Fighters who were better than they looked....

As fans, we usually have in mind what a good fighter looks like. Fast hands. Quick feet. Good power. Good technique. Together, these things imply a finite number of moulds which good fighters fit into.

But there's exceptions. There's good, even great fighters who don't fit those moulds - who on the surface do not meet those citeria. Examples?

V. Klitschko - guy seemed uncoordinated, lurpy, even clumsy. But he boxed the shit out of his opponents.

Monzon - again, he seemed to lack the athleticism of other greats. Rather, he was deliberate and methodical.

Valero - never proved his greatness but certainly a good fighter despite his awkwardness and lack of speed.

Others?

 

Michael Spinks - He looked like a good/very good fighter, but was undeniably great.

Ricardo Mayorga - Not a great fighter but with that style he shouldn't have become an undisputed champion

 

Fresh in my mind cause I was watching last night, Bernardo Pinango.

Looked like a mess out there, but was a very skilled and effective bantamweight champion.

 

Old George Foreman.

 

Spinks is a really good example. He had some strange machinations in there. He just didn't move like other greats. But obviously he was great.

 

Ahem... yeah, exactly this!

 

Daniel Zaragoza. Was a fine fighter but didn't look very good. Not in the close-up headshots anyway

 

Good example. Ugly style, ugly guy, but quality fighter.

 

Carmen Basilio sure wasn't gonna win any style points out there...

 

Same.

 

Maidana

 

Wilder also

 

Cuevas. He often faced criticism for how wide he threw his punches, but what gets overlooked is that he threw them fairly quickly and from a variety of angles, which made them deceptively difficult to defend against. There's a reason he held the title for so long and dominated some fairly good competition.

Bazooka Limon had an ugly, awkward style, but with help from an iron chin and power in both hands, he was able to make it effective.

Jackie "Kid" Berg doesn't look like he should've been as accomplished a fighter as he was, and yet he racked up an impressive string of wins and was considered one of the best P4P fighters in the world for a time.

 

I might be in the minortiy, but i neber thought pacquiao would turned out to be that good. Sure he was fast and powerful, but seemed so unidemensionnal.and technically flawed. Was a hell of a dimension though

 

Gene Fullmer is probably the epitome of this thread topic.

 

He had a knee injury that would forever hinder his movements and resulted in that ungainly form. But his wealth of other qualities more than compensated for that.

 

I thought he would have a short stay at the top level.

 

Every Time Roman "Rocky" Martinez Fought, Seemed UNFATHOMABLE Dude was a 3x Super Featherweight Champion...

Stiff, Patently Uncoordinated Motherfucker That Held His Guard Like a 5-Fight Female Novice...

REED

 

Speaking of "Rocky", THE Absolute Worst "Titlist" REED's Ever Seen was Rocky Fielding...

"Amateurish Guard" Doesn't Quite Encapsulate It...


REED

 

Carlos Maussa too. How did that guy ever win a belt of any kind

 

Because Vivian Harris shared a chin with Khan and Verdejo.

 

Because Emanuel Steward told Vivien Harris to try to hook with him.

 

It sounds totally unbelievable now, but before that upset, Harris was viewed as REAL threat to Floyd, Cotto, and Hatton.

 

I had Duarte beating him in their bout.

 

Sung Kil Moon. Had a unique sense of timing that just allowed him to clobber others. Alongside stone fists and face .

 

In the same vein you can add Young Kyun Park, who was essentially a featherweight version of Moon, though not quite as good.

At first glance, you would never in a million years expect a guy like Park to beat a fighter as impressive looking as Esparragoza, but Park dominated him.

 

Recently it's been Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. At first glance he looks like a crude, plodding one dimensional brawler but he's actually a lot more calculating and skilled than given credit, as shown when he was able to he break down Chocolatito in the second fight and even outboxed Juan Francisco Estrada at times in their first fight.

 

Carl Froch

 

Litte red.lopez. if.you looked at him only for a few seconds, he looks like a total bum. But he had this outrageous power and long jab

 

Was just about to post exactly that. First name that came to my mind. How that farmer won as many fights against those opponents that he beat I will never know.

MTF