What is the rarest natural skill/asset for a boxer?

Killer instinct. Some boxers have it and some just don't :dunno:

I would say two things: No great weaknesses and Luck. No weaknesses Sugar Ray Robinson was widely acknowledged as the best ever. He had a lot of great abilities but he also had no great weakness that could be exploited. I think of it this way: The probability is a great fighter will have at least two or three outstanding skills...Some have more, seldom less....But to have no weaknesses means that you have to be on the professional level at least in all categories. that is very rare....even some atg's can't do it. For example Roy Jones' chin. When guys figured out how he could get clocked....that was it. his fanatical fans will claim otherwise but the truth is, as good as he was he was very beatable by a guy at the same level. Some guys are ATG's because even with only a couple of outstanding skills they have no great weaknesses to expliote. Pernell Whitaker ws perhaps the greatest defensive fighter ever to some....but he had enough power, enough offense that he could win fights with his defense. Luck Ike Ibeuchi, Mike Tyson, Valero, Nando, Mccall, How many guys could have been so good but for something that happened? or an injury? or a screwed up business deal that prevents them from getting fights? A fighter has to be able to have some breaks and without these breaks a fighter will never be as great.

Poise. Some guys have all the physical abilities in the world but if you cant stay calm it'll throw all your gifts away. That goes for reflexes, timing (which is up there in terms of rarity). Poise goes hand in hand with many things like courage under fire, anticipation, etc etc. You can make a lot out of a little if you can keep your head in the fight and keep your eye on the prize. You know how when you see a great fighter go down yet you know its far from done? Guys like Martinez and marquez go down but you never quite feel like they're done. It's Danny Garcia's greatest gift as well and the fact he has good power can create opportunities for him even when losing. Floyd has supreme poise and focus he's like a f ucking zen master when he's there. Doesnt matter if hes on the ropes, being chased, etc. You know who could use some poise? Bute. If he would just relax when they throw at him he has all the skill and power needed to get them off. But he panics. It's not courage he lacks, but poise/confidence +1 for the zen ability As for the chin? I dunno. Sure, then and there in the ring, great to have but often leads to dictating the way one fights. I bet it's quite the rush to laugh at your opponent while eating shots and walking him down, also spectacular for the fans but I always feel that these guys that take too many punches will eventually forget how to wipe their own ass.

Poise. Some guys have all the physical abilities in the world but if you cant stay calm it'll throw all your gifts away. That goes for reflexes, timing (which is up there in terms of rarity). Poise goes hand in hand with many things like courage under fire, anticipation, etc etc. You can make a lot out of a little if you can keep your head in the fight and keep your eye on the prize. You know how when you see a great fighter go down yet you know its far from done? Guys like Martinez and marquez go down but you never quite feel like they're done. It's Danny Garcia's greatest gift as well and the fact he has good power can create opportunities for him even when losing. Floyd has supreme poise and focus he's like a f ucking zen master when he's there. Doesnt matter if hes on the ropes, being chased, etc. You know who could use some poise? Bute. If he would just relax when they throw at him he has all the skill and power needed to get them off. But he panics. It's not courage he lacks, but poise/confidence Good one. :boxing:

Poise. Some guys have all the physical abilities in the world but if you cant stay calm it'll throw all your gifts away. That goes for reflexes, timing (which is up there in terms of rarity). Poise goes hand in hand with many things like courage under fire, anticipation, etc etc. You can make a lot out of a little if you can keep your head in the fight and keep your eye on the prize. You know how when you see a great fighter go down yet you know its far from done? Guys like Martinez and marquez go down but you never quite feel like they're done. It's Danny Garcia's greatest gift as well and the fact he has good power can create opportunities for him even when losing. Floyd has supreme poise and focus he's like a f ucking zen master when he's there. Doesnt matter if hes on the ropes, being chased, etc. You know who could use some poise? Bute. If he would just relax when they throw at him he has all the skill and power needed to get them off. But he panics. It's not courage he lacks, but poise/confidence

The ability to adjust, and the ability to recover quickly from getting dropped.

A whole new meaning to 'putting someone to sleep' :rofl: them soft, soft, comfortable pillows :lol1: When I get drunk as f**k I just want a nice fluffy Malignaggi power shot to rest my head on. It would be the shiz if Paulie came out with some Bed, Bath, and Beyond trunks on in his next fight :boxing: Lol just f**king with ya Paulie fans. Paulie cool

I'd say elusiveness/timing, and poise under pressure. Even so, some boxers are just naturally more comfortable doing certain things, and maybe it boils down to an intuition. Some people have a predisposition towards athletics, sciences or the humanities and when they are in that place of feeling most comfortable they excel without guidance.

Bryant Jennings with an 84" reach at 6'2... huge advantage... It's definitely an advantage to have and quite rare....I dunno, reach is a good call but still if i'm not wrong the taller guys with slightly less reach will still have arm length or wingspan advantages which sort of negates long reach on a shorter guy... How about cutting the ring off? Looking at the way some of these guys fight nowadays, it looks like you're either born with it or you're not. It's so frustrating! Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android No, I think that has to be put down to a taught skill, just some fighters take to it more than others and probably have natural instincts and ability to analyse distance and space well. if james toney was a trait, then yea that. You mean mental retardation? :lol1:;) A soft, feathery, pillowy Paulie Malignaggi power shot is the rarest, most exclusive skill in the sport as of today in my humble opinion. A whole new meaning to 'putting someone to sleep' :rofl: them soft, soft, comfortable pillows :lol1:

To be a feather fisted two weight world champion is an exclusive skill. http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/wink/grand/wink_gif.gif

A soft, feathery, pillowy Paulie Malignaggi power shot is the rarest, most exclusive skill in the sport as of today in my humble opinion. To be a feather fisted two weight world champion is an exclusive skill.

A soft, feathery, pillowy Paulie Malignaggi power shot is the rarest, most exclusive skill in the sport as of today in my humble opinion.

This isn't really a skill/talent/trait, I guess you could say it is, but the ability to have confidence while staring into the eyes of a killer.

if james toney was a trait, then yea that.

How about cutting the ring off? Looking at the way some of these guys fight nowadays, it looks like you're either born with it or you're not. It's so frustrating! Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android

Bryant Jennings with an 84" reach at 6'2... huge advantage...

elite level necks. on a more serious note, you don't see a ton of tall guys with great chins. i'm talking about guys who are super tall for the weight. paul williams and kelly pavlik come to mind. hell, williams had a great chin when he was a welterweight. others have said reflexes, and that's a good mention. you see lots of athletic guys in boxing, but you rarely see guys who have elite reflexes to match elite speed. reflexes in boxing are more than instincts. you need to make decisions in tiny fractions of a second. brains that work that quickly, with the physical tools and the schooling to make anything happen in short windows, are rare. floyd mayweather has the best reflexes i've ever seen on a boxer. Good points.

Chin is very important. As for rarest, Danny Garcia-level luck. It's not typical to win the lottery more than once.

elite level necks. on a more serious note, you don't see a ton of tall guys with great chins. i'm talking about guys who are super tall for the weight. paul williams and kelly pavlik come to mind. hell, williams had a great chin when he was a welterweight. others have said reflexes, and that's a good mention. you see lots of athletic guys in boxing, but you rarely see guys who have elite reflexes to match elite speed. reflexes in boxing are more than instincts. you need to make decisions in tiny fractions of a second. brains that work that quickly, with the physical tools and the schooling to make anything happen in short windows, are rare. floyd mayweather has the best reflexes i've ever seen on a boxer.

Reflexes imo... like the above post... opens up for offense and makes up for defense