well, i guess the term pot-shotting has a negative conotation because in general it doesn't make for very interesting fights. but it can be a very effective tactic, and not everyone can be successful at it. and unlike holding, it's not illegal and "can" be defended against and exploited by an opponent. take RJJ. he beat Hopkins like nobody else. and how did he do it? with pot-shots! granted, Hopkkins wasn't the seasoned fighter then that he's become today, but his reflexes were probably better at that point, and he still couldn't always get out of the way of RJJ's pot-shots. and consider PBF's success against Castillo, that by comparison to the first fight was pretty impressive. that was a brilliant display of pot-shotting. i guess the thinking behind pot-shotting is that you distract and confuse your opponent with movement, never setting your feet, such that when you leap in with a single punch, it's completely unpredictable. but it requires the fighter be smart about when they jump in, and have considerable hand and foot speed or else be caught in mid-air with a counter shot. probably the best performance i've seen at combating a pot-shotter was JMM's humiliation of Gainer. everytime Gainer would try one of his falling in pot-shots, JMM would dress him up with a three punch combination, as if to say, "uh, sorry Derrick, but that shit ain't gonna work tonight - if you wanna win this you're going to have to take a chance." and in Gainer's case, it was a chance he simply would not take.
Here are a few great ones: Carlos Monzon Bob Foster Jose Napoles Alexis Arguello Wilfredo Benitez Salvador Sanchez Roy Jones Wilfredo Gomez Carlos Zarate Danny Lopez Thomas Hearns Give me some more, folks!
These guys aren't really what I thought of when I think of "pot-shotting". Please explain the exact meaning of it. I generally thought it was guys being on the outside or at range, throwing a shot here and there, not too much power behind it. Often while circling, using lateral movement.
Pot shotting means a safety first, 1 punch at a time approach from range, never opening up to leave yourself vulnerable to a counter attack etc. Yet Karl lists Sanchez, Gomez and Hearns ::
the only guys on this list who ever relied on the pot-shot, imo, are: Roy Jones Hearns (although he certainly didn't make a habit or a career out of it, he could and did pot-shot successfully as in his first fight with Leonard in which he won something like 5 out of 6 of the later rounds).
Gomez could box, but that's not the same thing as pot-shotting. when it came to offense, Gomez had no trouble planting his feet and throwing combinations. and he stood in there with his opponents on a regular basis. he definitely doesn't satisfy the definition i had in mind when i started the thread. to me, the quintessential pot-shotter is a guy like Gainer. if you watch him fight, he almost never throws more than one punch at a time, and in general he throws from outside, leaping in with the punch, and then before the punch even lands he's escaping around the back, or smothering his opponent with a clinch. or, Lewis would pot-shot sometimes, like he did against Tyson, wherein he'd throw one punch before tying Tyson up. Increasingly, Wlad is becoming a pot-shotter. Willie Jorrin was a pot-shotter.
You know who else had no trouble planting his feet and throwing combinations? Jones Jr and Mayweather and you listed them first. Make your mind up.
those guys certainly do have trouble planting their feet. and though there were isolated incidences in which they did, their fights in large part follow a pattern of moving around the ring, with occasional lunging shots that pick off their unsuspecting opponents. PBF doesn't resort to it unless he's fighting a guy who's stronger than him (ever since moving to 147 minus the Judah fight), and RJJ mostly did it at 175 when he was milking his HBO contract.
Roy only really became a pot shotter in the later stages of his career as he aged. In his prime, he threw mostly combinations, and with bad intentions on all of them.
Roy & Floyd were both blessed with unatural quickness and reflex. He didnt stand toe-to-toe because they didnt HAVE to. They were quick enough to plant thier feet, land combinations, then go out. Hey if your blessed with that kinda talent, you might as well use it. Floyd pot shotted vs Bumlomir, and Oscar cause those guys are alot bigger than him, but I think against Hatton your gonna see Floyd fight the way he did vs Gatti. Standing his ground, and putting hurt on Hatton.
Roy & Floyd were both blessed with unatural quickness and reflex. They didnt stand toe-to-toe because they didnt HAVE to. They were quick enough to plant thier feet, land combinations, then go out. Hey if your blessed with that kinda talent, you might as well use it. Floyd pot shotted vs Bumlomir, and Oscar cause those guys are alot bigger than him, but I think against Hatton your gonna see Floyd fight the way he did vs Gatti. Standing his ground, and putting hurt on Hatton.
Naseem hamed did nothing but pot shot at his best. Ironically when they tried to teach him to box properly he became ass.
Why do you think Gomez is a pot shotter? I have scarcely seen Gomez or Hearns pot shot. I am more thinking of someone who can win a fight strictly pot shotting, staying at range, moving about a bit, then using foot and handspeed to zoom in land a shot, and get out. That's pot shotting imo. Jones and mayweather can throw combos sure, and mayweather still has skill up close, but they are probably the best examples of pot shotting.
After RJJ and PBF I'd have to mention Whitaker, prime Eubank, Michael Nunn, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Willie Pep
If you didn't mention him, I certainly would have :bears: It became his bread-and-butter style once he fell in love with his "power" against Kalambay. Add the fact that he naturally has a facial expression that makes it seem like he's smirking/mocking his opponent, and you have the recipe for a guy that invites guys to walk him down while they get pot-shots all night.
