Number one p4p combination puncher of the millennium so far?

Not a bad nomination, as his best work did all technically constitute punches in combination and he's a top shelf ATG who rarely ever threw single pot shots like a certain archrival of his... but for me what sets him back in this conversation is, well, a few things: he was very good at his specific thing, bunny-hopping in for the southpaw 1-2, but it was sort of rinse & repeat with that for about 90% of his career offense. If you watch any fight of his, or any compilation reel, it's a lot of right jab, left cross. He's like a jittery miniature Filipino southpaw version of Wladimir Klitschko almost.

He practically never threw more than four shots at once, and rarely even three. If he changed the 1-2 script it was to mix in a left uppercut on the body or a right jab paired with a looping left (so basically a modified 1-2), and very occasionaly he'd dust off the right hook. Manny had a good hook actually when he did turn it over, shame he didn't utilize it more. I guess it's because his style was so dependent on that bunny-hop in-and-out, and he doesn't have very long reach, so without planting his feet at close range there aren't many chances to get it off.

If he threw four punches it was basically just a shoeshine 1-2-1-2.

The left cross was devastating and the right jab (along with the bunny-hop) was a key part of its delivery system, and so you can argue that every single KO he scored was the result of combination punching, but:

1. He didn't throw lengthy combos.
2. He wasn't particularly artistic putting different shots together on the fly.
3. He was a fairly predictable fighter, movement wise, but overcame that with his speed and the forcefulness of his punching.

 

He said he wants it. Apparently his mandatory is now some guy named John "Scrappy" Ramírez, whom I've never seen (basically anybody that came up as new prospects in the last 1-2 years is off my radar given how low my boxing consumption has fallen these days) but @CST80 assures me he's junk. So, maybe get one defense over with during Q1 and hopefully Estrada is free & willing by midyear - or NYE at the latest.

 

Aesthetically beautiful is definitely a big criteria, to be clear (although subjective) ...along with many shots in succession, put together creatively, and not just landed but landed flush and with effectiveness. You can be a feather-fist and still a great combination puncher, but your shots have to at least freeze your opponent in place a moment. No pitty-pat.

 

So you were derailing my thread with some nonsequitur preexisting agenda due to your beef with Choco fans. Cool.

 

He definitely has the greater "boxing as ballet" footwork than Ioka, Choc or JMM - and his use of feints is arguably more creative than any of them - but his actual combos, while very good, I don't think are quite as compact and brutally effective as theirs.

He is definitely ahead of most of the rest of the field, though, along with being in the conversation for best in the game in other areas (the aforementioned footwork & feinting, and ring IQ).