Fighters immune to mind games?

Joe Frazier comes to mind. Sure Ali pissed Joe off, but he couldn't make Joe fight out of character.

 

Klitschko brothers
Mike Tyson
Floyd Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao
Sugar Ray Leonard

 

Calzaghe is not a very good example, because he never fought any particularly dangerous opponent who tried to trash-talk or out-psyche him. He knew the 43 year old Hopkins was well declined from his peak and did not have great stamina anymore, so he was not as wary of B-Hop as he would have been if he fought a prime version.

And Mosley is an even worse example. He may seem resolute in the build-up to fights, but he seems easily rattled once the bell rings, because he mentally checked out in both the first fight with Winky and the Mayweather fight.


Better examples would be guys who were placed under intense pressure in highly dangerous situations, but got stronger as a result.

Muhammad Ali refused to waver when facing the spectre of George Foreman, Joe Frazier took all of Ali's abuse and used it as inspiration to produce fierce fighting performances, and even Lennox Lewis came off a KO defeat to Rahman and suffered the confidence-denting indignity (bordering on emasculation) of being handled by the Rock in a TV studio brawl before going out and knocking Rahman cold.

 

A Mayorga or Toney would get in his head imo. Floyd never has fought a trashtalker better than him.

 

I don't know if he's completely immune to mind games but Salvador Sanchez toke all of the talk Gomez had to offer and beat him up.

 

Kostya Tszyu without a doubt, he was so mentally stable he would just smile at you if you said any ****. He'd just smash your face in when the time came and finish with a big smile on his face, no cocky bull****, he'd still shake your hand, a true gentleman. Beat twice but never broken, at all!

 

Mosley

 

Floyd got to him mate. Early in his career maybe.

 

Except when he quit rather than take another round of Ricky Hatton of course.

 

What mind games does that equate to? You did read the thread title?

 

Leonard said Duran got to his head with trash talk and he brawled too much as a result, although I think that had more to do with the fact that Duran was all over him like Charlie Sheen on a call-girl.

 

Hagler to an extent but the way Leonard waited so long to fight him would've pissed off anybody to be fair.

 

Manny really? Floyd hasn't even got him in a press conference yet and the mind games are already working.

 

good point!