Which light heavyweight had the best defense?

John Conteh had brilliant head movement at his best. The entire upper body, really. Moved like a cobra.

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was very solid defensively at his best as well. Just a damn fine overall technician.

 

Dwight Muhammad Qawi was hard to hit clean, especially at 175 pounds.

 

Agreed with most of that except for Galindez. He was multi-faceted. He could brawl like a mad man, but he was also very adept at shelling up and counter punching off the ropes.

If his countrymen Santos Laciar and Gustavo Ballas had a son that was twice their size, you'd have Galindez.

 

He used that head like a cobra striking if that’s what you mean. That head movement was forward into his opponent most often. Dirty fighter.

 

Well, that, too. He could do it all during his short prime.

 

agreed on Galindez, I still consider him more of a brawler than a good boxer, but he was a good fighter.

 

Those guys had nothing on O'Brien and to a greater extent McTigue, one of the worst champions in history.

 

Billy Conn, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore

Roy Jones jr for sheer athleticism

 

Archie was hardly a defensive master...re the awful beating and multiple knockdowns he suffered vs Yvon Durrell, was also down vs Harold Johnson, Ezzard Charles, and in those heavyweight forays he made. Wily as a fox, an experienced old trickster, that's true...not so much defense.
Willie Pastrano
Tommy Loughran
Billy Conn
Michael Spinks
Joey Maxim
Maxie Rosenbloom
...these guys were the elite defensive practitioners at 175 IMO.

 

I agree that Moore could get caught up in a slugfest, but he was a great defensive master. If you don't like the cross-guard then I can see why you wouldn't call Moore a defensive master, but i thought he was. He was a good counterpuncher, as seen when he floored Marciano. Moore was one of the absolute best when it comes to rolling, slipping, bobbing, weaving, and ducking punches, esp. in close.

 

And weirdly McTigue became aggressive at the tail-end of his career. His sideways crabbing was very strange and he ran like hell but was hard to nail.

 

How about his fight with Saad who had illegal Monsel's solution applied to his cuts to save him from a tko?
Or Matte Parlov who entered the ring wearing a ridiculous mask of plastic skin on his eye brows?

 

I don’t know anything about Parlov. Seems if they are using illegal substances that would be a matter for the commission to decide.

I wouldn’t call either being a dirty fighter. Which Conteh was. Do you deny he was?