Which boxers displayed the most skill in which fight?

I feel this is a solid topic because it gives us a chance to to dissect a boxer a little better.

We follow great boxers with excellent abilities. Sometimes, these abilities are so great, the fighter does not have to use his technical skills to win a fight he can just use his natural abilities, specifically, reflexes i.e. Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones.

What I want to hear from you guys about the times these great fighters, or just good fighters used the boxing book of technique that made you say, "Damn, this guy can actually BOX, not just athlete his way to victory". Feel free to describe the fight and what the boxer had done. I'll start off:

Muhammad Ali/Cleveland Williams: Obviously, this was Ali's best complete boxing performance with him on the cusp of his prime, which was subsequently stolen from him. We had a chance to see his reflexes, handspeed and combinations that were more than the typical 1-2. Yeah he beat Listen with a multitude of punches, but he was explosive, fast, and devastatiing against Williams.

Roy Jones/Vinny Pazienza: This was a rare, and beautiful display of Roy using the weapon he rarely used, the JAB. Roy was beautiful that night with his use of the jab. He did not just use it to feel out Paz, he used it faster than I have ever seen, was accurate and followed up with great right hands. Granted, Paz was not a threat and was short, but so was Montell Griffin and Roy did not use it against him. I think that might have been the best fight Roy Has had while using the entire boxing technical playbook.

Pernell Whitaker/Jose Louis Ramirez II: Just awesome! The combinations, angles and defense Whitaker put together against a great fighter in his hometown was nothing short of boxing brilliance, even better than the Chavez fight.

I'm not going to steal all of the guys and leave you all with nothing, so here's another "Short list":

Mayweather/Gatti
Mayweather/Corrales
Meldrick Taylor/Buddy McGirt
Hearns/Leonard I (For 13 rounds)

 

Locche-Cervantes

 

Barrera mastered Hamed.

MAB totally exposed Hamed, who had no answers for anything MAB threw at him. Hamed cracked him a few times early but it didn't seem to phase MAB.

 

Jones-Toney
Hopkins-Trinidad
Mayweather-Gatti/Corrales
Ali-Williams
Calzaghe-Lacy

 

Jones - Toney?

That was more of a display of speed, reflexes and accuracy than skill.

Most Hopkins wins are good examples.

Not sure Barrera Vs Hamed is the best example. Sure it was skill that won, but it was pretty basic boxing that Barrera used, it just so happened that was enough to make Hamed look like an amateur.

 

Honestly, I've never paid much attention to your posts before. They're quite amusing.

:hammert:

 

I've never paid much attention to yours either, and given that you're an Ortiz fan, I don't intend on starting.

 

agreed.

 

If we're gonna include displays of ATG athleticism rather than skill the thread might as well just be 'most dominant displays'

 

:giggle:

You say some funny things.

 

Benitez-Duran will always be my fav boxing clinic.

El Radar was a thing of beauty in that fight.

 

True, reflexes and accuracy have nothing to do with skill. Roy wasn't skilled at his craft at all.

 

Here we go again.....

 

Agreed on all points here. Barrera didn't really do anything special in that fight, just fought a safety first fight, staying behind his guard and jabbing. Morales in Barrera's place would've brought the pain in that fight, but by that point Hamed didn't want any of that (he did indicate he wanted Morales back when he was still more interested in boxing than being Mr Hollywood).

Sly - Nobody denies RJJ was incredible in his prime, but he was not a fighter who relied on technique. That is the sort of "skill" being discussed here. Being amazingly fast and powerful is great in and of itself, but imo it doesn't apply here.

In any case, Hopkins/Trinidad was the first one that came to my mind. That was a thorough dismantling if there ever was one.

 

If it can be trained/learned it's a skill. Reflex' can't. Hand speed can't. Foot speed can't.

That isn't to say Roy wasn't also very skilled and very honed at taking advantage of his given talents. But as ATG showcases of skill go, guys like he & Ali shouldn't even be in the discussion. We might as well include George Foreman vs Joe Frazier.

 

Toney-Barkley. Prime Toney was like a matador.

 

Yep, make no mistake it was an impressive, disciplined performance by MAB, but not some elite display of skill.

By the way I think accuracy is kind of borderline actually, between talent and skill. Almost all fighters are going to be more accurate than when they first stepped into a gym, it's something that can be improved, but of course their speed and reflexes are going to be basically the same, they are not things you can teach.

I think a big part of skill is simply knowing what to do and how to do it, when to attack, when to defend, how to manoevre your opponent, how to best position yourself at any given time, how to trick your opponent, set traps, feints etc etc.

Duran, Hopkins and begrudgingly - Floyd - are some of the best displays of skill you'll see.

 

Skill doesn't have to follow convention. That's where many of you are mistaken. Roy had unconventional skill.

the skill in boxing is "hit and not get hit". that's IT. That's the point of the entire thing. However you maximize those two things is up to you...but doing it well is using skill.

 

Roy& Ali had 'unconventional skill' in that they relied on skill less and riffing off their athletic advantages more. That isn't a criticism - they were better fighters for that adaptation. But if the language of the thread title is meaningful (debatable), they don't warrant mention.

 

Taking that train to the station, the real skill is 'winning'. In which case I nominate Earnie Shavers vs Ken Norton as an ATG display of skill. Earnie wiped his ass with that boy. Imperious skill.

 

I would not have Jones/Toney on there. Jones hardly threw a jab in that fight.

 

a still green Evander against Dwight Braxton I
Holy was still more of a boxer then and dug deep in a great performance

 

Magic Man Malignaggi vs. Lloyd Honeyghan

 

mcCallum vs watson

 

Haggles-Hamsho I

 

Camacho sr vs limon

flawless right down to the outfit

 

That was one I was going to come up with. But then I thought about how Qawi still pushed Evander and had him tired and hurt. He even went as far as to taunt Holyfield by hitting him and shrugging his shoulders as if he were asking, "What do you have?".....

 

I swear I was thinking about that one, too, along with the Holyfield/Qawi.

 

none of these fights mentioned could have held a candle to a welter clash between mayorga and feliciano. the aggregate skill level would have topped any match in history.

 

That was almost sexual, it was so fantastic

That's Antonio fucking Cervantes, a hell of a fighter, and Locche is just tying him in nots

Of course, once Locche started to slide, Kid Pembele got revenge