Jose Napoles

Despite his severe tendency to getting cut, Napoles is at the apex of the 'complete' fighter.

 

................He's a great example of the old fuddy-duddy creed that says "they don't make 'em like that anymore." His style required the most skill of any of the differing styles, I think; he was a counterpuncher, but always right there in front of you, always in the pocket. Good luck hitting him with more than a glancing blow, though, and then you were gonna get something back.

Beautiful, flowing combinations, but he never seemed to just throw vollies of shots to be throwing them. He was a bit sparing with his right, preferring to open you up with jabs and fast, short hooks. Every punch he threw seemed to have a specific purpose for throwing it just then. He was patient and cool under fire too, very relaxed. This goes a long way toward explaining his great stamina, as relaxed fighters usually seem to have something left in the tank when they need it.

 

:good

 

I have him third. One of my friends actually arbitrarily called him 'the slower Ray Leonard' in describing him to me once; but as he got to know more and more about the fighter through film, he slowly changed his views and thank God for that!

Something about him reminds me of the Mexican greats of the past (he was Cuban).

He was like a finely-tuned Mexican assassin-- much too business-like to be compared to the flash and pizzazz of Sugar Ray.

 

he was OK I suppose

 

Top 6 at WW, not exactly sure where right now though. My top 6 WW's include Robinson, Leonard, Griffith, Napoles, Gavilan, and Walcott.

In a P4P sense, at the moment I have him at I believe around #33. He's one of my favorite fighters to watch on film, one of the best boxers I've ever seen. He'd be a hell of a matchup for any WW that ever lived.

 

What a post.

 

Great welter very economical and accurate ,with built in ring sense ,knew when to apply pressure and when to coast,I dont find him robotic ,I would call him fluid,not no2 ,but definitely in the top 10

 

I think Napoles' best attribute was his footwork, and that means balance and positioning more than speed.