What boxer has gotten the furthest on power/athletecism alone?

Pacquiao in his raw younger days

 

There are guys who have gotten far because of two freakish attributes (punch resistance and a hard punch) but they are not athletic (I am thinking of Andrade and Maussa, who have really **** technique but did very well for themselves).

Very athletic guys actually can box. Mosley went the farthest without ever learning how to jab.

The guys who excelled who were completely and utterly unathletic were mediocre champions: Steven Luevano, Caballero (just tall as hell) or had skill but no real physical attributes and weak competition (Calderon)

Pacquiao and Taylor were actually great boxers who had a style that fit their athleticism. Taylor's just didn't work against elite competition, but he blew B level guys out of there, knocking them down with jabs.

Speed means that you can beat guys to the punch and resembles skill... Gamboa might be a candidate for somebody getting by on attributes ... hamed's bizarre unorthodoxy and power made him more difficult to face than his athleticism.

 

I can't think of anyone other than RJJ. Of course he was skilled but he was virtually unbeatable when he was in his prime. He had freakish speed, agility and power. He beat two back-to-back ATGs in Hopkins and Toney quite decisively. He was so freakishly athletic that he dominated so many people.

Now when you go into his non-peak years, he was being beaten by guys that he would have UD'ed or KO'ed. The same Hopkins and Toney he dominated remained competitive due to their superior boxing skills. Again, RJJs skillset was good enough to go with his freakish athletic ability, but when it left him, he become a normal boxer.

 

Yall musta forgot

 

Rod Salka

 

Rjj

 

RJJ, Pac and JT being thrown around here :rofl, yah, no solid fundamentals there.

I say Sakio Bika.

Pushed Ward hard on athleticism alone. You couldn't fight like he does without great athleticism.

 

David Haye.

 

Yet Sakio doesn't really have coordination. I feel like to some degree athleticism must include being highly coordinated but not using conventional technique. When I think of an athletic guy, I think of someone who has power, speed, agility but no idea how to do things the "right" way.

 

lol @ people thinking Roy wasn't extremely skilled.

 

Answer would be someone like Mayorga, Darchinyan or even a Naseem Hamed.

 

vic darchiniyan comes to mind at his lower weights

 

Also Margarita. 2,000 punches a match is insane and that dude could take a punch.

 

Wilder?

 

I disagree with the RJJ replies.

Roy brought a new technique to the game and dominated with it. He ambushed the counter punchers by feinting them to counter, and then he caught them. He didn't offer a traditional style for them to work with and he caught them in his trap.

Tarver figured Roy out, after he laid the blueprint, the rest followed.

I would say Mike Tyson went the farthest on power/athletecism