to be defensive but entertaining. Look at Payakaroon's KO over Meza for a great example of combining the two

 

I posted this in another forum concerning defense/counterpunching, but it seems appropriate here:

 

Duran was an expert at combining the two. He would sit in the pocket make you miss (against Barkley he avoided 6 punches) then in split second come back with a vengeance. Why could he do this?

Because he was always in punching range and was able to avoid punches without moving out of range.

 

Those were things Duran worked at. Guys like him would shadow box for an hour in front of a mirror putting together subtleties like working range with footwork and upper body movement and combine punch selection with angles. Then put it together in bag work and sparring. Of course he trained less later in his career and spent a lot of time in training trying to lose weight, but when he came in shape he would put it all together.

 

Good post :good