Footwork

[scurlaruntings]

Did Ali have the greatest footwork of all times?

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[flamengo]

What does one say?? He was obviously unique for a H/W with his feet and balance combined with timing and speed.. it all went together perfectly for him pre-exile..

[Sweet Pea]

Technically his footwork was very flawed, bu then so was the rest of his game. Effectiveness is key, and his feet made him the most elusive HW of all time. In that case, for a HW I'd definitely say so. I can't say a man who made such fundamental errors with his footwork had the best of all time, though. That distinction would probably go to Willie Pep, all things considered.

[teeto]

Technically his footwork was very flawed, bu then so was the rest of his game. Effectiveness is key, and his feet made him the most elusive HW of all time. In that case, for a HW I'd definitely say so. I can't say a man who made such fundamental errors with his footwork had the best of all time, though. That distinction would probably go to Willie Pep, all things considered.
Spot on. Mayweather's footwork is brilliant, Robinson also, if you factor in balance, then we could say maybe Napoles and Rodriguez possibly, Rodriguez for the lateral stuff i'd say.

[Sweet Pea]

I've never thought too highly of Floyd's footwork, to be honest. I thought Roy Jones had pretty phenomenal footwork back in the day.

[junior-soprano]

if we only look at the heavyweights.. YES he defintely had. by far better then any other heavyweight. don't care if people say it was technically not perfect. the result. that's what matters.

[rekcutnevets]

Posted by Sweet Pea
Technically his footwork was very flawed, bu then so was the rest of his game. Effectiveness is key, and his feet made him the most elusive HW of all time. In that case, for a HW I'd definitely say so. I can't say a man who made such fundamental errors with his footwork had the best of all time, though. That distinction would probably go to Willie Pep, all things considered.Well said, and I agree.

A fighter that I think is often overlooked in terms of footwork is Julio Cesar Chavez. Chavez was never considered a speed demon, but how often was his opponents able to evade him? Chavez cut the ring off as well as anyone.

Chavez is often categorized as a "swarmer" or something similar. There is really a lot more to it than that. Chavez had a great understanding of range. Chavez knew where he was effective, and how to maintain that position. Chavez was often the aggressor, but that is because he was most often the stronger fighter and his opponents were usually in retreat. Chavez had the ability to outmaneuver an aggressive opponent as well. Chavez was one of the best offensive fighters ever, and did not want his offense smothered. If an opponent came forward, Chavez would regress so as to keep his preferred range.

If you've never paid attention to Chavez' footwork, I urge you to do so. It is almost like he is dancing with his opponent, trying to maintain his desired distance.

[red cobra]

Well said, and I agree.

A fighter that I think is often overlooked in terms of footwork is Julio Cesar Chavez. Chavez was never considered a speed demon, but how often was his opponents able to evade him? Chavez cut the ring off as well as anyone.

Chavez is often categorized as a "swarmer" or something similar. There is really a lot more to it than that. Chavez had a great understanding of range. Chavez knew where he was effective, and how to maintain that position. Chavez was often the aggressor, but that is because he was most often the stronger fighter and his opponents were usually in retreat. Chavez had the ability to outmaneuver an aggressive opponent as well. Chavez was one of the best offensive fighters ever, and did not want his offense smothered. If an opponent came forward, Chavez would regress so as to keep his preferred range.

If you've never paid attention to Chavez' footwork, I urge you to do so. It is almost like he is dancing with his opponent, trying to maintain his desired distance.
You are right about Chavez...his game was very effective.

[Mendoza]

I would say Pep had the best footwork of all time.

[red cobra]

Pep was magnificent..as was, in a different way Napoles.

[Above Deck]

Benny Leonard had very effective footwork.

Didnt look as flashy as Roys or Alis, but was probably
more effective.

[red cobra]

Wifredo Gomez' footwork was subtle and very effective..check out for example, his destruction of Carlos Zarate.

[red cobra]

Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn and Gene Tunney, 3 Irishman with great footwork.

[teeto]

I've never thought too highly of Floyd's footwork, to be honest. I thought Roy Jones had pretty phenomenal footwork back in the day.
I hink his footwork is brilliant personally, it's not something he employs constantly, as he likes to sit in the pocket or on the ropes through choice at times, but it's very much existent, and it's quality. Like last night his gameplan was to exploit the weakness of Marquez, which is the Mexican's footwork, he knew that if he just stepped once or twice to left or right that Marquez wouldn't be able to get set, just completely executed a gameplan to perfection. Not to big up the win there, just the performance and tactical astuteness purely.

[ChrisPontius]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Whitaker yet... he was brilliant because he could evade a 3-4 punch combination while circling and still being in good balance to throw a counter punch without falling down or anything. McCallum and Mayweather Jr. (very impressive yesterday) are up there as well.

But yeah, as far as heavyweights go, Ali is at lonesome heights footwork-wise.

[teeto]

Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn and Gene Tunney, 3 Irishman with great footwork.
All great shouts, i want to emphasise Loughran though, absolute quality.

[teeto]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Whitaker yet... he was brilliant because he could evade a 3-4 punch combination while circling and still being in good balance to throw a counter punch without falling down or anything. McCallum and Mayweather Jr. (very impressive yesterday) are up there as well.

But yeah, as far as heavyweights go, Ali is at lonesome heights footwork-wise.
People will point out Whitaker's 'incorrect' usage of footwork, but again, in terms of effectiveness it was the cream of the crop.

[scurlaruntings]

Technically his footwork was very flawed, bu then so was the rest of his game. Effectiveness is key, and his feet made him the most elusive HW of all time. In that case, for a HW I'd definitely say so. I can't say a man who made such fundamental errors with his footwork had the best of all time, though. That distinction would probably go to Willie Pep, all things considered.From a purist perspective Ali did have flaws. He dropped his hands. He pulled back on shots instead of moving laterally etc. BUT his footwork to me is the best iv ever seen. Iv not seen anyone move as fluidly as a prime Ali.

[Sweet Pea]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Whitaker yet... he was brilliant because he could evade a 3-4 punch combination while circling and still being in good balance to throw a counter punch without falling down or anything. McCallum and Mayweather Jr. (very impressive yesterday) are up there as well.

But yeah, as far as heavyweights go, Ali is at lonesome heights footwork-wise.Whitaker's footwork was probably his biggest flaw. I cringe watching his feet sometimes. It's almost like he felt he didn't need to worry about such arbitrary things because his upper-body work was so sublime that it more than made up for it. That was indeed the truth, but it's also one of the reasons I have less confidence these days of his ability to beat a guy like Duran. It put him off balance and into far too many awkward positions than needed.

[groove]

fluid is what it's all about. broken rhythem is key. this will go over a lot of people's heads.

[jones1]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Whitaker yet... he was brilliant because he could evade a 3-4 punch combination while circling and still being in good balance to throw a counter punch without falling down or anything. McCallum and Mayweather Jr. (very impressive yesterday) are up there as well.

But yeah, as far as heavyweights go, Ali is at lonesome heights footwork-wise.
yeah but he crossed his feet

[ChrisPontius]

Whitaker's footwork was probably his biggest flaw. I cringe watching his feet sometimes. It's almost like he felt he didn't need to worry about such arbitrary things because his upper-body work was so sublime that it more than made up for it. That was indeed the truth, but it's also one of the reasons I have less confidence these days of his ability to beat a guy like Duran. It put him off balance and into far too many awkward positions than needed.

I disagree... maybe it wasn't pretty, but it was effective as hell and he could keep the movement up all night. I like his chances vs Duran.

[rekcutnevets]

Posted by ChrisPontius
I disagree... maybe it wasn't pretty, but it was effective as hell and he could keep the movement up all night. I like his chances vs Duran.
I like his chances with Duran as well, and don't think his footwork would be a detriment against Duran. I do believe Whitaker put himself in off balanced positions, usually while playing the role of the aggressor. When pressing Whitaker would widen his stance, sometimes cross his feet in pursuit, and on the occasions he was dropped he was often in this mode.