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I recently got into a discussion regarding favorite fighters, and it occurred to me that having a favorite fighter doesn't mean that one necessarily likes their style of fighting. One can NOT be a fan of a particular fighter yet appreciate the WAY they fight. The opposite is true as well, in which your favorite fighter does things that you don't like. Confusing? Here's an example: Pacquiao. The guy won me over through his sheer determination, punching power, and cojones. But early on in his career I COULD NOT STAND his style. I thought of him as extremely limited and unintelligent as a fighter. Another example is Evander Holyfield who is what I call a "sentimental" favorite of mine, but I was never a huge fan of his style.
I guess what I'm asking is, from a purely technical standpoint, whose style are you a fan of.
For me, the first two I can think of are Roberto Duran and James Toney. Yes, apparently, I am a fan of highly skilled, tough as nails, infighting fat guys.
I've posted but a few times on these boards and they've almost all been on threads regarding Duran. What can I say, I've been a life long fan. Technically, I felt the man was pretty damn close to perfect at what he did, which was to get in close and take the other guy apart piece by piece. No one dominated on the inside the way he did. The man turned brawling into an art form, integrating offense and defense seamlessly on the inside.
The downside? Though he could box on the outside very well when he wanted to, he often had trouble with guys who were smart enough to keep their distance and move around the ring.
As for Lights Out, I think of him as the true master of the shoulder roll, not Floyd. His counter right hand is a thing of beauty, the way he angles himself to avoid shots and to throw his own punches is brilliant. His infighting can be as creative as Duran's though not as devastating it seems, punch for punch. The lead hook-uppercut combination is a favorite of his and his deadly accurate.
Downside? Well like Duran, his conditioning wasn't always the best, he gets lazy both in the ring and out of it. He takes entire rounds off which sometimes costs him. Also, despite the name, he was never really a one punch kind of guy. Lastly, I hate the way (especially lately) he ducks down way too low to avoid shots. He's done this throughout his career of course, but he tends to rely on it much more now. In other words, he gets lazy.
So, who are yours?
I guess what I'm asking is, from a purely technical standpoint, whose style are you a fan of.
For me, the first two I can think of are Roberto Duran and James Toney. Yes, apparently, I am a fan of highly skilled, tough as nails, infighting fat guys.
I've posted but a few times on these boards and they've almost all been on threads regarding Duran. What can I say, I've been a life long fan. Technically, I felt the man was pretty damn close to perfect at what he did, which was to get in close and take the other guy apart piece by piece. No one dominated on the inside the way he did. The man turned brawling into an art form, integrating offense and defense seamlessly on the inside.
The downside? Though he could box on the outside very well when he wanted to, he often had trouble with guys who were smart enough to keep their distance and move around the ring.
As for Lights Out, I think of him as the true master of the shoulder roll, not Floyd. His counter right hand is a thing of beauty, the way he angles himself to avoid shots and to throw his own punches is brilliant. His infighting can be as creative as Duran's though not as devastating it seems, punch for punch. The lead hook-uppercut combination is a favorite of his and his deadly accurate.
Downside? Well like Duran, his conditioning wasn't always the best, he gets lazy both in the ring and out of it. He takes entire rounds off which sometimes costs him. Also, despite the name, he was never really a one punch kind of guy. Lastly, I hate the way (especially lately) he ducks down way too low to avoid shots. He's done this throughout his career of course, but he tends to rely on it much more now. In other words, he gets lazy.
So, who are yours?