Limited fighters who ended up having good careers?

Got it, that's what I thought You had in mind - but I had to make exception to guys like Glen Johnson or Wayne McCullough being put in "limited in skill" category.
I think They both excelled in two of the hardest aspects of the game to master:
1) Defending themselves while staying in range.
2) Inside game.

...which is why They were able to beat many more athlethically gifted and more fluid fighters.
Good topic (as per usual!).

 

Julian Jackson. Skills were limited but his power was always the equalizer.

 

When I mentioned Johnson it's no disrespect to him he was a good pro, but he never looked remarkable to me or overly talented.

Obviously he has skills I mean any professional fighter who achieved what he did must have skills, but compared to other fighters he beat they were alot more talented than him.

But overall I think the thing with Johnson is that he was decent all round fighter, and kept himself in shape all the time. Being dedicated all year round is a skill in itself which many top fighters can't do year in year out.

 

I know, no worries. If it sounds like I'm trying to create some drama - it must be my poor communicational skills. I just thought that distinction between "limited in skill" and "lacking in talent" might make for an interesting discussion.

Another thing is that fighters can master different sets of skills. Obviously Glen wasn't the type to bounce around the ring, keep his range, turn his opponent and counter - which is usually associated with "skills" in boxing, but on the other hand, I don't think many high caliber boxers had the skills necessary to fight the way Glen fought.

 

Too me, when I hear limited, I think more of athletic limitations not skill. Fighter's that are not blessed with overwhelming power or speed. All top fighters have some level of skill.

 

For my excuse, thread author wrote "with limited skills" in the opening message, specifically ).

 

Iran Barkley epitomizes this,

 

Lots of guys have ‘good careers’ in boxing who aren’t great or never approach greatness.

Jesse Ferguson and Bigfoot Martin had good careers, made a good living as journeymen and fed their families, etc.

I can’t even remember his name now, but there was a guy some years ago on the club circuit. His manager handled him well. He was a hard-nosed, country-tough club fighter, durable, not a big puncher but kind of a brawler type, nothing outstanding about him.

The manager worked with the guy to reach his goals. He wanted to be able to buy a small piece of property with a home on it … like buy outright, live there with no mortgage payment. He went about 28-17 as I recall, and probably after his first 10 fights or so (maybe 7-3 start, something like that) he got paid well for every defeat and most of his wins weren’t high-risk … fought guys he should beat and did beat most of them (I think he lost a couple on cuts near the end). He retired from boxing in his early 30s, bought the land and either a prefab house or a mobile home and got a regular job.

That, to me, is a successful boxing career for someone who was never championship or contender material - get in, get yours, get out.

 

Roger Rouse, Andy Kendall, and Wayne Thornton were all hard-nosed guys who got the most out of their athletic talent. Each was a No. 1 light-heavyweight contender during the '60s and each fought for the title. Guys like Andy Heilman, Ferd Hernandez, and Stan Harrington also come to mind off the top of my head. Holly Mims was a middleweight who often fought at a size disadvantage and was very skillful.

 

Denis Andres .3 times champ and long successful career . Built on strength to toughness and iron will. Obviously a very determined bloke

 

Andries is a good shout.

Carl Froch got the absolute maximum out of, and had a good career relative to, his natural talent.

 

Muhammad Ali couldn't work to the body, gassed often and was forced to use stalling tactics and lacked elite power. Still, he managed to forge a decent career.

 

If I have understood the premise correctly, may i put forward Marvin Johnson, he won world titles while a relatively low skilled fighter, to my eye , there was a pawing type of right jab, often just short or out of range, followed by a rather slow and crude left cross, in almost all his major fights shipped enormous amounts of punishment, seemingly devoid of how to avoid or evade the oncoming punches, to all intents he was almost a one handed fighter, when you consider how far he went, that's testament to his stoicism, and undoubted bravery and courage.
stay safe guys.