Do you consider Whitaker a technician or not?

Nope, Harold Johnson occasionally overreached with the jab and got clocked with right hands. He was no technician. No fighter in the history of the sport was a technician by the lofty standards of this thread. I say we just do away with the phrase as a whole.

 

finito lopez was too mexican to be a technician

 

lennox lewis is a perfect example of a technician in my eyes , but hes a heavyweight and heavyweights have different advantages and disadvantages to smaller guys and so they opperate differently and cant realy be compared i guess

 

Pretty much, i think a lot of the 'speed stars' of the 90's like Taylor, Camacho, Norris, and Whitaker sacrificed a lot of effective, solid punching for blinding flurries, slaps, and arm punches... I wonder what they'd have been like with more emphasis on torque?

I'm not saying it doesn't rule pea out from being a technician, only that he was not a technically superb puncher. IMO if you're gonna throw you might as well throw for keeps, flurries are nice for scoring points, changing up rhythm but they can be negated and countered

And it's okay for Johnson to reach a little with the jab, the lanky *******.

 

I think it gets to the point where you master technique so thoroughly that it gives you the urge (and in some cases, ability) to transcend it. Whitaker is an example of that, imo. He didn't rely on strict technique because he didn't have to. He could do improvise and occasionally flaunt the textbook to his advantage.

Only the masters can do this. Boxing, music, etc

 

I don't deny that flurries can be useful. But they should be in the backseat. The trunk, in fact.

Boxing rounds are supposed to be scored on effective punching above all else so flurries and unleveraged punches should be considered inferior. Substance over flash. Look at how much success Marquez had against Pacquiao despite being a far inferior fighter. Look at how even a faded Hopkins worked against Calzaghe. A slower, smaller Chavez against Taylor.

To ME this is the biggest difference between modern and pre 60's fighters. Delivering leveraged, solid hits in single or combination aren't supposed to be predictable because you're supposed to set them up properly with feints, draws, footwork, and your lead. For my money I will take a fighter that delivers the effective, accurate blows anyday.

Which is probably why I admire Fitzsimmons and you think he is a balding ****.