The greatest's defensive boxers of all time?

[oldgringo]

Most "all-time" questions on this site tend to get answers that only have to deal with the last 15 years or so.

And yes, Cple gave some great answers as per usual. I'll add a few more all-time names though, like; Nicolino Locche, Mike Gibbons, Young Griffo, Benny Leonard, Luis Rodriguez, Eder Jofre, Jim Driscoll, Maxie Rosenbloom, Joey Giardello, Benny Lynch, etc., etc. etc.

All of those fighters were known to have a very strong defensive game and were very tough to hit cleanly when in that mode.

Those are some great names in there. I was going to say Leonard and another one I think would be worth mentioning is Duran. He was pretty hard to hit cleanly in his prime and took a lot of punches on his gloves and arms. I've never seen Jofre fight, and I've heard very little about his defense. Was he just very hard to hit cleanly?

[cple]

Jones, similiar to Ali in his prime, was almost impossible to hit solidly. However, it was due to his tremendous reflexes, speed, and anticipation that made him so elusive, not fundamental defensive technique.

One fighter that not many people relate to defense, but was a master at it was Roberto Duran. To me, he possessed probably the best defense of any infighter i've ever seen. He did it all on both spectrums of the game. Of course, his defensive prowess is overshadowed by his incredible offensive skill and tenacity. Look closely. He rarely got hit by a solid punch at his best.

[Boxerdog]

Willie Pep..then Sweet Pea......then the rest...
Ali was good as the guy above said, HE leaned a lot of tactics from Archie Moore. Prime Tyson with HIS variation of the peek-a-boo doesn't get enough credit.
Among today's guys Mayweather is tops and Spaddy looks good defensively (when he is not showing off his offence up side his old lady's head)!
Byrd is very "cute" of course....

[The Troll]

Muhammad Ali

James Toney

Pernell Whitaker

I will not give credit to fighters for being great defensive fighters who fight like complete ******* 90% of the time and run.

[Tarver is my dad]

Roy Jones Jr
Pernell Whitaker

[Yogi]

I've never seen Jofre fight, and I've heard very little about his defense. Was he just very hard to hit cleanly?

Unless you're an aggressive buzzsaw like Fighting Harada, who can throw the punches all night (a few were bound to get through from him when he threw that many), Eder Jofre was very tough to hit cleanly. Jofre had tremendous upper body defensive reflexes when in close, good set of legs for moving in and out of range, and always abided by that main rule of boxing, "keep your hands up". Very good at blocking punches or knocking them down with his gloves.

[cvt]

Muhammad Ali

I will not give credit to fighters for being great defensive fighters who fight like complete ******* 90% of the time and run.

so if a ***** wins..what does that say about the opponent?...lol

[The Troll]

so if a ***** wins..what does that say about the opponent?...lol

It means the opponent could not catch the ***** running around the ring all night. I hate fighters that fight like that....run around the ring, dance around the ring, then win rounds on landing like 15 jabs, its disgracefull boxing style. It exploits the 10 point must system. Its also the fault of the 10 point must system that fighters can consistantly win in that style, when they ought not to. I hear judges are discouraged from scoring even rounds, that is bull****, alot more rounds in boxing should be called even. If niether fighter does a thing descisive in a round score the f***er even. I hate seeing fights where one ***** ass fighter wins a shutout UD without landing a single meaningfull punch in the entire bout.

[cvt]

It means the opponent could not catch the ***** running around the ring all night. I hate fighters that fight like that....run around the ring, dance around the ring, then win rounds on landing like 15 jabs, its disgracefull boxing style. It exploits the 10 point must system. Its also the fault of the 10 point must system that fighters can consistantly win in that style, when they ought not to. I hear judges are discouraged from scoring even rounds, that is bull****, alot more rounds in boxing should be called even. If niether fighter does a thing descisive in a round score the f***er even. I hate seeing fights where one ***** ass fighter wins a shutout UD without landing a single meaningfull punch in the entire bout.

i agree with you. my definition of defense is more slipping and sliding in angles while creating punching room for yourself...but you can't fault a boxer for taking a win...i agree i hate the 10 point must system.

[oldgringo]

Unless you're an aggressive buzzsaw like Fighting Harada, who can throw the punches all night (a few were bound to get through from him when he threw that many), Eder Jofre was very tough to hit cleanly. Jofre had tremendous upper body defensive reflexes when in close, good set of legs for moving in and out of range, and always abided by that main rule of boxing, "keep your hands up". Very good at blocking punches or knocking them down with his gloves.

Thanks for the info. Jofre was certainly an excellent fighter.