Fighters Who, Past Or Present, Could've/Would've/Should've...........

First off, a fighter who wasn't quite capable of making the necessary adjustments although he realised the need: Miguel Cotto.

Paul Williams has an ATG jab waiting to be utilised. But he can't do it.

 

dudey keep his mitts up

 

This might sound like an odd choice, but I think if 90's Welterweight contender Luis Garcia (Who fought champions Taylor and Blocker to SD's) had not fought so much with his chin sticking in the air, he would have been reasonably more successful. The simple process of tucking in his chin would have made him a much harder fighter to catch clean, added to his elusiveness, and probably guided him to wins over both Taylor and Blocker. He was a skilled fighter, and if he had ironed that flaw out earlier, he probably wouldn't have been flattened by Tito Trinidad either.

I also think Tyrell Biggs was a very, very talented fighter who was good enough to win a world title, but wasn't really taught a very good 'professional' style, and suffered because of it. Biggs couldn't handle pressure, and he only seemed comfortable when he was leading, and pressing the action with his lightning quick jab. Once a fighter put him on the back foot however, he was fairly useless, and increasingly susceptible to being caught. I think that if Duva had taught Biggs not to dance around as much, and to sit down more on his punches, remain in control and not lose his focus (like Junior Jones did on a fightly basis) then he could have done some very commendable things in what was an already tought heavyweight division.

 

If Steve Collins had a fierce one punch counter punch knock out he would have been unreal. He had a fantastic chin, the ability to cut off the ring and he was as mentally poised as any boxer I've ever seen. He still wouldn't have been the best of his era but a counter punch knock out would have facilitated him to dictate the flow of fights and allow him to beat better opponents.

 

Kirkland Lang would have had a much better legacy, If he wasn't such a nutcase and had more dedication, He had the natural talent to go far but wasted it, IMO?

 

Yep, Garcia was a dangerman. Still a good fighter in a good era for Welters.

Biggs just seemed to be one of the first of the Ali-generation kids who really based his style on him. Just wasn't gonna' work.

Two very good leftfield choices mate :good

 

Also, Steve Cunningham has the necessary physical attributes to be head and shoulders above everyone else at Cruiserweight by about a mile, but he just doesn't use them to his advantage. Nazim Richardson has done **** all for Cunningham IMO. It's beggining to sound almost cliche, I know, but Emanuel Steward would be the perfect coach for Steve I reckon. Steward is notoriously good at getting a fighter to use their physical attributes to their advantage, and with his superb reach and height advatages, as well as decent speed, conditioning and timing, Cunningham could be a dominant fighter, instead of a 'just better than the rest by a small margin' fighter. If Cunn didn't square up those shoulders, neglect his jab and not follow gameplans, then he'd be soooooo much better I reckon.

 

That's the best analogy I've heard on Biggs. Tried to be too flashy and it backfired badly. His management must have been on crack throwing him in with Tyson that early though :-(

 

I dunno Bill, is it your opinion or not? ;-)

 

I think it's most of the 80s Heavyweights themselves that were smoking crack

 

this thread could literally involve anyone who ever laced them up

 

:yep

I thought that at first, but then I thought..........Kostya Tszyu - Not a perfect fighter by any stretch of the imagination, but hardly one you would suggest should have made adjustments in order to become a greater fighter. He did the best he could with the tools he had and really couldn't have done anything with those tools to become significantly better IMO. That's just an example that came to me.

True. Steward and Cunningham would make a terrific pair. If USS boxed as well as he could do, he really would be the King of the Cruiseweight division, and probably on his way to historical divisional greatness (Not an ATG, but a top3-5 Cruiserweight)