boxer with best technique

[BigMKO]

has anyone mentioned Larry Holmes?

[SABBATH]

Ali might be on there if he didn't always box with his arms at around his upper stomach all the time. Other than that he was fine.

In his prime, Ali kept his hands at chest level because it shortened the distance his punches had to travel to hit a shorter opponent which was the case with the majority of the guys he fought. It compounded his handspeed and allowed him to counter punch quicker.

As Ali was not a guy who usually blocked and parried punches that were headed for his jaw, he didn't keep his hand up high in the traditional fighting stance.

As Ali aged and his reflexes dulled, his hands were held higher.

[butterfly1964]

In his prime, Ali kept his hands at chest level because it shortened the distance his punches had to travel to hit a shorter opponent which was the case with the majority of the guys he fought. It compounded his handspeed and allowed him to counter punch quicker.

As Ali was not a guy who usually blocked and parried punches that were headed for his jaw, he didn't keep his hand up high in the traditional fighting stance.

As Ali aged and his reflexes dulled, his hands were held higher.

I've even seen fights in Ali prime where he held his hands high. Mildenberger, Folley, and others.

[wmute]

willie pep
joe louis
floyd mayweather jr

I was veeery impressed with some very old footage of I think Joe Gans (I am almost sure it was him)

honorable mention to
ray robinson (his defense was little used, be it choice or necessity)
whitaker (very unorthodox, so i dont know)
can i say mike mccallum?

[wmute]

I forgot Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Joe Walcott, and from what i could only
read Jimmy Bivins and Charley Burley

[cyberthugpatrol]

Ricardo "Finito" Lopez

[Kid Achilles]

Ali was never very good at parrying a jab, not at any point in his career. When he slowed down he did do a better job of covering up, especially on the ropes, but the parry was one skill he never mastered.

[Pork Chop]

I probably shouldn't have also forgot guys like...
Tunney, Greb, Loughrain, Mickey Walker, Langford, Giardello, Kid Chocolate, Kid Gavilan, Corbett, Mendoza, Figg, Henry Armstrong, Harada, Khaosai Galaxy, Benitez, Monzon, Jack Johnson, Dempsey, Cuevas, De la Hoya, Sal Sanchez, Mclellan, Benn, Tzyuu, JC Chavez, man I could be here a while....

[cyberthugpatrol]

I probably shouldn't have also forgot guys like...
Tunney, Greb, Loughrain, Mickey Walker, Langford, Giardello, Kid Chocolate, Kid Gavilan, Corbett, Mendoza, Figg, Henry Armstrong, Harada, Khaosai Galaxy, Benitez, Monzon, Jack Johnson, Dempsey, Cuevas, De la Hoya, Sal Sanchez, Mclellan, Benn, Tzyuu, JC Chavez, man I could be here a while....

yuo forgot Cheech Marin

[SABBATH]

Ali was never very good at parrying a jab, not at any point in his career. When he slowed down he did do a better job of covering up, especially on the ropes, but the parry was one skill he never mastered.

Boxing historians like to shovel that line as evidence of Ali's shortcomings as a fighter when in fact his unconventional unpredictable style was one of his greatest strengths.

Parrying a jab with the right hand isn't rocket science. It's pretty easy to learn and execute. In Ali's case, he chose to free up his right hand in order to counter over his opponents jab which requires instictive timing, speed and gauge of distance. Ali would sometimes pull back an inch out of range of a jab before countering (Ali-Liston II, Ali-Williams ).

Henry Cooper in his biography stated:

"I would jab once, the I'd double jab. He'd jerk his head back to the first, then the second and I'd sling in yet another jab and he'd jerk back from that too. He could judge a punch to the last quarter inch...he could play with margins as narrow as that...but after his jerks he could still come back with a sneaky right hand."

Zora Folley in Sports Illustrated:

There's no way to train yourself for what he does. The moves, the speed, the punches and the way he changes style every time you think you got him figured. The right hands Ali hit me with just had no business landing but they did. They came from nowhere. Many times he was in the wrong position but he hit me anyway. I've never seen anyone who could do that. The knockdown punch was so fast that I never saw it. He has lots of snap, and when the punches land they dizzy your head; they fuzz up your mind. He's smart. The trickiest fighter I've seen. He's had twenty-nine fights and acts like he's had a hundred. He could write the book on boxing, and anyone that fights him should be made to read it."