The Greatest Counterpunchers of All Time: From the Underrated to the Obvious

Absolutely!!! Mayweather doesn't get the props that he deserves by some but he was/is a hell of a counter puncher. That Hatton fight alone should erase any doubt. Good call!

 

Speaking of him, Tony Canzoneri should be on here.

 

One of Mayweather's underrated aspects is how freakishly long his reach was. Aside from seriously upgrading his jab, it made his counters land quicker, and so, more often than not, first. It's actually the reason why I think he could so easily dominate Márquez (well aside from being so much better). How could Márquez counter what he couldn't out-reach or keep up with?

Mayweather had absolutely amazing counter punching at 130, because not only did he have the skills, he was quicker and had genuine power.

Not trying to degrade him, by putting everything down to his reach btw.

 

"Hmm..." he murmured, as he looked on with suspicion in his eyes.

 

I'd put Mayweather, Toney, Jones, and maybe Marquez above almost everyone in the original list.

A few more guys who haven't been mentioned yet but who impressed me with their counter-punching in at least some fights:

Sumbu Kalambay
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Guillermo Rigondeaux
Marlon Starling
Carlos Quintana
Wilfred Benitez
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Jorge Lujuan
Jose Casamayor
Reggie Johnson
Michael Carbajal

 

No doubt he is special guy. I actually saw him fight in an amateur tournament back in the early 90's in Chicago. He had a rep coming out of Michigan due to his uncle and father. The guy has crushed everyone at every level he ever competed at. Crazy to think how long ago that tournament was and how good he was for so long.

 

Walcott isn't even top 5 at HW . Louis, Holyfield, Charles, Tyson and Ali are all better.

 

In my opinion, being a great counterpuncher is more about speed, timing, and precision. Being able to land sharp punches in the narrowest of windows is what impresses me the most. Especially when they’ve purposefully lured their opponent into throwing the punch that they counter. That’s boxing chess at its greatest.

 

Oh, I meant they were better counter-punchers.