Something I was thinking about recently... So many great fighters we talk about or watch have had a "style" that seemed to define them. We picture them in our minds' eyes doing a certain thing, moving a certain way, throwing their punches a certain way, moving their heads, blocking, parrying, whatever it may be... Just some examples... Muhammad Ali- depending on which decade you are picturing, you either see the man on his toes, hands at his waist, sticking out sharp, quick jabs, leaning back from punches, firing home a good, fast right hand lead... occasionally flurrying... or you picture him dancing a little and then looking to lure his man to the ropes, cover up, clown a bit, answer with quick, clean 1-2s... Roy Jones - Back in the days when he was a special fighter and wasn't turning up comatose every other fight, you could see Jones in your mind, the oddly effective footwork, the lead shoulder dipping toward the opponent, the unorthodox fast hooks, the rooster moves, the strange sudden shifts of his body that produced punches that didn't look like they should hurt a guy, but produced knockouts or knockdowns, nonetheless Obviously, those are two extreme examples, very singular styles, but what interests me is that even fighters with more traditional, well-schooled skills evoke a clear image... Bob Foster - alternating between a straight upright stance and a pronounced bend at the waist, poking with that amazing jab to head and body... get too close and a vicious right hand sends you right back... somehow get by the right and there is a left hook belonging to a guy half a foot shorter waiting to take your head off Pernell Whitaker- always moving in tight circles, opponent always off balance, the persistent, accurate jab cutting through the defenses, when he works the opponent to the corner or against the ropes, he throws hooks to the body with both hands... makes the guy miss as he tries to work his way off the ropes and then it is right back to ring center, sticking the jab Carlos Monzon - stiff as a board, standing up straight, keeping the other guy away with a hard jab and a straight right hand... when the guy manages to get close, he gets an uppercut for his troubles... if that misses, Monzon bodys him off, backs him off with a shot or two and goes back to work, his defense entirely basic, yet he seldom takes much punishment... the feet are mostly flat, spread apart just right to give him the strong center of gravity Floyd Mayweather - Shoulder always at the ready, quick jab and back to the roll position... Shoulder tucked up tight, quick right hand lead, back to the side of the face immediately... combinations only in spurts when he feels an opportunity is there... somehow careful/methodical/flashy all at once... Pushed against the ropes, every possible vulnerability is accounted for... in the spirit of the shoulder-roll/shell defense, that right hand is free to plug up holes in an instant... What I am getting at (sorry) is that I am wondering which great or really good fighters/champions that you can think of have a stylistic match in another fighter (from any time, it doesn't matter whether it is a contemporary of the fighter in question or not) or, barring a match, a strong stylistic similarity... I'm not looking for like attributes (in other words, both George Foreman and Joe Louis hit like trains, but they didn't have much in common stylistically, so that would be a poor example), but rather like technical approaches The two that sprang to mind for me were Louis/Liston and Ali/Holmes... Bear in mind, those are both of the "strong stylistic similarity" variety since there were key, obvious differences between the fighters... Both Louis and Liston favored a telephone pole jab as practically a power punch, both backed that jab up with brutal straight right hands and ridiculous left hooks... the difference would be that Liston was a bit more defensively careful and actually liked to move a bit more and Louis, for his part was more dedicated to combination punching beyond a standard two punch combo... Holmes, like Ali, loved to use his legs and his jab, but where Ali loved to lean back from punches, Holmes was more likely to do things the "right" way... Holmes, while nobody's idea of Julio Cesar Chavez or Roberto Duran, would go to the body, especially against tall men, while Ali never threw a body punch in 60+ fights... so they aren't perfect matches, but they are similar approaches... What are some others?
A few that come first to mind are ones that have already been pointed out before. Arguello-Louis Chavez-Castillo A more modern example (but a much poorer one) would be Paul Williams and Diego Corrales. Two tall lanky guys that rarely ever used their height/reach advantages. Not only did they like fighting up close and brawling, it seemed they had to. On paper you would think they should throw the jab and punish people when they got in close ala Lennox Lewis. Of course Chico had more one punch power than Williams, but both could also be outboxed from longe range. It wasn't just a "warrior mentality", neither one could effectively utilize pure boxing. I doubt Manny Steward would have made much difference if he trained either guy.
PWill was a volume puncher, Corrales was a KO artist. I think that difference in style is much more significant than their similar physical attributes & ring positioning.
To me James Toney and Naseem Hamed are the same style. And Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe and Ray Robinson are all the same style. You have to drink as much as me and Double L to gain true boxing insight.
Corrales had a height adavantage but not necessarily a reach advantage. In fact, Floyd had the reach advantage in their fight. Corrales had a shorter reach than you'd expect from a guy with his height. Williams on the other hand, had a longer reach you'd expect from a guy with his height. With that said, Williams fought in a style he shouldn't have while Corrales fought according to how his physical nature afforded him.
