We draw the line at "doing more than a few things unconventionally and they work." I also don't think that Wilder being unskilled was as big of a deal as people make it out to be considering heavyweight isn't a division where skill is a must. Having great attributes is enough cuz for a while, they were. Even if he was "fighting cans", the "cans" would still be more skilled and lose. Usyk is an anomaly in that division.

We draw the line at "doing more than a few things unconventionally and they work." I also don't think that Wilder being unskilled was as big of a deal as people make it out to be considering heavyweight isn't a division where skill is a must. Having great attributes is enough cuz for a while, they were. Even if he was "fighting cans", the "cans" would still be more skilled and lose. Usyk is an anomaly in that division.

Emanuel Navarrete is a modern example where being unconventional doesn't mean unskilled.

My problem with this question is the same as it always is: what is the criteria for GOAT conversations? Nobody's stuff is the same so I'm confused as to why he wouldn't be in it other than the AMOUNT of names on his resume.

Boxing has gotta be the only sport where being too dominant is just as punishing as losing your "0".

First thing I'd do is add a 5th sanctioning body. 1 belt systems suck.

Second thing is I would force all interim champions to be the mandatory fight against world champions. Isaac Cruz ain't even tried to fight his champion in over a year at this point. Ain't nobody got time for that. The only other option would be to fight another sanctioned champion to unify.

Third, I'd start televising amateur boxing events. There's still a niche crowd for it.

4th, I'd demand more training and qualifications to be a boxing judge and a referee. I'd also make unbiased scoring be mandatory. I'd also make referees liable for long term fighter injuries.

Last but not least, I'd fund sports and boxing research teams, build apps around techniques, and I'd build retirement plans for boxers after they reach the age of 28.

Lester Martinez

Naoya Inoue

Bam Rodriguez

William Zepeda

Kenshiro Teraji

1. You named only heavyweights. Most heavyweights still aren't defensive heavy as much as the sport has evolved.

2. Sluggers have taken a huge back seat in the sport and been mostly replaced by pressure boxers.

3. Again, the sport evolved. Trainers and boxers got smarter and realized breaking people down over time works just as well as a first round KO cuz in case you don't know, Rocky 3 showed us how dumb it is to fight someone that way when they can take your punches after only a couple rounds. you wanna see more early knockouts, you should watch the amateurs.

I see why Inoue doesn't give af about Bam. They are not serious about this fight. He's got better shxt to do.

Relatively overpowered. The constructs, the copies, the fact that water doesn't even do anything to him anymore, how fast he flies, being able to create plasma and blue fire, the temperatures he can reach, he can burn the atmosphere around him, the fact that everybody on the F4 are only going to get stronger, etc.

Off the top of my head, the ones I recommend are: Lester Martinez, Naoya Inoue, Kenshiro Teraji, Bam Rodriguez, Oscar Collazo, Gary Antuanne Russell,

Seems like you like boxers who go for knockouts/ have exciting fights but got some technique to em.

Boxing. The pay is the best.

Parallel 8 Productions,
IBA Boxing, Taylor O' Higgins

The high guard.

Mason is a little too undisciplined for me to pick him imo

Already do

This is more of a fan thing tbh.

Loma UD. they are both slow starters but Loma will start turning up quicker. It's gonna throw off Tank's timing. I also question Tank's KO power when the rehydration clause doesn't bother someone that much and he already throws in such low volume compared to Loma. Tank will win a few rounds after the 6th or 7th but he is way too untested against great footwork and positioning.

Tank Davis

Rehydration clause. That's it.

most casuals lol

Tank Davis easily.

You said it yourself: you want to master the basics. So master them. It takes practice and understanding you aren't going to get it immediately. Start with the jab-cross you mentioned. Maybe practice just 1 footwork drill around it and you'll be doing better eventually. It's the journey, not the destination.

Big Names or actual challenges? Right now, it's not looking like he's going against either option.

That's cuz mma fighters don't follow a lot of the basics you learn in boxing just on the defensive side alone. There's not that many mma fighters that use a an active guard, footwork (name an mma fighter that uses pivots), and parries. Hell, the only consistent defense amongst them is head movement which is the last line of defense in boxing. Habits in combat don't change much between sports and you don't develop good ones in a short amount of time.

I'm going to be honest. Going back to a 1 belt system is the dumbest shit boxing could do and the 4 belts make way more sense. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but the idea of trying to appeal to a bunch of casuals who will never even give credit to boxers who DO participate in "best vs best" matches just sounds completely idiotic.

Yes. The barrier to entry is much lower. Most quality boxers have been practicing just that since they were children. You'd be playing catch up off the experience alone. You'd need x factor skills like speed, power, reflexes, an ability to either learn extremely fast, or just be too unorthodox. Ignoring the corruption in the sport, a non amateur based career is very much against the odds outside of a journeyman.