What fighter(s) tactical plan enable them to win a fight that they were a massive underdog to win.Exclude one punch wonders from your answer.
Barrera against Hamed immediately springs to mind. Perhaps not as massive as you'd hoped, but he was an underdog before the fight.
Pavlik beating Miranda by driving him backward the whole time. He saw this would work from Allan Green pulling it off for small spurts.
Calzaghe vs. Lacy Winky vs. Tito B-Hop vs. Tito B-Hop vs. Tarver ALso, wasn't PBF an underdog in the COrrales fight?
I feel although Barrera was the underdog people still tipped him and he was perceived as a fighter who wasnt out of his depth say for a recent example as in the case when Manfreddo fought Calzaghe it was genuinely excepted Manfreddo was out of his depth
Ye i think he was though i don't think Mayweather was a huge underdog. Ye B-Hop Tito is definitely one.
even though he didnt win i felt botha had a great tactic for outboxing tyson. jabbing and showboating when tyson came in he throws a uppercut and holds. another one of the "he didnt win but put a great tactic" genre. duran-hagler duran showed everybody up by counterpunching the counterpuncher. and out boxing the boxer...total reversal of what you would expect. byrds infighting body punching with tua. made tuas shots wide and not prepared for less haymaking shots.
Vilomar Fernandez/Alexis Arguello: This was Arguello's first venture into the lightweight division, and was suppose to be the set-up for a mega-fight with Roberto Duran. Fernandez used footwork and movement to keep Arguello off his game and win a majority decision. A few years later Arguello boxed Fernandez's ears off and won a near shut-out.
In 1963, Willie Pastrano's strategy against Harold Johnson was to move on the retreat constantly and refuse to lead, thus forcing Johnson to initiate the exchanges, which was something he was unaccustomed to doing while Pastrano did the countering. By making Johnson come to him, and having to lead for once, it proved to be a smart battle plan for Willie, while it may not have been too much fun for the crowd, though I imagine that the crowd had to have some idea of what kind of fight it was going to be based on the styles of both men. Definitely a fight for those who appreciate the more subtle side of boxing, and the skills that go with it, something like a chess match. Another similar strategy and tactics if you will, was when Carlos Ortiz upset Joe Brown for the lightweight title back in the early siXties. Ortiz decided that he too would outwit the defending champ with a subtle battle plan, which consisted of Ortiz only using his left, while boxing and moving. According to Peter Heller's book, IN THIS CORNER, where I found info on Pastrano's plan against Johnson, Ortiz restricted himself to only jabbing with the left, and an occasional hook, and also basically counterpunching and letting a confused, uncomfortable Brown do the stalking and leading. Both men used their heads in their title victories and won in ways that I feel make boxing the fascinating sport that it is, meaning smart tactics and strategies. Pastrano said that he believed that you didn't have to go after a champion and batter him to smithereens like Joe Louis, instead you could make him come to you, and outwit him for the title.
I agree with this fight! And not just rope-a-dope, the right hand lead too. Those together had suicide written all over it, but it worked like a charm
