Top 5 Counter-Punchers All Time ?

Oh man,...both of them guys!!:thumbsup

 

In 1959, in one fight...in one round..with one punch...Ingemar Johansson was a great counterpuncher....ditto 13 years later, Clemente Sanchez was too.

 

Juan Manuel Marquez and Willie Pep deserve shouts

 

Five best ever? It often seems to me that more ATGs have practiced countering than initiating.

The first name that comes to my mind when thinking of counter-punchers is Benitez. Galindez also left an impression because of his peculiar brand of counter-punching. He detonated the stereotypical notion of counter-puncher as artistic stylist, returning fire by brawling his way off the ropes instead. Louis was an aggressive counter-puncher. For a brief example, watch Joe lay back as Retzlaff lunges in with a hook, then get decked by a shorter, much more compact hook himself.

Napoles would slip and counter while coming forward. Arguello could counter when advancing as well as off the ropes. (He fractured Elizondo's jaw countering off the ropes.) I thought Qawi had the best counter-jab of his era. Styles make fights, and I believe Qawi would have given a peak Ali more headaches than maybe any other LHW champion. As soon as Ike's opponent jabbed, Qawi would exhale his own. (The best way to begin dealing with this would be to feint him into unloading his jab first.)

JJW was lethal at catching opponents coming in, amplifying the force of his shots. It's a novelty to see him initiating on the front foot, although he demonstrated with Ten Hoff that he was perfectly capable of this.

Although Jerry Quarry could swarm and initiate, as he did in Frazier I and Shavers, he was first and foremost a counter-puncher, whether doing it over the long haul to Spencer, or inside of a minute to Bodell.

 

Quarry-Spencer was a counterpunching clinic by Jerry, and though I feel he lost both Patterson fights, he was in top form with effective countering...and speaking of Spencer, in his previous fight, the one with Terrell, it was a beauty of a counter right cross that decked Ernie in the second round.

 

Toney, Gans also.

 

I agree on Galindez being a fine counterpuncher.

The thread title saying top 5 makes me wonder who is fitting though.

 

You are to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as Pachilles is to Roberto Duran.

....

I think Mayweather has shown a pretty consistent ability to counter, especially now that his legs aren't what they used to be. His counter right hand is sharp and accurate, and over the course of a match he lands it more and more accurately. Against Hatton and others we have seen him counter off the ropes and corner with a left hook successfully. Whatever, though.

Maybe putting him in the top 5 of all time might be faulty. There are some fighters out there in history who can consistently counter a variety of punches over the course of a bout. I think Mayweather has shown the ability to do this consistently.

 

Benitez was better when he fought in his more jab orientated Cevantes/ranzany style, rather than just pure countering imo.He often waited far too long for the perfect counter, rather than just working,.

 

Here you go. Add it to your collection. It will fuel your unhealthy obsession with him:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7pfZuxlieo[/ame]

 

Really? That's damn near all Mayweather does. "Remotely defensive fighter"? He is sooooo far from remotely defensive.

 

Did you see him take apart Chiaverini on NBC's Friday Night Fights? Tony took the fight right to Wilfred on the ropes, swinging away while Benitez ducked, bobbed and slipped, before ripping away with head spinning machine gun bursts. Chiaverini was never close to going down, and he never stopped trying, but neither did he protest the stoppage, because he just wasn't able to be competitive. During his post fight interview, Tony was obviously weary and disheartened from the withering counter fire he'd taken in response to his arduous efforts. Palomino said that Benitez was the lightest hitter he ever fought, but El Radar was blistering against Chiaverini. Benitez-Chiaverini is an overlooked masterpiece of busy and effective countering.

 

I don't know if he's among the five best at it, but JCC deserves a mention for his abilty to counter punch. Top 5 underrated counter punchers, to be sure.

 

I think Walcott deserves a mention. Otherwise the usual suspects have been mentioned generally.