Smartest Fighters

:good

 

Ray Leonard - yes its a popular choice but cliche or not he's definately a smart fighter.

Floyd Mayweather jr. - He can adapt, press the action, fight on the defensive all while minimizing punishment.

Muhammad Ali - I think one of Ali's greatest victories was his second fight against Norton. His ablity to adapt to what was clearly a stylistic nightmare really proved his savvy.

 

Hopkins is a modern day master. Some might bring up the Taylor fights, but the thing is Hopkins likely didn't have the ability to do what he might have liked to in these particular fights. Both were close however with many picking different winners in the pair of them. Hopkins seems to have picked up a little extra steam since he went up in weight. Maybe he was a bit drained late career at 160.

 

Ali is another good mention.

Michael Spinks produced a few strategic masterpieces.

Carlos Monzon in his own subtle way.

 

Bobby Czyz qualified for Mensa.

I read Al Cole's IQ was high enough to be officially called a genius as well.

 

Your a big Leonard admirer. I've noticed that since joining the forum. Not a hugger, just a man who highlights the fact that he was a damn good fighter. And your views and opinions on him are somewhat sensible, unlike our other friend.

 

You have asked a broad question. There isn't a right or wrong answer until it is too late. What I mean is, there is not a wrong answer until you've screwed your career up.

One, it depends on your age. If you are a teenager, I'd say compete in as many amateur tournaments as possible, and learn as much in the gym as possible. If your goal is success as a pro, there is no better place than the amateurs to hone your craft, and work some of the bugs out. Your amateur losses do not hurt your pro record. This is where you can lose. If you are a winner as an amateur, you could get a lot more money than if you have no clout coming into the professional ranks. Also, your amateur status could decide where you start as a professional. If you are near Olympic caliber, you'll be able to move up much quicker.

Amateur Career: Learn the fundamentals

The most important thing about turning professional is having the time to train. If you don't have time to train, you'll never get into proper condition and you'll never make it. Location is also important. You must have time to get in sparring, and have access to good sparring as well. If you have 20 amateur fights, and 5 pro fights and everyone in your gym is on the tough-man circuit; you'll never make it. You may have to relocate.

There are always exceptions. Michael Grant and Lionel Butler did not have amateur careers, but they made some noise in the heavyweight division. I just wouldn't plan on being an exception.

 

I used to hate him, before here

 

Rek gave you a good idea of basic essentials. I tend to get a bit more philosophical. Once a boxer has a good grasp of the fundamentals and attains the requisite conditioning, he should be told that it isn't nearly enough. Three things are critical to advance beyond the pack:

1. Self-belief. Generally and specifically. Men who are insecure are at an obvious disadvantage in the ring... because it is in the ring that "who you are" -who you truly are, your essence, is put on public display. You're naked to the world. You better believe in you. Specifically, well, punchers always say the same thing -commit to the shot. Believe in it first because then you'll commit.

2. Learn how to focus. It's both scary and distracting in there. Focus on what you are doing and blank out everything else -the crowds, your natural fear of getting hurt, etc. AA has a little adage that says "one day at a time" -in the ring it's more intense. Try "one second at a time"... any great round I had I had a tough time remembering what I did... because I was so focussed.

3. Relax. My favorite fight is Duran-Barkley. At one point, Gil Clancy said "you know Al (Bernstein) amateur fighters train hard but they get tired before 3 rounds. The reason why Duran is able to do what you see him doing is because he's so relaxed in there. He's at home."

...
Each one of those recommendations are related and connected if you think about it. You could probably sum them up in one phrase: "master thyself"...

 

These 3 are great examples. I'd throw Marciano in there too. He beat a lot of formidable seasoned fighters in: Louis, Wlacott, Charles, and Moore.

Salvador Sanchez is worth throwing into the mix too.

I can't put Leonard up as high as most do here. Benitez (party animal) and Hearns were great accomplishments, but his loss to Duran in fight #1 cannot be considered a smart fight, and he had to settle for a draw with Hearns in fight #2, I think he saw a depleted/beatable Haglar vs. Mugabi, and if I'm not mistaken Lalonde had to drain down from 175 to 168 per Leonard's demands.

These days, Hopkins has done a lot considering his limits. Mayweather reminds me of Leonard great skills and great matchmaker but undefeated! James Toney deserves a shout, and Calzaghe's been able to adapt as needed forever.

 

Pep was a natural. I don't believe he was studious so much as supremely confident in his abilities and innate talent. Those he couldn't beat closest to his prime were two, Angott who was the foil for Pep's style and Saddler, whom he managed to beat once and only by absorbing a beating.

Zivic was THE master of extracurriculars in there. His experience was extensive and he was good enough to beat guys like Angott, Armstrong, Burley, Conn, Lamotta, Bummy Davis, and Eddie Booker. Robinson considered him the "smartest fighter" he ever fought.

It's tough to figure out how much those guys with over 200 fights devised strategy or just adapted to conditions and styles that they had surely seen before -they fought so much they didn't have time to devise sophisticated strategies and film was hard to come by. They didn't even have Gillette's Friday Night Fights yet. What they had was a wealth of experience.

So where Ray Leonard had the time and the technology to compose foils for future opponents, Pep and Zivic would figure it out naturally by about round 3 -their film was in their heads and there was a million miles of it!

 

ali, salvador sanchez and hopkins are the smartest fighters that i have ever seen in the boxing ring.

they way sanchez beat gomez and lopez where incredable, it was like a he was ambushing fighters, yet he was only one man.

hopkins did the absolute same against trinidad and has been able to adapt to his older age to fight when the other fighter doesnt want to fight, throw more punches at the most crucial moments of the fight and to use only neccessary movement in both his hands and his feet.

i dont think ali even needs a discription, fighting liston, frazier and foreman in any way carelessly could ruin your career in a heart beat and he went 6 and 1 with 5 comming by knock out with all three.