The rhythm Breakers...Who are they

I can't think of a better active fighter who does it better then Hopkin's.

 

Damn it, I thought I was gonna drop this bomb.

Also, Henry Maske, Bernard Hopkins, Jersey Joe Walcott all come to mind and had different ways of accomplishing the task.

 

I figure I'll throw out Arturo Godoy here. Many feel he eeked out a points win over Louis the first time but was reamed, as Mr Bill would say.

 

Calzaghe, Jones, and Hopkins. Aslo Toney. Ruiz can do it with clinching, and cheap fouls.

 

I can't believe Carlos Monzon hasn't been mentioned. He's the epitome.

 

Fighting Tommy and Gene with one eye may wanna factor, and he beat Phantom Mike in ten!

 

Carlos Monzon would throw 'half jabs', they came out slow, then gather alot of pace. This caused opponents to block/evade too early, really effective.

 

Ken Norton was a master at breaking up a smooth boxers rhythm. He was poision to boxers as he proved against Ali and Holmes.

As some have said Bernard Hopkins is also a master at taking you out your rhythm.......

 

I can't believe Walcott hasn't been mentioned yet (?). Definitely him. His feet said A but his fists said B, which often translates to surprise knockdown/out. Even some of the greatest men ever to lace them up, like Louis, Charles and Marciano, had trouble figuring him out.

Calzaghe also. Kessler held advantages in athletic prowess, power, youth (12 years or so), technical ability, yet Calzaghe completely threw him off with his rhythm breaking style.

Hopkins, Monzon and Vitali Klitschko are others.

I watched Tony Thompson last weekend and he qualifies as well, even if he isn't half as good as the former names. He was slower and lesser powerful, but outlanded his opponent something like 5:1 because of his great timing. Timing is extremely important.

 

Laguna and Rodriguez could both break up an opponent's rhythm in fine style via herky-jerky catlike movement (and strength on the inside from Rodriguez).

So could Saddler and Zivic, though for different reasons.

 

As far as modern fighters are concerned, it's really hard to look good against Joshua Clottey.

 

Good observation...

But that's the best avatar here. Never seen that picture before. What year is it from?