Pernell Whitaker, Floyd Mayweather, and Willie Pep from the old days. Those would be my picks. Am I missing any that were up to par with those slicksters?
I've always been a big James Toney fan myself [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl50iVr25R8"]The Greatest Defensive Boxer of all Time - James Toney [HD] Highlight - YouTube[/ame]
Believe it or not, Mike Tyson had excellent defence in his early days...but the speed and footwork of M. Ali reign supreme. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC5PTPV4Frg"]Mike Tyson - Greatest Exhibition of Defense in Boxing History - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCxgODaBiBw"]PELEA COMPLETA LOCCHE VS FUJI TOKIO JAPON. - YouTube[/ame] Probably one of the least mentioned defensive masters, he looks like a rugged barrel chested brawler, but he was as slippery as a ball baring in detergent, this is a clip of one of his most one sided fights.
Oh man, Carl Froch! Seriously, considering how he hid how terrible his punch resistance was for so long over multiple weights, I have to say Roy Jones. Also, I wonder why Wilfred Benitez never gets mentioned in these discussions? Loved the Toney video by the way. Fantastic. Never thought hair suited him though!
Off the top of my head from this era James Toney. Hard to hit would have been 'Prince' Naseem Hamed... as much as I dislike his showmanship and flash and his big mouth... He was a super exciting fighter to watch and he didn't get hit a whole lot until Marc Antonio Barrera dismantled him. Guillermo Rigondeaux is probably the best. He simply doesn't get hit. No one can catch him. His footwork and ring generalship are just too slick. He's a hard sell on television because he's not your stereotypical fighter. He doesn't fit the stand and brawl idea that most know-nothing boxing fans have. He's about as perfect as a fighter gets. Or course the man who's frustrated so many fighters.... Bernard Hopkins. Too wiley... to crafty. Very old school. Knows just when to tie you up. Just when to hang on. Just when throw a shot on the non-ref side. Big fan of B-hop. In boxing eras past there were many - Wilfred Benitez, Archie Moore, Nicolino Locche. I'll leave you with a tribute to Nicolono Locche to feast your eyes on. *edit - oops I saw Belltoller already posted his name. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8aerkHG_7A"]Nicolino Locche - El Intocable (The Untouchable) - YouTube[/ame] It's also worth mentioning... from eras past there are so many insanely good defensive fighters. Now more than at any time in history we are lucky to be able to search on YouTube and come up with clips of their bouts. Fifteen years ago it wasn't so easy. We had to mail off for VHS tapes from some guy in the UK or somewhere in NY. Even with that... there are still some guys who are not always easy to find clips of - much of it because it wasn't recorded on film at the time of the fight.
Though many complaints that he is a 'boring' fighter to watch, Super Bantam weight Guillermo Rigondeaux is said to be one of the hardest boxers to hit - no surprise he from Cuba. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4mfylu9FyQ"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4mfylu9FyQ[/ame]
Yes bro... he's a boxers boxer. He always puts on an absolute master class in boxing. His footwork and balance are some of the best to ever grace the square ring. He's a joy to watch.
There are a good many fighters that most boxing fans simply won't know about. Why is that? Because they require you to read and study. Not high on the TO DO list of most boxing fans. But boxing fans of a certain level there are any number of scholars who'll take the time and do the research. And boy what a deep history to be able to pull from. With that being said... Panama has always produced some fantastic fighters... and here's a gem of a defensive fighter: Hilario Zapata [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkh4t1XU30"]Hilario Zapata Highlights - YouTube[/ame]
James Toney was good, Roberto Duran in his prime was a good defensive fighter. But Pernell Sweet Pea Whitaker was the best.
Look how much trouble Oscar De LA Hoya had with Sweet Pea and this was an aging drug addicted Whitaker going downhill fast. Pernel Whitaker in his prime would have handed Oscar his ass on a silver platter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmGRrc5noo
And... if you look back at the boxers of the 30s, 40s and 50s... perhaps even the 60s. There are many fighters who would have dismantled Pernell Whittaker. Let's keep it in perspective. Sweet Pea has come in conversations with many of the great trainers in boxing and several who are universally held in high regard feel the same that had he been fighting in an earlier era he'd be relatively run of the mill and probably dispatched without too much work. That being said... I like Sweetpea... the classic fight of his to watch is Sweet Pea VS Buddy McGirt [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC7bt87NgYI"]Pernell Whitaker vs. Buddy McGirt II part 1 - YouTube[/ame]
"Things were always better in the good old days." Yeah, right. It's never a sensible thing to say. Whittaker "run of the mill?" Would get dismantled in the 30's - 60's? Garbage! How many Chavez, De La Hoya's, etc, we're about then? Old timers should give credit where it is due. Whittaker was a great, absolutely no doubt about it. Shame about the drugs, shame he didn't dedicate himself like Mayweather. Wow! Imagine if he did. But things improve, and boxing in his era was a lot higher standard than 30-60 years previous. It just was. But it would never have progressed without the earlier fighters, so theyust be respected. Without them, there would be no Leonard's, Floyds, etc. But if you had a time machine, they wouldn't even be competitive. Like Jesse Owens racing Bolt.
Can you mention some of these trainers who feel like this about Sweet Pea? A run of the mill fighter seems like a big exaggeration to me. George Benton, his trainer considered him as his masterpiece and he had trained a bunch of big names, like McCallum, Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor etc..
Speaking of George Benton....A pretty damm good defensive fighter himself . [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwYnF8SWNjs"]George Benton Tribute - YouTube[/ame]
It's very hard to compare sportsmen from different eras. But to take that last example, who's to say that with modern training methods, equipment, diet, etc. Jesse Owens couldn't win? I don't see how you can call it with any certainty one way or the other. They were each the best of their time, it's just that the times have changed.
