People have been bitching about Floyd's, Vlad's etc style of boxing. Even though as boxing fans we understand that success is more important than style, the fact is that the most successful boxers of this and last decade have been mostly defensive guys (Hopkins, Jones later in his career, Lennox, Lopez, Ward, even Manny after his early years). When I think back to 90s and 80s, it seemed there were more guys whose style was aggressive: Tyson, Gomez, Chavez, Duran, Tito, Hearns. I am wondering, is aggressiveness coming back? We have guys like Kovalev, Gonzalez, Golovkin, Walters, Beterbiev etc coming up, guys who beat their opponents by attacking. Of course, there are all types of fighters around all the time so of course the differences are not clear, but sports usually have these types of tendencies. Sometimes the most succesful tactic in soccer or tennis is to play aggressive, other times defense seems to be more important. Is this happening, or did I imagined it?
Aggressive fighters will always be more popular than defensive ones for obvious reasons but if there is any kind of renaissance it's purely coincidental. It's just that the current crop of attacking fighters are better than the more defensive types.
I am wondering is it is a coincidence though. Could it be for example that now that defensive guys have more simple boxing style (less skill) than the guys of past, their defenses are easier to break down and power punchers are taking over? Or maybe the fact that fighters fight two division lower than their actual weights somehow benefits the aggressive guys more?
There seems to be less top class defensive fighters out there right now but i don't think it's any kind of trend nor do I believe it counts as an indictment of overall talent in the sport. While I'd broadly agree the level of skill in boxing right now is sub par that would effect not just one style of fighter. And of course there are always exceptions with Rigondeaux probably being the most notable.
The good news is Khan is one of the last younger fighters left who have a negaive, sloppy style. Crawford is a joy to watch and has an aggressive BOXING STYLE. As is Loma. Spence is a very skilled southpaw with a non-negative style. Verdejo obviously is an offensive minded fighter who's gonna be fun to watch. So the sport is in good hands.
What is their secret in your opinion? Are they getting their chance only now or do they have some kind of innovation in techniques or in creating explosive power?
I don't think it's a secret anymore than it was a secret for Duran or Cuevas or Basilio or a dozen other aggressive welterweight fighters... It's a philosophy ... GGG and Kovalev would still hit like bastards if they were leap amateurs like David Haye, they just wouldn't hit as often
GGG and Kovalev are yet to suffer demoralizing defeats. When they do...then we will see how long their careers go on, or how aggressive they are, if their careers do go on.
Listen, we the fans are to blame. Klitschko was an offensive machine. Oleg Maskaev was an offensive machine. I remember Dazbag, on the old SO forum, New Zealander, very respected, a rational sort of bloke. He did a thread after Maskaev got blitzed by Kirk Johnson..."Stick a fork in Maskaev, he's done", or words to that effect. Then you had Klitschko, "finished" after the Brewster loss. Maskaev kept fighting the same style and what did he get for finally winning a World Title..."Oh Joe Louis where have you gone" ...... So, we've obviously been dictating ourselves. The networks hook into this and cut guys with losses and sell us shiny undefeated scrubs like Broner. We buy it so they keep selling it. Same now with Kovalev if he loses or makes amendments to prolong his career...he will get put on the back burner and some flashy Dawson-esque bum will get the nod. We are to blame.
