Which Boxers changed their boxing style during their career

FMJ comes to mind. He was an aggressive counter puncher and changed midway through his career becoming a defensive fighter with a great Ring IQ

 

Barerra comes to mind

 

Hopkins went from brawler to spoiler. Added years and titles to his career. Nigel Benn was a lot more measured when he moved from middle to super middle.

If amateur careers count then Tommy Hearns' transition from boxer to blaster is as good an example as I can think of. You could say his more thoughtful boxing (ie less gung-ho) in his later years saw him go full circle and back to boxer.

 

Hi Guys.
One such was Solly Krieger, a tough as nails Middleweight of the mid to late 30s, he was a cautious jabber when he started his pro career, but after surgery following a handball injury he couldn't straighten out his left arm, and modified his style to become a walk up close, body punching infighter, and he dealt out vicious beatings in the mid section to such luminaries as, Conn, Hostak, Apostoli, and the teak tough red headed Oscar Rankins, Conn is record as to the bruised and battred bodys Solly left in his wake, he won the NBA version from the hard hitting, but slim as a pencil Al Hostak, in a upset, Hostak was on a 17 fight winning streak, but took a bad beating from Krieger, he won and lost against Conn, and gave the fighting bellhop, Apostoli all the trouble he could handle, so yes a fighter that changed his style and for the better, ensuring big crowds, and therefor big money, that was the long forgotten Solly Krieger.
stay safe guys, chat soon,
Mike.

 

Vito Antuofermo - started out as a fast, combination 'slasher'. I saw his fight against Danny McAloon and this was his style at the time. Ultimately, he really started reading and watching old fight films of Jake LaMotta and became a bruising infighter.

Gerrie Coetzee - actually started out as an Ali imitator, if you can believe it. Once his right hand had operation after operation he set down and began unleashing the bionic right.

Mike Quarry and Ralph Dupas - both these fighters started out as speedy, defensive, Willie Pep-type of fighters but eventually became 'sluggers' to a degree in order to make their fights more exciting. Unfortunately, neither of them could punch and ended up hurting themselves later in life from the punches they took late in their respective careers.

Razor Ruddock - while being trained by George Chuvalo, Razor was taught the fundamentals and was a decent boxer. But once he discovered his left uppercut smash, he abandoned the basics and went for the kill.

 

Wladimir Klitschko - Offensive fighter to more defense oriented.

 

People will hate this post, but John Ruiz

 

Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather

 

John Conteh was a much more rugged, two-fisted fighter before he began having trouble with his right hand and became a beautiful boxer with a deft left jab and hook (usually followed by a head butt). Used his legs more and better to control distance and pace.

 

Galindez

 

Wlad came to mind first but there were actually elements that were still there.

 

B-Hop

Compare his style versus Johnson to how he fought Tito to how he fought Tarver.

 

Foreman. Powerful slugger to patient cross armed fighter.

Ruddock - apparently a boxer who turned into a wild puncher.

 

Wilfredo Gomez went from a brilliant boxer-puncher, with more focus on "boxer" early in his career to a walk in slugger later.
Hector Camacho conversely went from a brilliant boxer -puncher to a safety 1st runner later.
Mike Tyson also was more boxer puncher early to a walk in power puncher later, who didn't resemble himself in his prime.
Samething happened with Matt Franklin/ Saad Muhammad.
Perhaps, more than likely in the cases of Tyson and Saad Muhammad, signs of aging, losing a step and having to adjust for it.
Gomez, though seemed to just fall in love with his power, and became complacent because of it.

 

Look for Ruddock's fight against Mike Weaver early in his career. He was definitely a boxer type and was constantly on the move. Sometime in his career he discovered he could take a punch and also knock people out with that left hook/uppercut. The difference in styles was dramatic.