Gerry Penalosa: The Most Technically Sound Southpaw In History.

Penalosa stood in a narrow, side on stance, closed behind his shoulder, with earmuffs on and elbows tucked in neatly. His weight was perfectly balanced, ready to be pushed back or forth in an instant. His footwork was methodical and efficient. He took steps wherever necessary and nowhere else. He was a little pedestrian in terms of urgency with his feet; he truly moved one step at time, whether it was in the first or the last - but his footwork was the key to his magnificent positioning. He seemed to have a great knack at finding himself in spots where his opponent could only reliably use one hand, and even better, where he could use both. This essentially defined his style, as he thrived in these moments, fulling exerting himself for one or two shots before again trying to regain superior positioning.

He cut the ring as well as any, and managed to get just shy of range when an opponent started unloading. What impressed me most of all however, was how beautifully he synced his steps and punches together. Almost every punch came with a step, but it wasn't a step out of necessity. No, when he stepped in with a punch, it was to set up the next, and he did this for combinations at a time. For example, in the fourth against Mauricio Martinez; he scored a knockdown with a cross over the top, after prying open Martinez's guard with a short touch of a jab to set up a rear uppercut and lead hook to clear the way for a back-hand over the top. But what struck out to me wasn't simply the awesome opening of a world level fighter's defence, but the short steps he took while he shifted back and forth from right to left, leading to a blistering cross which carried all of his momentum.

Defensively, he a maestro like few others. From a fundamental standpoint there's nothing to critique. He always kept his rear hand glued to his head, and always had his lead hand not too far from there when an opponent was in range. He always had his chin tucked and elbows in, and generally layered his defence from there. He started with slick back-hand parries and forearm blocks, either close up or at range; before he started adding in slips and weaves. He liked to bob too, but he didn't really use it with the weave. Like Canelo, or Sanchez, he liked to bob down beneath a punch, then pull back quickly to make the next punch miss big. From there he'd either counter or move off. He also had great 'eyes', and a defensive radar to make the best of them jealous.

He blended his offense into his sublime defence, relying primarily on cross-counters and lead hooks, but he could absolutely throw all punches with finesse. His uppercuts, while rare, are always eye-catching, as he throws them like Tyson did; straight up the middle, generating power from the knees. He seemed to always be in position to come over the top of his opponents' shoulder with the cross; and as a natural righty, his lead hook was absolutely perfect. He was quick on the draw with it, and had a knack for looping it through the gap between his opponents' double jab, landing it right as they put their weight into a cross. @greynotsoold spoke about how he liked to teach his fighters to time southpaws with their own left hook, rather than their back hand. Penalosa mastered this in reverse.

Typically what you see with southpaws is the back hand down lazily, the lead hand out, trapping and cramping around the opponent's jab. Milling and leverage blocks. Not from Penalosa, whose jab was simply and straightforward. It wasn't a hammer like Hagler's, nor was it a range finder like Saldivar's, but it was certainly effective. It wasn't a cornerstone of his style, as it was there's, as Penalosa liked to pressure with his persistent, patient aggression and look for counters.

Now the natural few arguments for most technically sound southpaws are Whitaker, Pacquiao, Saldivar and Hagler. For me, Whitaker and Pac aren't even close - while inordinately skilled in their own right, they broke too many rules, and got away with it due to their overwhelming talent. Hagler and Saldivar were more grounded in this regard. Both of which were also extremely well schooled and very technically proficient.

Between Hagler and Saldivar, I'd probably rate Saldivar as more skilled. Hagler himself was no slouch, with his wicked switch-hitting and perfect form, but I think his downfall was his defence. While serviceable, Hagler was not a difficult man to punch. Saldivar on the other hand, had an amazing knack of staying squared up without being blased in the face, and he was excellent at baiting out attacks with his jab, letting him counter and combo like a little golden buzzsaw. Neither to me, however, are actually as technically skilled, simply better fighters. In almost all technical areas, Penalosa comes out on top. In fact, the only thing I'd comfortably rate for both to have better than Penalosa, would be the aforementioned jab.

There's a lot of criticisms to be levied at Penalosa; mainly being his lack of urgency when needed. It was almost as if he was too calm in there, refusing to step on the gas even when it made sense to. He let plenty of guys off the hook this way, and often allowed himself to be outworked by negative fighters who didn't engage much. However, Gerry Penalosa was an amazing boxer - one of the best I've ever seen - with a chin made of iron and balls to match. You don't get the name Fearless for no reason.

 

His greatest performance IMO;

This content is protected

 

Oh definitely

It's possible, but with Joe I think it's a case of him only throwing a right if it ticks all of the boxes. Penalosa on the other hand simply seemed too calm. It was like he was in a zen state. Nothing phased him, nothing surprised him. It was actually like he had no concept of switching gears, which is really weird

 

Well, as it happens, I always tried to emulate Penalosa. My best punches were always my overhand left and lead uppercut, and I'm naturally pretty strong in the ring. I liked to walk people down, parrying and slipping, looking for the one two. I've definitely had moments like you're describing in a "flow state" if you will, where you kinda feel like "if its not broke, why fix it?" but I always loved when I tagged someone good and could go in hard. It felt so natural, and it was the goal I was working towards the whole time.

Anyway, aside from my rambling, who would you pick as the most technically sound southpaw?

 

Agreed. I had him beating both Cho and Tokuyama both times.

 

I couldn't get them to download, but I've not really messed around with it yet, so I'm sure I'll find a way.

 

@IntentionalButt any thoughts on Penalosa, the Pinoy Polyhistor of Perfect Pugilism?