Rank these attributes in order of their importance to greatness

Footwork chin consistency and ring IQ are the most important

 

0-Luck/chance (This is actually a bigger factor than some would want to believe. Both in the ring and out. Maybe a lucky slip prevented you from taking a huge shot. Maybe a clash of heads was in a better place than it could've been. Maybe a ref didn't see a low blow that you could've gotten a point taken away. You could also be lucky to face a fighter when he was in bad form. Maybe a venue that was picked was good for you in a variety of ways. Maybe you were fortunate an injury you got in training wasn't as bad as it could've been) Point is, there is a saying, and it has some truth to it. It's better to be lucky than good.

1-Ring IQ and the ability to adapt on the fly
2-punching precision and accuracy
3-professionalism and consistency - mental toughness (To me these are mostly the same, so I combined them)
4-punching power
5-durability and chin
6-defensive abilities (reflexes and technique)
7-handspeed
8-mobility/footwork

 

Handspeed
Ring IQ
defensive ability which goes hand in hand with mobility footwork,
mobility footwork
professionalism
mental toughness
punching power

 

Provocative thread, Kevin. Nicely done. However, I believe good stamina should be in the mix as well. For the threads sake, shall we lump it in with durability?

 

#1Ring IQ, #2 professionalism, consistence,#3 Mental toughness , #4,accuracy,precision#5 chin,#6 speed,#7 defensive ability, #8 speed#9 power,#10 mobility/foot work. I see it this way, throughout the long,long history of boxing their have been thousands of fighters that were super fast, super powerful, defensive wizards, unbreakable chins/wills but most were never heard of. But the 3 consistent attributes of ATG'S were ring IQ, professionalism, mental toughness. A great example of this would be Marciano. Sure he wasn't the quickest on his feet, but he consistently cut opponents off(ring IQ) Always was in peak physical condition(professional/consistent , was short with short arms, took some to give some, cut but couldn't be discouraged (mental toughness) His power was the equalizer that covered his other weaknesses like mobility,hand speed etc.

 

The biggest one is missing here imo: Heart. The ability to scrape oneself off the floor, sublimate your fear, and fight back as hard as you can no matter how bad things look. To me there is nothing even close to that. It's what Liston and Tyson didn't have, and what Marciano and Louis had in spades.

There is no replacement for a champion's heart.

 

As long as you mean it as a synonym.

To be honest, I expected heart to have been brought up way before I did. All the old boxing fans and trainers I know talk about it, it's far from a niche term in the sport.

Whether Tyson and Liston could have stopped Marciano or not doesn't matter to me. You can bet he would have fought until he was paralyzed. That to me makes him a great fighter. Strip away Ali's unbelievable speed, ring smarts and generalship and he's still got one of the greatest hearts a true champion could ever have. Same with Holmes. Same with Louis.

Marciano was great btw, but he was mostly an example of a fighter whom was practically all heart, very little ability. Still he did retire undefeated, and no one has done that before or since...I don't care what people think of his competition. He wasn't my favorite fighter by a long chalk, but that record can't be taken lightly, and neither can his heart. Marciano was just plain a greater champion than either Tyson or Liston for precisely that last reason. The last two just simply fought a lot better.

Without heart, you're a bully, not a champion. 70s Foreman could be argued to have had no heart...that all changed when he came back, in a BIG way (pun intended).

This is all just worthless conjecture on my part, but it's how I feel.

 

He was a very, very good puncher. He wasn't Foreman, Frazier, Liston, or even Joe Louis though (I'm sure you know that).

 

I could say if you say precision and accuracy is more important, what if the person takes 10 seconds to start the punch and land it? Wouldn't handspeed be better? If a guy has handspeed, he will learn to be sharp and work with it. . That is a given. The question was what was the most important thing. . Handspeed is what defines most great fighters... Makes it easier for them to dominate.