Fighters who would have done really well in the twenty-five round era. NO HEAVYWEIGHTS.

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by McGrain, Jul 3, 2021.



  1. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Hello!

    I was just discussing in the Hopkins/Taylor thread what a fine 25-round fighter Bernard Hopkins would have made. Sublime control of pace; a fighter who made his opponent's opposition his strict business; dirty infighter, clever about it; elite stamina (we're talking Trindad era and a bit after, here). A good sense of where he was in a fight (Generally). Great jaw, so when the inevitable happens over the longer distance, he'll be fine.

    Who else? Who else impresses you as a fighter who would have done well at more than double the modern rate of rounds, fighting back in the early 1900s and late 1800s?
     
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  2. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

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    I think the legendary Johnny Nelson would love the lower work rate of a 25 rounder.
     
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  3. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

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    Salvador Sanchez has all the qualities you need at an ATG level. He'd be OK.
     
  4. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    This answer is uninspiring to me.

    But you know what, it might be the right kind of thinking. Elbows McFadden, the lightweight, was dangerous and deadly over the longer distance but he struggled desperately over six. He couldn't find the pacing and he couldn't feel out his man in time to get his best work across. He needed to be warm, and needed to see his guy fighting. So maybe Nelson would indeed have benefited greatly from fighting slow and made a difference late. Not sure I can see him beating a higher class of man for the change though?
     
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  5. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Including a habit of good, late finishes over 15.
     
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  6. Scott Cork

    Scott Cork Boxing Addict Full Member

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    GGG seems to do very well later in his fights.
     
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  7. Bronze Tiger

    Bronze Tiger Boxing Addict Full Member

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  8. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    Charley Burley was tough and might have done it
     
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  9. Bronze Tiger

    Bronze Tiger Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Matthew Saad Muhammad......after about 17 rounds you think he’s finished and then...
     
  10. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    All three good picks, all very different too.

    GGG, economical deployment, mastery of the least physically demanding punch, good late in twelve round fights, a hard worker who was nevertheless in control of his output; Charley Burley, a genius punch-picker, a fighter who favoured single shots and 1-2 punches over layered combination punching at distance but put them together in close; MSM, impossible to kill, which is terrifying when you are 17 rounds deep and starting to really feel sad you didn't go to work at that bakery.
     
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  11. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    I missed Arguello! He's a fighter that underlines one common denominator so far: very good chins.

    You get that a lot though tbf, no matter what you ask. Unless you ask "glass jawed fighters from the forties?" or something.
     
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  12. Samtotheg

    Samtotheg Active Member Full Member

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    Floyd ,Archie Moore, and Bernard Hopkins , 3 guys who fought at a more slowed down pace than their opponents and had the ability to slow things down, there is a reason that those 3 can beat boxers when they and the person they fight are past their primes,their styles are energy conserving ones.
     
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  13. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Floyd's hands would have troubled him in that era IMO. I'm not saying he couldn't have overcome it, but it would have been very, very difficult for him I think. He would certainly have to win fights one-handed.
     
  14. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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  15. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    Hard to say really, because we have no data to work with.

    Yes economy of effort would be useful, but some fighters of that era, were successful because they could maintain punch output over that distance.

    Battling Nelson for example, was a swarmer, who outlasted his opponents.

    Hard to say who would fall into that category.