Hello friends, I'm trying to find the right words on how exactly you would define a "cutie" in boxing to both someone who is familiar with boxing or not familiar. Alongside boxers who are quintessential examples of cuties. Buster Mathis and Tony Tubbs come to mind. But would that also include guys like Chris Byrd, Caleb Plant and Greg Page. What is the difference between a pure cutie and out-fighters?
Slicksters, Cagey Movers, Crafty, Elusive, Phantoms, Ghosts... hard to nail down, because they are often no longer there, or masters of subtlety that you can't hit them. Boxers par excel lance' usually and dangerous bandits!
None of those guys are 'cuties', nor are they 'slick.' You don't see those types of fighters any more because nobody fights enough rounds to learn the tricks of the trade.
I'll take a flyer at this: Zivic, Maxim, Benton, Canzoneri, Greb, Moore, JJ Walcott, although in some contexts I think the term implies that the fighter is more of a spoiler than an elite performer.
Out-fighter wants to control the terms of engagement and stay at his preferred range and pace. Cute or cagey fighter doesn't seem to ever be outside of his comfort zone, be it outside or inside, and has plenty of those little tricks of the trade that just make the other guy look oafish. My take.
Out-boxers can win decisions or knock you out by exhaustion. A cutie can ko an opponent sparko because of the ability to catch you flush while coming into them. Mayweather-Hatton ?)
It is just little things. For instance, I'm fighting a guy that likes to get in close and throw left hooks. I let him get close but get my head on his left shoulder and lean in. At the same time- and you could do this with the old style gloves- I slide my right arm along and under his left arm and grab the back of his left elbow. Then I lean and go dead weight. Every thing he does to pull himself loose, he is pulling my weight. It is exhausting to try and pull away. A lot of it is understanding the value of inches because that can be the difference in nullifying another man's effectiveness. Two examples from fighters that may not be considered 'cute.' First, McGirt v Simon Brown. Watch how often Buddy stands in front of Brown, lets him get set then takes a step and steps in and punches when Simon looks to reset. Then he ties up, turns him and steps away. Second, Chavez vs Rosario. Chavez stepped just inside the distance that Rosario needed to punch like he could. He stayed there and nullified any power or strength advantage that Rosario supposedly had. I will add to that...Angelo Dundee has said that Goldman taught Marciano so many tricks that Rocky was on the verge of being cute. And he meant that in an old school sense, obviously. I don't know what he meant but, if I took the time to go and watch a lot of Marciano fights, I expect that I would see him manipulating distance, positioning himself to draw particular leads, and probably rolling punches in ways to take the force away from them. Most people wouldn't see that- and I am sure that I would miss things that Angelo saw and that Goldman knew because I am in no way their equal- and that is the thing about being 'cute.' It is all about the subtleties..
