Just to make clear, I've never stepped foot in a ring and the closest I've come to any confrontation lately is putting a kid in detention But I've been watching a lot of boxing lately, more than usual, and in the fights involving guyd known as masters of attack, i've noticed a pattern, they seem to take veyr few punches flush. I'm talking in a guys prime obviously but guys like Tyson, Arguello, Armstrong, Carbajal, Duran pure masters of attack and they all seem to have a very good defence in different ways, whether it's tyson and armstrong's head movement, carbajal's tight guard etc. I notice they don't really take punches that often. Guys who are known for taking shots to land them like mayorga, never really hit that upper level. Maybe this is just me being a non-boxing idiot with no idea how to analyse a fight but it seems to be a pattern I've noticed the more I've watched these greats in battle. so what do you think classic, am I looking at this corrcetly that the key to a great attack is a very good defence?
Good attack doesn't mean good defense. And there was nothing special about Arguello's or say Louis' defense despite their tremendous offensive arsenal.
Very few fighters are world class without having great offence and being hard to hit flush. Fighters that ARE easy to hit flush rarely become great ones. All the fighters you've mentioned are great fighters. They will tend to have very good attack and very good defence as a matter of course. But in a sense the answer is "yes" just because it is very hard to put together great offence when you are being repeatedly smashed in the face.
It's all about the right balance of technical attributes to physical attributes. Plus what McGrain is saying basically. Carbajal is a good one to watch progress chronologically.imo he was never gifted defensively, but he was a solid technical boxer-puncher early in his career and progressively got worse as he neglected technique in favour of loading up on powershots and plodding straight in. Tyson too showed the strength of a good defensive style and balanced technical offense to compliment the raw power.He was never near the same fighter once he let himself go technically.
The best offence is being able to land your punches, by 'being first'. Everyone talks about 'who hits the hardest', it doesn't really matter as long as you can hit hard enough to hurt him/stun him you're good Defence can set up your punches too, if he misses and you land a big counter on him. If you can land on him and he can't on you, again it's good and your controlling things
Cheers for the responses guys :good Like mcgrain says to be great you need that balance don't you. I like the timeline comparison between tyson and carbajal, both neglected their technique later on in their careers and suffered from it.
The two things have to compliment each other; a great offense will neutralize your opponent's volume, power, accuracy, and confidence, while a good defense will set up opportunities for attack, bring an opponent out of their comfort zone, and tire them out.
the guys you see are great fighters..and all the guys you named had either damn good or at least decent defense. (tyson in his prime for example had very good defense) so you are kind of doing a type of self selection. Of course having a good ofense can put the other guy on the defensive and it can help you, but that doesnt mean that is all you will need. Plenty good club fighters likely hit like mules and are fast..but have bad defense so can easly be counterpunched and so on. You just dont see them because they arent famous..and when they lose, you cant even tell they have a great offense.
I think the nature of the sport makes it self selecting. All I did was take some of the more accomplished attacking masterminds and posed a question of defence. It seems without one, the attack isn't as potent and the boxer doesn't reach his potential.
Defense helps...a lot. Boxing is interaction, both contestants seeking to impose their offense or nullify their rival's. The better a fighter can do this, the more success will come his or her way. The best attack is a great attack, but defense allows you to nullify and counter. Even fierce offensive warriors such as Joe Frazier and Rocky Marciano possessed subtle defensive tools; heck, even the "Mummy" George Foreman knew enough to circle when hit solidly (early Chuvalo fight) or duck after a miss of his own (along the ropes in Frazier II). If your defense sucks, so will your career.
