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Another survey for the gang. What fighters, now or past, best exemplify what you want out of a professional fighter? They need not be great, you need not be a fan. This is about the way you like to see the sport, and the fighters within it, behave. Please give us a brief why.
Thanks in advance.
First name that comes to mind is Alexis Arguello. Tremendous puncher... exciting style... huge heart... and just as important... a gentleman and role model both inside and outside the ring. He was the pride of Nicaragua, an excellent ambassador to the sport. His fights with Aaron Pryor were classics... too bad he lost them both. A truly ATG, in my book. Here in Puerto Rico he was respected and admired, even though he beat local favorite Alfredo Escalera in a grueling, bloody fight.
R.I.P., Alexis.
Jung Koo Chang aka Korean hawk
Marquez
Ricardo Lopez
Floyd Mayweather
I love boxer-punchers with high level of intelligence and no one does it better than these guys, simple as that..
Tim Bradley- he's a inspiration the way he comes in , in amazing shape
Cotto- He works hard, is skilled, and I like his style in and out of the ring
Tyson- he's had it tough and is doing good right now- great fighter.
emille griffith
Same here. And Shah Khan.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pavlik
There goes MY number one pick! Two things to add are Alexis was willing to go to the other guy's place to fight him and he ALWAYS made daring matches.Quote:
Originally Posted by TitoFan
Nicely done!Quote:
Originally Posted by FinitoElDinamita
I always feel so bad for Emile. Such a good guy and such a tortured soul.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pavlik
Totally agree with first two.Quote:
Originally Posted by gest12645
Whoda thunk Mike Tyson would be alive and seem to more or less have his stuff together at 45?
Monzon... :-X kidding, kidding...
Let's be real here though, a lot of boxers had/have alcohol or drug problems among other things, just like anybody else. Even Alexis had drug issues. But some of these guys can still be admired in a sense for overcoming adversity out of the ring. SRR was a womanizer and alcoholic... Guess we really don't know sometimes.
Barrios and Ulises Solis both while drunk ran over people. Look at Valero and how he turned out to be.
ODLH
Ricardo Lopez
Jose Torres
JMM
Zaragoza
Emile
Foreman
Holyfield
Alexis
Gatti
Dick Tiger
Ali
Sadly I think Alexis' drug and booze issues were probably a function of him being bi-polar or something like it and self medicating. He struggled with life and his place in the world as far back as I can remember,Quote:
Originally Posted by CutMeMick
Nice list! I actually don't really care about guys outside the ring unless they are really, really bad guys (Monzon, Valero, Ayala Jr)
I'm glad so many recognize Emile griffith.
I admire the following fighters :
Marvin Hagler - Hard nut , fearsome , the one guy who looked like a mean bastard.
Tommy Hearns - my favorite fighter ever.
Sweat Pea - this guy in his prime was impossible to hit with a handfull of gravel.
Marquez has got to be my favourite personality in boxing at the moment. A real family man who has a 'win or come back on my shield' attitude I just love. I think the epitome of Marquez was what he did in that fight against Pacquiao. Getting KDd three times in the opening round he comes back and puts on an awe-inspiring performance. His timing is something I greatly admire, it's to me one of the most important aspects of a fighter's repertoire, and generally the better you are at timing, the better a fighter you will be (though obviously it should be allied to various other things, and the more of those you have the better off you'll be as well). The combinations he puts together are also stunning and technically brilliant, making him very exciting to watch. To a lesser degree I also admire Mayweather, I think as a boxer his professionalism and skill is second to none. He obviously got some good genes, but he has never taken a relaxed attitude to his career, and has shown himself to be, I think, the most complete and versatile fighter around today. My only qualm is that he does not seem to have the warrior's heart that Marquez does, and perhaps that is purely because no one has ever pushed him the way Marquez has been pushed by the likes of Pacquiao. I do remember watching the DLH/PBF fight and thinking, that if DLH had just been a little younger, then maybe we would have seen Floyd pull out something special to win - or wilt. Who knows? Then again DLH outweighed him by a fair bit that night and had the choice of gloves if I remember rightly, so it may be that Floyd is just so far ahead of his competition that we don't get a chance to see him really dig deep. I mean, he was clearly rocked against Mosley and one could argue that he may have wilted there when he was stunned, but he came out quite aggressively after being hit. And then again I asked myself the same question; what would have happened had Mosley been a little younger, or even in his prime? He would obviously have gone in for the kill, and at that point I would like to see if Floyd would have the combination of mettle and skill to battle his way back into the fight and then reverse the damage. Essentially, I think if we are to see the best of Floyd, he has to fight the man everyone is talking about - if he beat him, then his status as the best boxer of his generation would be well and truly cemented.
1 boxer i admire at the moment is Froch, he lays it on the line, takes a great shot and is happy to fight away from home. He doesn't shy away from the big names and has continually been prepared to face the best.
Gutsy warrior, makes fights harder for himself than they need to be sometimes but the defence has been improved. Not the greatest around at the moment but he always means business always turns up in shape and gives 100%
Jhonny Gonzalez, because he always comes to fight win or lose, and keeps busy.
Matthew Hatton..
He looks ridiculous, like Sloth from the Goonies. His lack of talent is surpassed only by his lack of charisma. He's a mediocre example of mediocrity.
Yet when he was hired by HBO to be the highlight reel KO to bring Canelo Alvarez to the big stage he apparently forgot to read the script and actually fought to win. He lost near every round but in the face of hopelessness he kept his belief and determination, and after the fight just merely shrugged and said he would move back down to his natural weight class and fight for a world title there.
Self delusion of course, but I admired his optimism and never say quit mentally.
:appl: brilliant...Quote:
Originally Posted by SRR
I can really tell you are a genuine fan of JMM.
I admire him just as much and everything you typed I've said it many times.
His precise punching and combinations are great.
By the way I call that the "Nacho Way" meaning Nacho Beristain the trainer.
That same stance and fighting style can be seen in Ricardo Lopez and Rafa.
You can see it in every fight but the fight where I'm just in awww is the Terdsak fight.
In the smallest of gaps JMM would slip punches thru.
Joel Casamayor. Went about things his way and wasn't sorry about it. "Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have
no heart for it anymore."
The humility of Joe Louis, his punch power, boxing skills and consistantcy was not bad either. The impact on the world of Muhammid Ali for his fights with great boxers, standing for what he believed in, courage and determination to fight through adversity such as a broken jaw.
Mike Tyson inspired me into boxing because of the excitement and historic significance he brought to the game and made me look at the history of the heavyweight divison.
I love Roy Jones but I only admire Floyd for his boxing skills which are fantastic to see.
I always liked watching Kostya Tszyu - class both in and out of the ring.
Loved his speech after his defeat against Hatton.Quote:
Originally Posted by bcollins
Quote:
Originally Posted by armyash
Tam you aren't on here enough to warrant an alt. :cool:
The first man that came to mind when I saw the title was Marvin Hagler. He was IMO the greatest MW of all time but he was also so much more than that. He was twice robbed early on in his career and was avoided like the plague by top fighters for a long time and he just kept going and beating everyone in his path. Then when his chance did finally come IMO he was robbed vs Antuofermo only getting a draw from the judges, again he just kept going and got himself back in the limelight until he was again given a shot. This time it was against Alan Minter and this time he was making sure no judges would be robbing him stopping Minter with a badly cut eye. What happened after the fight was a disgrace and was not a moment that when I look back I feel proud to be British.Quote:
Originally Posted by marbleheadmaui
After taking that title though he showed just how great a champion he was beating everyone in his path. The fights with Hearns and Mugabi are 2 of my favourites involving any fighter. Then came the fight with Leonard, now I do actually think the judges got this one right, I know many don't but I do. It was close but Leonard was fighting very intelligently and stealing rounds in the last 30 seconds. Anyway it did Hagler a favour in the long run because the Leonard fight upset him so much that the only fight he wanted was Leonard rematch and if he couldn't get that he wouldn't fight again. He didn't, and we never saw Hagler fade and get beaten by much lesser fighters a few years past his prime in the way so many great champs have.
So for me the most admiration goes to "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler!
I don't really need to give this much thought but Floyd Patterson was a light heavy weight in a Heavyweight world with heavy issues whenever he lost he would wear disguises. He was a D'Amato fighter like Tyson and Jose Torres who authored Fire and Ice about a volatile Mike Tyson. Roberto Duran for his skill and longevity. Mike Weaver for winning the Heavyweight title from Big John Tate after losing every single round he kept trying to KO the more skilled champion. Earnie Shavers for being a three round fighter that resurrected himself in the Ali fight and gave Holmes fits. Sean O'Grady for making the conversion from fighter to announcer and was a med student before being a fighter. Talk about adjustments! Reuben Oliveras for astounding KO's and exciting skillful moves. Muhammad Ali for backing up his mouth with his fists and the ability to be a great public speaker. Sonny Liston was not an all time great because he couldn't stay out of Jail earlier in his career but a mean mutha none the less. Carlos Ortiz for facing everyone in his time. Alexis Arguello fighter, gentleman and feared opponent. Carlos Monzon whose aggressive style was his defense. Marvin for his workmanship and tenacity. Wilfredo Benitez winning the junior welterweight title at seventeen and look like the veteran instead of the youth he was. Arturo Gatti not great but a true warrior. There were a few more but I have limited space and I did not forget the best of the best, Ray Robinson.
I wish I'd written that!Quote:
Originally Posted by johnsebastianmiran
Lunchpail Marvin can be a model for every kind of fighter there is.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjj tszyuThe first man that came to mind when I saw the title was Marvin Hagler. He was IMO the greatest MW of all time but he was also so much more than that. He was twice robbed early on in his career and was avoided like the plague by top fighters for a long time and he just kept going and beating everyone in his path. Then when his chance did finally come IMO he was robbed vs Antuofermo only getting a draw from the judges, again he just kept going and got himself back in the limelight until he was again given a shot. This time it was against Alan Minter and this time he was making sure no judges would be robbing him stopping Minter with a badly cut eye. What happened after the fight was a disgrace and was not a moment that when I look back I feel proud to be British.Quote:
Originally Posted by marbleheadmaui
After taking that title though he showed just how great a champion he was beating everyone in his path. The fights with Hearns and Mugabi are 2 of my favourites involving any fighter. Then came the fight with Leonard, now I do actually think the judges got this one right, I know many don't but I do. It was close but Leonard was fighting very intelligently and stealing rounds in the last 30 seconds. Anyway it did Hagler a favour in the long run because the Leonard fight upset him so much that the only fight he wanted was Leonard rematch and if he couldn't get that he wouldn't fight again. He didn't, and we never saw Hagler fade and get beaten by much lesser fighters a few years past his prime in the way so many great champs have.
So for me the most admiration goes to "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler!
Erik Morales. A total badass with tons of heart. I already admired this guy but after his performance against Maidana my admiration for him just skyrocketed. To pull out a performance like that fighting way above your best weight and way past your sell by date, with one eye shut from the 2nd round on, against a young, tough, powerful bull is amazing. What - a - WARRIOR.
I remember that!Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterLoved his speech after his defeat against Hatton.Quote:
Originally Posted by bcollins
I would say Emmanuel Augustus and James Toney.
They were shit role-models, probably in life as well as in the sport of Boxing but Boxing was their comfort zone and it is always a joy to watch someone having fun, having punches thrown at them.
This has been a very much north American dominated thread so far, but I'm going to throw forward a few contemporary Brits and Europeans that I particularly admire, and that I know more about.
Jamie Moore - All round great guy, always went in there to fight, exciting to watch and whether he won or lost he was always gracious.
Enzo Maccarinelli - Pretty much the same things, doesn't really do defence, rather tries to solve his problems by throwing more punches.
Jason Booth - Faced some difficult problems in his life, and could have gone downhill in a similar way that his brother did, but overcame his addiction and went on to fight for a world title, and won British and Commonwealth belts.
Vitali and Wladimir - Dignified, professional and ruthlessly good at what they do. Very rarely allow themselves to get provoked, and very few have even come close to beating them recently.
It took me a long time to come around on those two. But what the heck can one say anymore? They fight everyone and beat'em all.Quote:
Originally Posted by superheavyrhun
Barrera - He was willing to fight undefeated fighters at their best when he took Eriks and Naseems zero. The culture nowadays seems to cherry pick washed up leftovers but he proved himself by taking on challenges
Kessler - Hes another who wasnt scared to take on unbeaten fighters in their own backyard. Both times he was champ so he didnt have to but he chose to because he is a warrior
Froch - Theres a reason he is our best fighter. He constantly wants to prove himself against the best and isnt interested making a living out of picking easy fights at home.