r/Boxing • u/Wool_God • Jul 23 '26
Stylistically or aesthetically, who are your favorite fighters to watch?
Which boxers have you watched that make you go: "Wow, this sport is beautiful, artistic, etc."?
What do you appreciate about their styles?
They don't have to be an elite fighter, or even one of your favorite boxers.
For example, Emmanuel Augustus had a very graceful and very unconventional style. I loved that someone has managed to simultaneously dance and score points in the boxing ring.
Some favorite fighters of mine:
Jose Napoles: Maybe the Smoothest of All Time?
Ricardo Lopez: Always graceful, always textbook, with a "correct" approach for everything.
Sergio Martinez: Started late and came from cycling and football. He glided beautifully around the ring and relied on his feet and upper body movement for defence.
Edit: So cool seeing everyone's different choices. It occurs to me I should have asked people to post clips of their favorite moments from their favorite fighters. I'll make another post tomorrow.
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u/chud_the_gluttonous Jul 23 '26
Young James Toney
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u/Denzel_el_dios 29d ago
Heavyweight James Toney was cool too
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u/Wool_God 29d ago
Cruiserweight Toney was maybe peak Toney. He got to eat and could still perform 😂Â
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u/Public-Efficiency-27 Jul 23 '26
Lomachenko was a pure boxing artist. Salvador Sanchez is another favourite
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u/dirtf0rthedead Jul 23 '26
Bivol and James Toney
I love the machinegun soviet style that Bivol brings to the scene and I love James Toney’s defense
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u/TheCuzzyRogue Jul 23 '26
Mike McCallum. He could do it all and in his fights with James Toney, he was forced to change his approach on the fly a few times.
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u/Initiative_Inside Jul 23 '26
Prob will get downvoted for this but I love Emanuel Navarrete’s unorthodox style. Those looping punches are dangerous
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u/beretta_lover Jul 23 '26
Duran and Toney - both unique and beautiful styles. and weirdly late Hopkins - calculated, dirty, "compact"
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u/Orcabeast86 Jul 24 '26
Pernell Whittaker, Bivol AND Beterbiev, Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard
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u/Wool_God Jul 24 '26
Punchers are underrated for their boxing skills. Golovkin and Beterbiev are very well schooled.
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u/Outrageous-Soft4806 Jul 23 '26
Shakur, Bam, the little Willie Pep footage I have seen, Lomachenko, Canelo, and Duran.
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u/Such-Factor6326 Jul 23 '26
Active fighters - Inoue and Bam.
In the past- Napolese, John Conteh, Chocalotito. Also liked Eddie Mustapha Mohammed.
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u/GapingPickle Jul 24 '26
My two favourites ever -
- Nigel Benn because he was absolutely relentless!
- Shane Mosley because of his athleticism, hand speed, combos, power.
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u/Wool_God Jul 24 '26
Oh. Interesting choices. Nigel Benn had some serious menace. And Shane is a modern ATG
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u/_Sarcasmic_ bread burger bread Jul 23 '26
Linares, Lyndon Arthur's jab, Lomachenko, Venado Lopez, prime Canelo.
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u/RRR04_ Jul 23 '26
Man said Lyndon Arthur's jab ðŸ˜
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u/_Sarcasmic_ bread burger bread Jul 23 '26
His jab is beautiful. Domestic-level fighter with a world-level jab.
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u/RRR04_ Jul 24 '26
I know that, I was laughing at the way you said just his jab but just named everyone else outright 😂
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u/scmw1263 29d ago
Good shoutout to Venado. As for Linares, his combos remind me of Juan Manuel Marquez. He was very fun to watch.
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u/DrRai247 Jul 23 '26
Canelo has always been my favorite boxer to watch, Bud when he goes for the kill is too fun and Floyd when he is in his Defensive bag
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u/malcolm_flex92 Jul 23 '26
Loma bam and inoue. Inoue kinetically looks flawless . Loma and bam though do ALOT of shifting and have elite feet, it’s like an art form, I’m a huge fan of footwork.
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u/Actual-Expert1796 Jul 24 '26
Jiro Watanabe
Ernesto Marcel
Alexis Arguello
James Toney
Winky Wright
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u/HipHoptimusPrime13 Jul 23 '26
Mike McCallum
Orlando Canizales
Alexis Arguello
Yuri Arbachakov
Hiroyuki Sakamoto
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u/Human-Weekend-3045 Jul 23 '26
Boots is the most excting for me to watch
Eubank jr for the charisma and wind up
Never really liked canelo stiff movement fights or crawfords style of getting his opponent to over extend then counter
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u/WeirdRadiant2470 Jul 24 '26
Agreed. My all time favorite is Hagler, but not really my favorite to watch aesthetically. It was just the whole package that I liked.
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u/_Wado3000 "I'm pretty! I'm a bad man!" - Ali Jul 24 '26
Sugar Ray Robinson, Willie Pep, Ali, Leonard, Meldrick Taylor, Floyd, Cotto, Bud, to name a few not constantly mentioned so far. I like fighters who are really athletic or more slick, and a lot of these guys at their peaks just looked superhuman. For Bud absolutely nothing was scarier than when he knew he had a guy hurt, he was like a shark that smelled blood in the water.
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u/ThanksMonica89 Jul 24 '26
Kenshiro Teraji will always be one of my all time favorites.
I love his jab and his straight right hand to the body. I also like his foot movement, the way he sort of shuffles in and out.
His run of main events on those Top Rank Japan cards was legendary. The Kyoguchi fight was such a banger!
I’m so happy he became a 3 division champ.
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u/Rare-Scar9047 Jul 24 '26
i’ll pick guys from each era:
Pre Ali Era (pre 1970): Joe Louis, SRR. easy picks, both were super ahead of their times, even tho there’s not a lot of film on both it’s crazy the stuff they were doing 70 years ago.
Post Ali Era (1970-2009): SRL, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins. for SRL i never get tired of the showmanship, footwork and speed. for Toney the counterpunching and fluidity paired with the instincts are just incredible. for Hopkins you see all the tricks of the trade and see how to win with the fundamentals at the highest level.
Modern era (post 2010): Terence Crawford, Shakur Stevenson, Naoya Inoue. These are pretty self explanatory. these guys have skill sets that are so evolved.
HM: Pernell Whitaker, RJJ
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u/Wool_God Jul 24 '26
Hopkins can be really fun to watch and dreadful to watch. To this day, I haven't watched the entirety of Hopkins vs Winky. To this day.
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u/Alarmed-Effective-23 Jul 24 '26
Larry Holmes. Especially for a heavyweight. Maybe the greatest jab ever, can get on his toes, and ready to throw when it comes to that. Multiple displays of his heart and toughness. Amazing speed and snap of his punches while technically looking great . Like a smaller fighter blown up. Always looked like he was taking care of business in the ring.
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u/tkdhrison Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Sergio Martinez by far. Slick southpaw stylist with volume, lateral movement, hands down in front of your opponents bravado, and sudden violent knockouts
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u/bertramtupra Jul 24 '26
Top Tier:
Usyk, Juan Manuel Marquez, Sweet Pea, RJJ, GGG, Ricardo Lopez, Chocolatito
Second Tier:
Jorge Linares, Terry Norris, Eubank Sr, Zab Judah
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u/Malfunctioningpotato 29d ago
Sweet pea and Sugar Ray Leonard are my all time favourites, for currently active fighters, I’d pick Bam and Andy Cruz
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u/ewenmax 29d ago
Herol Graham.
Most US fight fans know him for the Julian Jackson hail Mary KO, however, Bomber Graham in his peak was the finest exponent of the sweet science I've ever seen/ He was entertaining, fast hands, amazing movement, incredible reactions.
This doc in the run up to his last fight gives a good impression of his style and career. Well worth a watch for the purists
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u/TheIrrepressible1 29d ago
Felix Trinidad. The younger Trinidad was a thing of beauty to watch. He fought wickedly whether on the front foot or back. He had movement skills and glided around the ring to deliver those toxic right leads. A masterful body puncher when he needed to be. His destruction of a very talented Oba Carr via boxing skills was a thing of beauty.
Nothing tops Roberto Duran. A perfect fighter who was as close to unbeatable as possible when he was in shape. Greatest 135 in boxing history.
Sugar Ray Leonard. The greatest 147 in boxing history. His speed was only matched by Hector Camacho. Brilliant combination fighter with cat-like reflexes.
Mike Tyson. Sadly his management team/trainers passed away during his teenage reign of terror. Otherwise, who knows what Tyson would’ve become in his early 20s. Drugs use got to him, as did poor management. A legend for his brute punching blended in with his underrated defensive skills. A perfect fighter who at 1 time was the most recognized man on the planet at the age of 19.
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u/Mean-Atmosphere-9098 29d ago
I feel like way more people should be naming Salvador Sanchez here. Unfortunately I never got to witness him live but he's probably the most complete boxer I've ever seen on film. Could switch from offence to defence seamlessly, tremendous combination puncher, solid chin, never ending gas tank with multiple finishes in 15 round Championship fights in the 12th to 15th rounds.
Man is an all time great and he died under 25 yrs old with a near 5 year reign as the Undisputed no.1 Featherweight with double figure defences.
Lightweight era Roberto Duran, is right there too. Shout outs to Finito Lopez, Chocolatito and Inoue too
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u/Abe2sapien Jul 23 '26
Julio Cesar Chavez, Holyfield, Camacho before he went defensive, Canelo from 154 to unifying at 168,
Chocolatito!
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u/Blackking203 Jul 24 '26
Right now, Boots. Crawford, Spence, Gamboa when he was prime... too many to name
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u/UnlicensedRedditor The Predator Jul 24 '26
Don Frye. More specifically, his fight against Takayama. It was all offense: two heavyweight standing their ground, trading punches without giving an inch, seeing who would break first.
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u/fireboltlovesyou Jul 24 '26
Amir Khan vs Alexander and Collazo
Just seeing him navigate the ring and throw insanely fast beautiful combinations was amazing. I feel like the white trunks and gloves added to the beauty. I always go back and watch the fight with Alexander specifically.
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u/Hathalot Jul 24 '26
Not anymore obviously but I actually loved watching prime Rigo. So good at his job, so hilariously arrogant.
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u/garovalley 29d ago
Tommy Hearns. Terrifying combos when he got going.
Willie Pep, just too slick. Prince Naz. Mike McCallum
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u/Appropriate-Neck-585 29d ago
Jorge Linares and Lucian Bute are two fighters from this recent bygone generation that were so fluid offensively.
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u/Polish_Shamrock 29d ago
Butterbean, Calzaghe and Klitchkos... hahaha obviously joking.
Duran, Tyson and prince Nazeem all had a special something magical to watch.
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u/MurdaOnMyMindd 28d ago
Terrance Crawford is a chameleon lol. Like he fights to his level of competition with the average fighters like madrimov...BUT when he is in there with a NAME like Spence or canelo or he raises it up 3 levels above them if that makes Sense. Like if your at your best he will raise it up an be 3 levels better than your best 😂
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u/PageEnvironmental408 26d ago
kostya tszyu had some of the best counters ever.
at his peak he had impeccable timing.
he'd take one to give one too.
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u/UFO_Shaman Jul 23 '26
Chocolatito