Non-Greats Who Possessed Sublime Skills

First time I've viewed this post...honest.

Anyway I think former Featherweight World Champ Johnny Famechon fits the criteria. He was overly defensive, lacked pop, was given a gift against Harada the first time and arguably the Jose Legra fight (conversely you could make a case he was robbed in the Saldivar fight though) but his movement and defensive skills were sublime. He was never stopped in 60 fights despite not possessing an iron chin which I think is a testament to his defensive ability.

I wished he used his right hand more and was a touch more aggressive but that said I could watch him box all day. Just a beautiful boxer.

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Zan Judah is an obvious shout.

 

To keep things rolling i like Buddy McGirt quite a bit. Marlon Starling impressed too. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was amazing at times. Some of the best talent i have ever seen.

 

George Benton too.

 

Some candidates:

Saoul Mamby -- ran hot and cold, but was a joy to watch. Real skills, no pop, fought pretty much anyone and everyone in his era.

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad -- all the tools physically, but lacked the motivation and fortitude to live up to his potential.

Angel Espada -- Puerto Rican slickster could make most anyone look bad, but ran into his kryptonite in the form of Pipino Cuevas ... three times.

Randy Shields -- not as smooth or skilled as these others, but had a rugged, roguish kind of way about him and competed at the top levels ... had to watch him closely to really appreciate his ability.

Marcos Geraldo -- a rangy middleweight who gave a rising SR Leonard fits and Marvin Hagler a good go ... wildly inconsistent. But at his best, a handful for most anyone.

 

I viewed it 5 extra times

not seen kalule mentioned recently, lovely boxer

agreed on espada and conteh

 

Larry Donald fits too. Only a smallish heavy with negligible power but he had very neat skills and great movement and really put some schoolings on some decent fighters (Witherspoon, Jeremy Williams, Bert Cooper and washed up Holyfield) but seemed to falter every time time he faced a top tier opponent (Bowe, Kirk Johnson, Vitali). I think he was a front runner as much as anything but he could look really good when on song.

Reggie Johnson is worth a shout as well. He's remembered more for his losses than his wins but he was a top shelf technician who did everything very, very well, He won world titles in two divisions but remains firmly in the shadow of the likes of Jones, Toney, Benn, McClellan and Eubank despite being every bit as good as some of those (as his razor thin loss to Toney will attest to). He's a guy who only ever lost narrowly with the exception of the Roy Jones bout and remained highly competitive until his mid 30's up to Lt Heavy which was a division he was physically not ideally suited to. His all round skill set was very impressive for mine.

 

Has Kalambay been mentioned yet? Harold Johnson? Also Dwight Qawi.

But they are perhaps too great to qualify.

 

Floyd Mayweather sr.

 

Kirkland Laing, Howard Winstone.