Top five most physically gifted fighters

Leon · Sep 23, 2010

cuchulain said: ↑

No. While being around the game from an early age will undoubtedly provide an advantage here, this in itself is clearly not enough to account for his level of skill. Thousands of others are immersed in the game and they don't make it to Floyd's level.

IMO, and with my read on what the thread-starter had in mind, I believe that Floyd was endowed with an abundance of inate talent. No doubt, it had to be nurtured, but it also had to be present first, otherwise no amount of nurturing would have drawn it out.

More than just an understanding. An eighty year old could 'understand ' the flow. Floyd has a sense of the fight, an anticipation of what his opponent is going to do next. And he can translate that anticipation into counter-action in an instant.

By your reasoning, anyone could achieve the same level just by being around the sport enough and putting in sufficient practice. And this is clearly not the case.

It would be absurd to claim that there are counter-punching genes, yes.

But genetics is far more complicated than just a one-to-one mapping of genes to traits. Most traits are the result of a combination of genetics and environment. And the genetic component is much more complex than the simple presence or absence of a specific gene for a given trait.

But the overall physical make-up of the boxer in combination with his life experiences determines the skill level of the boxer. One is not born with counterpunching skills, but one has (or has not) the physical makeup in place such that such skills can be developed and honed.

Here, you appear to be conceding the point that inborn talent plays an important role.

If we turn your sentence around (without changing its meaning) you are in effect saying:

Even his speed his is as much inborn talent as practice.

And I agree. You need BOTH.

Again, this just shows that both inate ability and practice are necessary for optimal performance.

The '41' and '35' parts of your point are not relevant. Your point is that six years of practice has improved this particular skill. Had you spent six equally dedicated years from 29 to 35, it would probably have made you faster at 35.

(All this is aside from the fact that your maximum performance (fastest) will decline with age.)

As I've already pointed out, his speed was no doubt improved by practice.
However, regardless of how much practice is performed, some boxers are naturally faster than others. And Floyd is naturally gifted with speed.
Click to expand...

:rofl:rofl:rofl

Seamus · Sep 23, 2010

My 5)

Bob Fitzsimmons (crazy, inhuman power, fighting heart)
Sam Langford (almost as wicked power as Fitzsimmons, a natural pursuer and finisher)
Harry Greb (you have this almost incomparable resume, especially with somewhat limited training, without having some of the greatest natural talent ever)
Sugar Ray Robinson (speed, power, vision, boxing IQ, heart)
Ali (ridiculous speed/size ratio, chin, heart)

close call on Duran (power, speed and instincts)

cuchulain · Sep 23, 2010

Seamus said: ↑

My 5)

Bob Fitzsimmons (crazy, inhuman power, fighting heart)
Sam Langford (almost as wicked power as Fitzsimmons, a natural pursuer and finisher)
Harry Greb (you have this almost incomparable resume, especially with somewhat limited training, without having some of the greatest natural talent ever)
Sugar Ray Robinson (speed, power, vision, boxing IQ, heart)
Ali (ridiculous speed/size ratio, chin, heart)

close call on Duran (power, speed and instincts)
Click to expand...

Decent list.

Much depends on what exactly the threadstarter had in mind.

As a general rule, I would probably never include Langford, great as he may have been on account of the lack of ability to watch a decent portion of his body of work.

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Top five most physically gifted fighters

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Top five most physically gifted fighters

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