I figured this deserves its own thread. Panama has been known to having great fighters and having unique styles, particularly with their defensive skills. Here’s some of the best Panamanians showing their great boxing skills and defense. And of course we cannot forget Roberto Duran. Not only was he aggressive but also a highly skilled, crafty, and cute defensive stylist as well.
And here’s some of the lesser known slick stylists Jorge Lujan, Luis Ibarra, and Anselmo Moreno. No highlights for Lujan or Ibarra but they dohave some fights available. Here Lujan puts a masterful performance against Alfonso Zamora. Luis Ibarra beating Betulio Gonzalez at his own backyard. And then you have Anselmo Moreno who I have always likened him to Sweet Pea at times.
I love it. All seemed to originate from Panama Al Brown and his style. It is weird that almost all of their genuinely elite fighters seem to be very tall and thin, have ridiculously good balance and head-movement and all seem to have this extra plane they could go into where they just wove offense and defense together perfectly. Fights like Pedroza vs Ford, Zapata vs Torres, Marcel vs Gomez, Laguna vs Ramos, etc.
Can’t believe I forgot about the original Panamanian who started it all. He was ahead of his time with his skills. They definitely picked up his style and put their own unique spin to it. It is odd that many of their best fighters are slender in built and only Duran has a more stocky body.
Great thread! All tremendous talents, with Laguna, Pedroza and Marcel a cut above the rest in overall skill, excluding Duran of course. Zapata was the best pure defensive wiz of the lot, but lacked the grit of a Laguna/Pedroza.
One has to wonder how much better Zapata could have been had he just bit down just a bit more, showed more commitment and consistency. He’s had disappointing performances, set backs, and fights where he lost to fighters he should have beaten based on his talents alone. On the other hand he still managed to get some good wins even as he moved up in weight. It’s amazing how he’s been able to bounce back after bad losses and it’s a testament to his overall abilities despite his major issues.
Bump. Just came across Enrique Pinder, the guy who became undisputed at BW and has wins over Rafael Herrera and Chucho Castillo and I gotta say from the first few minutes I’ve seen of him on this clip against Romeo Anaya he looks really smooth. Hes got great movement and moves like Ismael Laguna. And then he gets KO’d. It seems like the only footage available of him is his 2 losses against Romeo Anaya. Would really love to see more footage of him.
Pindor is an underappreciated bantam, that's for sure. The guy just doesn't have any footage, nor did he fight Olivares. If he had either of the two, he'd been much more well known IMO.
That'd be crazy. Like a hybrid of the Logan, Zarate and Romero fights in one. Likely ending with a horrible knockout win for Zamora.
i know. you're not deriding him for his name (although some posters appear to misunderstand you). you're just pointing out the irony.
Duran's father was Mexican and his style had nothing to do with Panama and everything to do with Freddie Brown.
I have never heard anyone say Duran was Mexican. If he was Mexican I would place him above any Mexican. Above Chavez.
Alfonso “Peppermint” Frazer looks very slick and smooth against Nicolino Locche. He doesn’t seem to be mentioned enough. Frazer puts on an impressive showing by outboxing Locche on the outside and forcing him to chase after him, even got to the point where Locche showed signs of frustration.
