You really think? I've always thought Morales' parrying, neck-rolls, blocks and slipping were very underrated. Sure, he could completely abandon them and turn a fight with a journeyman into world war three, but when he used his defence to his fullest extent, I thought it was actually quite good. Similar to Holyfield in that regard, IMO.
Disagree. Tiger always maintained a high, tight guard with his chin tucked in. Picked off punches well with his gloves at range, and when under heavy fire he would sometimes switch intermittently to a shoulder roll/cross arm defense between firing back. He wasn’t stupid, though. Didn’t hesitate to tie up his opponent to halt their momentum or if he caught a good shot. Nor was he reckless offensively. Tiger was actually patient and methodical. He’d stalk flat footed, sometimes pressing with a step in jab/hook, until either the opponent initiated or until he saw an opening. That’s when he exploded with quick, compact shots. Not in an overzealous way, either. For his style it’s pretty remarkable how poised and responsible he was.
I thought his feet were his best defensive tool, though I suppose he could parry well at mid range now that you mention it. Had the sort of flared out high guard suited to do so. Still, he wasn’t better skilled defensively, or in general, than someone like Saad for example. Going to war and eating heavy leather with the best versions of Johnson and Lopez is different than going to war and eating shots all night against ancient Zaragoza and McCullough.
Been a while since I actually watched him in that manner, though. Watched the McCullough and Barrera I fights the other day, but for sheer entertainment.
I don't think Saad could ever put on a defensive showcase like the one Morales did vs Ayala, or Maidana. I also think it's different going to war and eating heavy leather with Pacquiao and Barrera than it is to do so with Yaqui and Pops. Although I do agree his feet play a big role in his defence.
It seems to me a lot of the boxers being mentioned were defensively capable, but often defensively irresponsible. Which in many cases, may have been by design for particular match-ups and/or as a general fight strategy.
That's a fair analysis. I was thinking more in terms of slipping and moving from the waist. He was pretty easy to tag with the jab for instance. But he didn't seem to be fazed by jabs.
(6) Alexis Arguello - Defense Highlights - YouTube Know it's just a highlights but his defense was far from being bad.
Chad Dawson - A fighter who you would describe as slick, a, mover and having a very active defense (upper body movement and high guard), yet seemed to be clipped and hurt so often. Opponents landed clean on him so regularly. Glen Johnson and Pascal landed flush bombs on him. Dawson does have defense but the constant laspses either standing in the pocket and trying to land 5-6 punch combos or after moving his head beautifully he reaches center and then stands upright to be a perfect target. For a refined "boxer" he was in a lot of wars.