What do the following fighters have in common?

Virtual prizes & kudos for anybody who can get this.

What do James Toney, Mike McCallum (increasingly as his career progressed under Futch's influence) & Bernard Hopkins (to a slightly less pronounced extent) all have in common that sets them out from the vast, vast majority of their contemporaries.

Clue - it's something technical but FUNDAMENTAL, preceding all other techniques. And something which used to be common to most top fighters.

 

Using their opponent's agression against them....parry+counterpunch.

 

They can "box" without running.

 

word. they can box in the pocket.

 

Clue two - It's also at the heart of Pacquiao's improvement under Roach. The difference being particularly apparent comparing his work in the first Barrera fight to his work against Oscar. But he still doesn't quite fit into the group of fighters above.

 

Something more FUNDAMENTAL than anything mentioned so far.

 

Punch without effort?

 

Floyd Mayweather and Pernel Whitaker also heavily utilise this fundament but flirt back and forth with it in a way which would make it less obvious to spot if you weren't looking for it.

Again, something fundamental which used to be very standard but which is now rare.....

 

The check lead hook?

 

I don't mean to be a prick, but Im very curious to see if anyone gets it, so I'm gonna have to keep you hanging a little longer guys.

 

'Preceding all techniques'.

 

My Money's on Cdogg or Muzse to be the first to get it.

 

The pivot.

 

Very good observation actually, but not what i had in mind.

 

Just fucking tell us!!! ::

 

::

Sorry mate, I promise I'll say today at some point if nobody gets it.

 

IMHO, all three of these abilities rest on techniques, in turn facilitated by this fundament. So they are related to the issue. It's something shockingly simple, but apparently shockingly easy to overlook or overlook the importance of.

 

Balance?
Black-and-whiteness?

 

Ugo is edging towards the answer.... (not with the facetious second answer)

 

shoulder rolls

 

Clue Three: what Im talking about actually allows more 'relaxed' punching by creating more weight transference/full body punching, instead of relying so much on high speed shoulder rotation.

 

I know what you're talking about hut but I obviously don't know the technical term. It's to do with the fluid movement and positioning which allows the disguising of punches.

 

Clue 4 (for Ugo): Steward obviously addressed this issue in Wlad and you can see a very pronounced difference between the Barrett fight and now. But, like Pac, he still doesn't group in with the fighters mentioned (it's something pretty objective to observe, not subjective).

(Also IMO, guys like Wlad & Pac are better off staying out the group given their styles & abilities, though are massively better off having come closer to the 'ideal').

 

Nah man, thats VERY related....but again, more foundational (and more concretely observable). The 5th clue will surely reveal all, if it comes down to it, but I just wanna let it hang til the 'Mythical match ups crew' have a stab at it. Sorry, Im not revelling in being centre of attention here or any of that shit, just really want them to have a guess.

 

parrying?

 

Parrying & shoulder rolling are techniques

 

hut hut has been observing these fellas breathing patterns

 

ahhhhh i gotcha. this question is deep

 

OK so.... (clue words in italics)

* not a technique but something technical & FUNDAMENTAL, preceding all other techniques. And something which is very apparent to the eye. Even quantifiable.

* Something which used to be common to most top fighters but which most modern fighters do the opposite of

* Something Roach & Steward changed in Pacquiao & Wlad to bring them towards Mccallum, Toney, Hopkins, Floyd*, Pernel* & many old time fighters, without tipping them into that category

* Something which Ugo has come closest to so far with this guess:

 

Something to do with foot&leg positions and weight-shifting perhaps?