Athletes v Boxers

[beenKOed]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

[Master]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

I have not seen any footage of him but I have read he had a very low heart rate so he did not tire once he got going which is ideal for an athlete. Did he have boxing skills to supersede his athleticism? Probably not.

[beenKOed]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

I have not seen any footage of him but I have read he had a very low heart rate so he did not tire once he got going which is ideal for an athlete. Did he have boxing skills to supersede his athleticism? Probably not.

I've never heard about the low heart rate before, the thing I've heard about Armstrong several times is that he was a real hound for the ladies.
Supposedly the biggest problem they had in training camp was keeping the ladies out. When the man wasn't beating someone's butt he had his nose in air checking for perfume. My hero. Lol

[IamInuit]

Joe Calzaghe is a boxer
Hopkins is a boxer
Floyd Mayweather is a boxer
Ali and Holmes are boxers
Rigo is a boxer
Dirrell is a boxer

Manny Pacquaiu is an athlete
Froch is an athlete
Frank Bruno is an athlete

That line can be pretty fine my friend. Its almost a which came first the chicken or the egg kind of question. I'd wager for example that Meldrick Taylor was a natural athlete and most likely a guy picked first in any kind of scrimmage growing up. Same with Jones. The kind of hand/eye coordination and reflexes that make you think they are sporting compound eyes. Calzaghe also and guys like Ali, Leonard, Whitaker,Locche,Pep, Burley, Floyd. Many fighters are both and some like Roy rely on those naturally athletic gifts more than their boxing skills. Roy barely showed a jab his entire career. I cant think of another fighter in history that could have even reached gate keeper status w/o a decent one let alone dominating the sport for a decade. He had one, that was clear in the Paz fight but he never needed it.

I think of guys like Froch and Hopkins the other way. They were not born with the same athletic gifts but worked hard at their craft and found a place in it through grit and good ole boxing fundamentals combined a Lamotta like mentality of trench warfare. I agree with @Beanflicker. It would be tough to separate the two in many cases and put one or the other on different sides of the room.

[Master]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

I have not seen any footage of him but I have read he had a very low heart rate so he did not tire once he got going which is ideal for an athlete. Did he have boxing skills to supersede his athleticism? Probably not.

I've never heard about the low heart rate before, the thing I've heard about Armstrong several times is that he was a real hound for the ladies.
Supposedly the biggest problem they had in training camp was keeping the ladies out. When the man wasn't beating someone's butt he had his nose in air checking for perfume. My hero. Lol

I did not know about his weakness for women. His heart rate was per minute was 38-48 which meant he has to warm up a lot but once he got going he was hard to stop.

[Master]

Joe Calzaghe is a boxer
Hopkins is a boxer
Floyd Mayweather is a boxer
Ali and Holmes are boxers
Rigo is a boxer
Dirrell is a boxer

Manny Pacquaiu is an athlete
Froch is an athlete
Frank Bruno is an athlete

That line can be pretty fine my friend. Its almost a which came first the chicken or the egg kind of question. I'd wager for example that Meldrick Taylor was a natural athlete and most likely a guy picked first in any kind of scrimmage growing up. Same with Jones. The kind of hand/eye coordination and reflexes that make you think they are sporting compound eyes. Calzaghe also and guys like Ali, Leonard, Whitaker,Locche,Pep, Burley, Floyd. Many fighters are both and some like Roy rely on those naturally athletic gifts more than their boxing skills. Roy barely showed a jab his entire career. I cant think of another fighter in history that could have even reached gate keeper status w/o a decent one let alone dominating the sport for a decade. He had one, that was clear in the Paz fight but he never needed it.

I think of guys like Froch and Hopkins the other way. They were not born with the same athletic gifts but worked hard at their craft and found a place in it through grit and good ole boxing fundamentals combined a Lamotta like mentality of trench warfare. I agree with @Beanflicker. It would be tough to separate the two in many cases and put one or the other on different sides of the room.

You are right as always I would put meldrick Taylor predominantly as a boxer.

What about Evander Holyfield?

[IamInuit]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

I have not seen any footage of him but I have read he had a very low heart rate so he did not tire once he got going which is ideal for an athlete. Did he have boxing skills to supersede his athleticism? Probably not.

I've never heard about the low heart rate before, the thing I've heard about Armstrong several times is that he was a real hound for the ladies.
Supposedly the biggest problem they had in training camp was keeping the ladies out. When the man wasn't beating someone's butt he had his nose in air checking for perfume. My hero. Lol

I did not know about his weakness for women. His heart rate was per minute was 38-48 which meant he has to warm up a lot but once he got going he was hard to stop.

It was found after his death that he had an over-sized heart which would account for more fuel getting into the combustion chamber giving him his inhuman pace.

[Spicoli]

Timbeeeerrr Maybe Tye would have had much more success sticking as a starter for SDSU B- ball

Definitely not an athletic boxer! When they come late to boxing from another sport they are usually boxers.

What do you think of Wald? Compared to the the rest of the big guys he looks pretty athletic.

Wald, boxer first IMO.

I'm thinking in more literal terms I guess but I'd label Wlad athlete more so. But not his brother so much, just styles. Ultimate case would be Wlad vs Sanders athlete vs boxer. Chris Byrd athlete? Maybe a Bruce Seldon type an athlete...though stamina was horrible.

[IamInuit]

Joe Calzaghe is a boxer
Hopkins is a boxer
Floyd Mayweather is a boxer
Ali and Holmes are boxers
Rigo is a boxer
Dirrell is a boxer

Manny Pacquaiu is an athlete
Froch is an athlete
Frank Bruno is an athlete

That line can be pretty fine my friend. Its almost a which came first the chicken or the egg kind of question. I'd wager for example that Meldrick Taylor was a natural athlete and most likely a guy picked first in any kind of scrimmage growing up. Same with Jones. The kind of hand/eye coordination and reflexes that make you think they are sporting compound eyes. Calzaghe also and guys like Ali, Leonard, Whitaker,Locche,Pep, Burley, Floyd. Many fighters are both and some like Roy rely on those naturally athletic gifts more than their boxing skills. Roy barely showed a jab his entire career. I cant think of another fighter in history that could have even reached gate keeper status w/o a decent one let alone dominating the sport for a decade. He had one, that was clear in the Paz fight but he never needed it.

I think of guys like Froch and Hopkins the other way. They were not born with the same athletic gifts but worked hard at their craft and found a place in it through grit and good ole boxing fundamentals combined a Lamotta like mentality of trench warfare. I agree with @Beanflicker. It would be tough to separate the two in many cases and put one or the other on different sides of the room.

You are right as always I would put meldrick Taylor predominantly as a boxer.

What about Evander Holyfield?

I could see both Holyfield and Bruno being a little clumsy in other sports and also their skills being learned rather then being a result of natural athletic ability. Holy also had a good boxing brain imo like Hopkins witch evens things out. Most likely also based on experience. The real athletic guys get away with all kinds of stuff and the technical defensive wizards like Floyd are born. Sr and uncle Roger may have got him behind the shoulder as a toddler but the rest is all Floyd. Incredible boxer but also a great athlete. Its a real tough question because I'm not sure where the demarcation line is or if it exists at all aside from freaks like Jones and Armstrong among a handful of others.

[beenKOed]

How about Henry Armstrong, boxer first or athlete first.
I think he was an athlete first. When there were only 8 belts, Armstrong held three of them for a while in the 30s.

I have not seen any footage of him but I have read he had a very low heart rate so he did not tire once he got going which is ideal for an athlete. Did he have boxing skills to supersede his athleticism? Probably not.

I've never heard about the low heart rate before, the thing I've heard about Armstrong several times is that he was a real hound for the ladies.
Supposedly the biggest problem they had in training camp was keeping the ladies out. When the man wasn't beating someone's butt he had his nose in air checking for perfume. My hero. Lol

I did not know about his weakness for women. His heart rate was per minute was 38-48 which meant he has to warm up a lot but once he got going he was hard to stop.

It was found after his death that he had an over-sized heart which would account for more fuel getting into the combustion chamber giving him his inhuman pace.

Definitely! I have read about cyclists with resting heart rates in the mid 30s. Almost unbelievable.

[bradlee180]

Yep, elite marathon runners have a resting heart rate of about 36 beats per minute.
A rare few are at 32 or 31 b/m.
Unbelievable.

Fighters who can drive the pace hard all night long are the same.
Pacquiao was about 42 b/m I think.

Calzaghe would've been low too.

[Master]

Yep, elite marathon runners have a resting heart rate of about 36 beats per minute.
A rare few are at 32 or 31 b/m.
Unbelievable.

Fighters who can drive the pace hard all night long are the same.
Pacquiao was about 42 b/m I think.

Calzaghe would've been low too.

Mines is low too think it was 48 at my physical peak.