Fighting inside is easy if you are loose and know how to get position. It is flat out fun if you can punch hard and short and if the other guy needs room to swing his arms. Can't even feel it.
Fighting inside is easy if you are loose and know how to get position. It is flat out fun if you can punch hard and short and if the other guy needs room to swing his arms. Can't even feel it.
He could accomplish it in bursts, but he often got caught in no man's land and this is why his prime and his career was so short. Had he fought more like Lennox Lewis his career would have been more like Lennox's IMO. Trying to fight Holyfield on the inside was a horrible idea.
Bowe took a lot of shots he didn't need to given his size and reach.
Floyd is on of the best at being in the pocket using his elbows and shoulders to hide his head and body and he was incredibly skilled at taking not of the timing and rhythm of a fighter which helped him feel when to roll and counter or feint to open them up.
I think Floyd would be too smart to decide to fight Duran on the inside, he'd likely tie Duran up on the inside to frustrate him and box on his bicycle. Which let's face it, Floyd could do that all day long if he wanted to. I do think at lightweight Duran would have been too much for him, at Welterweight it would have been interesting...I think Ray Leonard got sucked into a psychological battle with Duran and Duran broke him down, that didn't happen in the rematch and that leads me to believe at 147 Floyd may have had a psychological edge.
But of course we all know Floyd, Floyd would have waited to fight Duran until after Hearns beat him or he would have just said "Hearns toyed with him, there's no reason for me to fight him"
Agreed..!!
Not seen this before, Brilliant stuff and thanks for posting @sanatogen
I actually thought Holyfield was winning the fight against Bowe on the outside and when he started to mix it on the inside Evander started getting beat. Riddick's uppercuts were devastatingoing.
Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure get to your heart.
Ruddock was essentially a one punch threat (the "smash" hybrid left hook/uppercut he threw), and usually fired that punch more from mid range than either in close or from the outside. Riddick was a very balanced fighter and I felt that his jab from the outside mixed with his uppercut up close gave Evander the most problems. I see Evander taking Rudfock apart, and maybe not stopping him (he took hellacious shots from Tyson), but winning a dominant decision. Evander loved aggressive fighters and struggled with boxers who had good defense (Lewis, Bowe, Byrd, Larry Donald, Toney...etc.). Tyson, Foreman, Ruddock, Mercer...etc., were made for Evander.
Styles make fights, and this is a horrible match up for Floyd. If Castillo could give a prime Floyd hell, Duran beats him handily. Floyd was a great fighter, and there is a case for ranking Floyd over Duran historically. That being said, Duran, Henry Armstrong, Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, and Aaron Pryor are ALL wrong for Floyd. If Maidana and Ricky Hatton could make Floyd uncomfortable, Duran, Pryor, and Armstrong overwhelm him. If a past his best Oscar made Floyd struggle with his size/movement/jab, Leonard and Hearns dominate him. Floyd was masterful but he was human, and everyone has their "kryptonite", even Floyd.
I think some of it may have to do with style over substance in some recent heavily pushed fighters. We see so many guys now who try to set traps for the big finishers or showy shots. More smoke than fire reading headlines and not doing homework completely on investing early to body. Fighting inside doesn't mean just rushing in and setting up shop to work short punches. Watching a guy set up at range and knock on the door before and combined with inside bursts is a real pleasure to watch. Spence does this well. Young Oscar Valdez off of a hurtful jab transitions to inside work quite well. You have a guy like Wilder with tremendous range and snap on the end but honestly looks clueless and vulnerable when it gets choppy in close. It simply comes down to being well rounded and learning to work more, work hard as a fight evolves. Then you have a Santa Cruz who proved to do the opposite from his reputation for free swinging inside volume and turned top notch boxer last out.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks