Greatest Plan B type fighters?

Tyson Fury.

He outboxed Wilder and then out brawled him. He would change it up on the fly too . Otto Walin for example

 

I thought Hopkins was a plan B fighter before he went to plan A. He put a gameplan together which was always pretty good and knew exactly how to fight and who he could beat.. He knew who to stay away from also.

 

I am learning a lot from this thread, it's my favourite aspect of fighting, when fighters have to keep coming with a new strategy to counter what their opponent is attacking them with. Every boxer mentioned so far is a great example of guys who can adapt and change strategies mid fight to overcome their opponent.

Another one that springs to mind is Juan Manuel Marquez, who seemed to go from brawler to a constantly feinting, pressuring, counter puncher, only after being knocked down. Getting knocked down seemed to have a similar effect on him as spinach did for Popeye. He's not the best example, but is one of my favourites. If only Mayweather had of knocked him down he he......

An old school example, could be Gene Tunney, after losing almost two quarts of blood against Harry Greb in their first fight, received some advice from Benny Leonard to target the fast moving middleweight's body, rather than his head. Sure enough, Tunney's new strategy, gave him much improved performances in his subsequent four fights with the Pittsburgh Windmill.

 

Good answer, as would be Harada post Medel I. He learned to use his world class jab and footwork to perfection of the rushing wasn’t working or if he got caught.

 

Not really as it was said that got Tunney got his ass whooped in the 2nd , same as the first .. The vast majority at ringside had Greb winning or at least walking away with the title .. and Greb was giving up 12 pounds , then 9 .... I like your JMM post !!

 

Hey thanks mate, yeah that's a great point! It seems like the only time Tunney truly got the better of Greb was in their last fight., so it took him a long time to turn the tide against Greb. I read in their second fight that 19 of the 23 reporters at ringside scored the second fight for Greb, so it seems like your right, Greb was robbed in that second fight.

 

Neither Fury nor Wilder were able to change anything in the third fight to the second, let alone during it. Both were very one-dimensional in tactics and couldn't adapt. The difference between these matches was, in the last was Fury worse than in that before and is likely past his best.

 

Lol

 

Since I am saturated in the 50s right now, I can tell you Kid Gavilan was a master plan B man!

 

The brilliant thing about Leonard Hearns is that Hearns also went to plan B when hurt in round 6. This kept him in the fight and actually took him to a solid lead but he couldn't find the finish line. Great ebbs and flows in that one.

 

I dunno. It seem like it was forced upon him rather than him suddenly having a lightbulb appearing above his head moment. During the early stages he knew he no longer had the legs to dance and move away from Foreman in the heat and it would be suicide to just stand and trade with him so really there was nothing else he could do but to lay on the rope, cover up while Foreman flailing away and hoping that Foreman who was back then as dumb as a bag of hammers when it came to boxing iq would wear himself out. There wasn’t any other alternative for Ali. You could say that Ali kinda found himself in the same situation agains Holmes. Uneble to move or box against Holmes he backed into the ropes again and covered up as best as he could. Only this time he was facing a master boxer in Holmes and not a dummy like young Foreman.

 

Lennox Lewis came to mind

 

Calzaghe. Made some great adjustments in the Kessler bout and then after getting sucked into Hopkins type of fight early on and in danger of losing just switched gears into an insane pace he knew Hopkins could not match.