xx i think that duran had the smartest defence out of them all i mean he was truly dynamic it was like watching a peice of art when you see him slipping then punches
What made duran so special defensively was that he transtitioned from his aggressive offense to his defense at a high speed , he didn't think defense first he was a offensive machine with great defensive skills at the same time , almost a seamless transition!!!
Duran is absolutely unstoppable at 135, he uses Pep's spinning the opponent around technique perfectly, that is how he was able to keep Leonard on the ropes all night in the 1st one, nobody does that properly now.
In my opinion that is what this video is all about. Showing the different methods employed, from Ali's reflexes and use of angles, to Duran's rolling and slipping while going forward. It's a great video!
I love watching Duran. I don't think there's ever ben a boxer with a more dynamic and great looking style. The way he could slip and dodge and still be in his opponents face was a marvel to watch. Even as he got older and slower, he still knew how to take the power out of his opponents punches, even if he was no longer fast enough to entirely avoid them.
Thanks bro. I just watch your two vids..... You are a real boxing fan, and knows a lot about it. I believe you've practice this sport, otherwise you won't make such perfect choices. See you on the ring brother.
Thanks, I hadn't seen it on a first glow ! What an impresive subtility. But my favorite move is Walcott's left uppercut at 1:33 against Charles. Another thing you just don't see anymore neither.
Agreed. Good vid, and I knew Duran would be in this vid. The guy was damn near impossible to hit with a clean punch especially at lightweight. The old saying was "Leonard would make u miss by a foot, Duran by an inch." Amazing.
@TheGreatA: I am so glad you have Wilfred Benitez in there not that you could have igneored his defensive wizardry because he is regarded as one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. The most amazing thing about Wilfred Benitez is hardly ever moved his feet when evading punches. His genius was the fact that he could stand in one place, not moving his feet and still not get hit! He was simply amazing! The other thing is he fought his whole career moving backwards! One word, wow!
nice video. n its good you put mayweather in there because hes a great defensive boxer which alot of people dont appreciate. you forgot whitaker though.
ahhh a true connoisseur of the sweet science, watched a vid on Charley Burley other day, he's the originator of the shell defence right? absolutely sublime. Don't think anyone before him was so defensively astute.
hey man this is very nice .. i didnt realize how nice some of them old school dudes were.... how about JAMES TONEY footage if you have any he should rank as one of the best
I've been planning on doing this for a while. I finally decided to put it together due to a thread in ESB boxing forum. Now I have made videos of the hardest hitters, the fastest boxers and the defensive artists. I think Whitaker, Locche, Pep and Benitez would be top 4 for just about anybody. Your video is good though but it's not where I got my inspiration.
Mike Tyson had the best defense that set up the offensive attack that I have ever seen. The greatest defense does nothing for you if you can just dodge punches, but never hit them back. Everything Tyson did defensive wise set him up for his own combinations, which made him so incredible.
James Toney, Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright are all HUGE exclusions from this list. I hope he makes a part three, with those guys, and Tyson. Although with Tyson you could argue that he didn't have a sustainably great defense like the other three who maintained their defensive prowess throughout their whole career.
Both part 1 and part 2 of this video had all of the good defensive fighters. Roy Jones Jr, Prince Naseem Hamed, James Toney had great to brilliant denfense as well.
haha,me too, I like to learn stuff from Walcott because he's not fast, he relies of great technique. There's a video where Walcott trains for the Marciano fight and there's a clip there where he spars and he fakes going one way-he goes that way, but then he literally glides the other way, I can't describe it, but it's so cool, you need to see it.
Ha Benitez, what a sweet fefender, you're right, as for Lochhe who is incredible. And about the "Old Mongoose" defense, look at Foreman's one and you will understand why Archie Moore was his coach for a time....
This video needs James Toney and Winky Wright. Wright didn't just shell up like many people think, he set up all kinds of attacks. The man went 24 rounds with Mosley, and never got a scratch, need I say more about his defense? Oh yeah and he dominated both fights too, he had good offense and a terrific jab.
This is all I could fit in two parts. As I said, part 3 is a work in progress. I wouldn't say that all of these fighters had amazing reflexes. It's mostly knowing where the opponent is going to throw a punch, before he even throws it. A video about the hardest p4p punchers of all time is certainly a possibility.
Walcott was so slick, could stick and move with that lateral and diagonal step. Ali was pure leg speed in his early days. After his legal battle, he was easier to hit.
There are fighters that go into the ring with a "taking punches" gameplan. Ali's Rope-a-Dope is an obvious example. When Duran fought Moore he didn't care about taking his punches, he himself said that he knew Moore couldn't hurt him, and used this to batter the guy. Watch Benitez vs Hearns and you will see that sometimes when Hearns connects Benitez will roll with the punches renderring them almost useless. Slipping isn't the only type of defense.
"Hank Kaplan wrote, that his “defense is the best seen in the heavyweight division in many years.” In his fights with Bonecrusher Smith and Tony Tucker each man only landed one significant punch in their entire fights. Tyson’s perpetual motion bob and weave was designed to make an opponent miss while always being in position to punch.
ur totally right. same with tyson.tyson was a great offensive fighter,but at the same time he had great head movement and upper body movement. it s hard to say he was a great defensive fighter, but still he had great defense.same with roberto duran
George Benton should be on this list. He had the best balanced and most stylish defensive style of boxing iv ever seen. One of the greats that never got a title shot.
I think you included a lot of good head movements but you neglected the blow blocking part. I would have liked to see some Joe Louis blocking skills, you can also find that on Joe Gans or Jack Johnsons footages. Do you know that these guys used to catch even jabs with their glove open ? and Johnson used to hit his opponents biceps to tire them.. could be awesome to find that.. great vids though.
I think Charley Burley had a better defense. Burley had the slip, the roll, the shoulder roll and lateral movement in a way Floyd simply doesn't possess.
2 fighters stood out to me the most in this video - Ali and Duran. Duran=the greatest lightweight who ever lived bar none. However, every time I watch Mayweather I am convinced of one thing - he may well be the most gifted boxer who ever lived. That doesnt mean I am saying he is the greatest to have laced them up but as far as pure god given talent, he ranks above everyone I have seen in my eyes. He can do it all in the ring, box, brawl, defend, attack and I think he punches plenty hard enough.
@TheGreatA o rite i guess hes in that yh ? i didnt read the title properly cos the "part 2" part like, didnt register to me. but yh i will watch part 1 after i post this
For a long time I've been planning on making a third part including the notable defensive artists who were left out. The problem has been that there are simply too many! No way to fit them all in. But with youtube's new 15 minute limit I might as well do another part by the end of the year.
Marlon Starling should be on every list of greatest defensive fighters. Moochie could stand right in the pocket and not get hit , not a dancer but an inside defensive counter-puncher who had a great uppercut and peek-a-boo style. Should be TOP 5 All-Time , period.
I'm not sure I would define Muhammed Ali as having a great defense. Really with him he just had insane reflexes, and used angles like crazy. I guess that is technically defense, but not in the way you'd see from Mayweather or Toney etc. Ali really excelled because of his brains, he didn't have flashy defensive moves like shoulder rolls and such, he just never put himself in any bad situations. IDK maybe that's the point, but yeah his defense was all about smarts and very gifted reflexes.
I ran out of time, youtube has a limit of 10 minutes 59 seconds. Canto along with some others were originally included but I couldn't fit the whole video here. I've been planning on doing a third part for a while now but I haven't had had the time and there is still some footage that I need to acquire.
I agree there are definitely similarities. But check out my Willie Pep and Wilfred Benitez highlights, that's where I took most of my footage. I guess there's just a very limited amount of film that you can use of these great fighters, especially Pep and Locche. It's never a bad thing to have a couple of videos highlighting defense, since there are already hundreds of other videos which are all about the KO's. The true art of boxing has always been to hit and not get hit.
Sorry about the Mayweather part ending up a little short. RU-vid wouldn't allow the video to go on any longer than 11 minutes. I'm aware that some of the fighters included here might not be what I'd describe as "defensive artists", for example Ali got hit a ton later on in his career and Duran was hardly defensive, but they were added to bring some variety to the video with their particular styles. I've been working on a third part but it'll take me a while until I finish that.
Moore also was a Light Heavyweight, and Ezzard had beaten Louis, so I'm not sure it is so important, especialy because in this time heavyweights were "lighter" than now. But I totally agree with prime Tyson's defense, one of the most impressive I've ever seen. It is strange that most people remembers Mike as a pure puncher and not as the great defensive boxer he was !
