Building the Ultimate Boxer Vol V: Welterweight

[AdSense-A]

By Brian “The Beret” Young

Welcome back fight fans for part five. Today we will build the ultimate Welterweight using the same criteria as we used for all the others: Left hook (or right if a southpaw), Straight right (or left, again if a southpaw), Jab, Footwork, Hand speed, Defense, Chin, Heart and finally “intangibles”, which could be anything from dealing with adversity like cuts or knockdowns, grit, fouls Etc.

Remember, there are some rules. And in the words of George Carlin “my rules, I make them up!” they are as follows:

1- Only ONE attribute can be used per fighter (otherwise the Lightweight article would be very short, it would just read “Lightweight- Roberto Duran”)

2- A fighter can only be used in ONE weight class, if for instance Floyd Mayweather, JR. is used in Lightweight he cannot be used again in Welterweight as well.

3- A fighter has to have been part of the weight class he is used in; you can’t give your featherweight Earnie Shavers power!!

So let’s get started. There are no right answers and this is meant to start a debate and I encourage you to write in with your take, what you like, what you would change. Now let’s go!!

1- Left Hook: FELIX TRINIDAD- Tito was an amazing specimen. Tall, fast, good movement, a powerful right and what I can only describe as a “Mother F—ker” of a left hook. Scoring 35 KO’s in his 42 wins Trinidad used that left hook to take out names like Oba Carr, David Reid, William Joppy, Ricardo Mayorga, and Fernando Vargas. Some of those KO’s were at Middleweight, but his KO rate at welter was just mind-blowing. And truth be told, his best punch may have been the illegal low blow. But that doesn’t take away from how masterful his Left Hook was!!

2- Straight Right: THOMAS HEARNS- With a name like “the Hit Man” you know a guy can punch, but Hearns had two nicknames. He was also “The Motor City Cobra”. A much more apt name in my opinion. Tommy would set his opponents up with a long beautiful jab and then unleash the right hand like a cobra striking. What makes it even more amazing was that as an amateur Hearns was NOT a power puncher. Emanuel Steward turned his star pupil into one hell of a banger by building his confidence. And that confidence was the reason Hearns scored 30 KO’s in his first 32 fights. Oh, and the right hand that he knocked the great Roberto Duran out with may very well have been the best punch ever landed!

3- Jab: SUGAR RAY ROBINSON- Many people believe that Sugar Ray Robinson may be the greatest fighter who ever lived. While I am not here to argue that, I will say what helped make him (possibly) the greatest was his amazing jab. Robinson fought off his back foot and used the jab as not only a range finder, but also as a defensive barrier; and he could really sting with it. He held his hand low and would circle his opponents and would throw the jab to both the body and head and could follow it up with any punch in his arsenal. Racking up 175 wins (or 173 depending on the source) in his career with a list of his victims that could fill a “Who’s Who” of boxing history book.

4- Footwork: JOSE NAPOLES- In a 17-year career Napoles recorded 81 wins in 88 fights. The Cuban’s best weapon by far was his masterful footwork. It wasn’t just foot speed, or movement, it was more than that. He could control every element of a fight with his feet. That footwork earned him one of the most appropriate nicknames in ring history “Mantequilla”. Translation, “Smooth as Butter”. Napoles was a man who had some problems in life with drinking, and with weight. However, his dancer like moves were never diminished and helped him win multiple world titles. He also beat legends like Emile Griffith and Curtis Cokes along the way.

5- Hand Speed: MELDRICK TAYLOR- Meldrick Taylor’s story is one heard far too often in boxing. Stuck around way too long, took way too much punishment he didn’t need to take and is remembered more for the fight he lost than his brilliance in the ring. True, that fight was against the great Julio Cesar Chavez. Also true he had the fight won until he was hurt and dropped in the 12th. He did get up but the fight was stopped with only 2 seconds to go. We can argue all day about that ending but I want to talk about the Taylor BEFORE and up to the Chavez fight. The hand speed of Taylor was truly blinding; it gave him a 99-4 record as an amateur including a Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympics. As a pro it took him to a world title and wins over greats like James “Buddy” McGirt and Howard Davis Jr. His combinations were simply incredible. I encourage those of you who are too young to remember, or those of you who forgot how fast he was, to pull up some clips and try to pick your jaw up off the ground.

6- Defense: PERNELL WHITAKER- Much like Willie Pep on our Featherweight list was for his generation, “Sweet Pea” was to my generation the single greatest defensive fighter I ever saw. Another 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and as a pro a four weight class world champion. Whitaker was named by Ring Magazine as Pound for Pound fighter in the world from 1993 thru 1997, and all this with only 17 KO’s in his career. Whitaker made defensive boxing exciting with wins over Roger Mayweather, Greg Haugen, Azumah Nelson, Jose Luis Ramirez, Jorge Paez, and James “Buddy” McGirt. He was handed a draw against Julio Cesar Chavez in a fight many believe Whitaker won.

7- Chin: RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV- “The Siberian Rocky” is exactly that. His fights look like scenes from a movie where you would say “This is B/S, nobody can take that kind of punishment and keep coming forward”. Well, his fights are real, and he KEEPS coming FORWARD. I was lucky enough to be in the building with my brother when Ruslan fought Lucas Matthysse and at one point my brother looked at me and said, “You could shoot Provodnikov in the face with a shotgun and the bastard would still come at you!” Well, Kevin, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

8- Heart: CARMEN BASILIO- The International Boxing Hall of Fame may as well be called “The House that Basilio Built”. For those who don’t know, the reason that a small village on the Erie Canal in central New York has the International Boxing Hall of Fame is Canastota’s favorite son, Carmen “The Onion Farmer” Basilio. His career didn’t get off to the start you would think when talking about a man who was named among the 50 greatest of all time. He was 32-9-5 in his first 46 fights, but he had a heart that wouldn’t give up. Soon he would score wins over top fighters and earn a title shot against Kid Gavilan. While he came up short, dropping a 15 round decision, he rebounded with seven straight wins and a shot at the new Champ, Tony DeMarco. This time he knocked out the champ in 12. But that wasn’t the end of Carmen, he would go on to compete in multiple fights of the year and even beat the great Sugar Ray Robinson for the middleweight title. Not too bad for a short onion farmer with 9 early loses. The heart of a true champion never gives up.

9- Intangibles: SUGAR RAY LEONARD- What can be said about Sugar Ray Leonard that hasn’t been already said? Well, I am gonna say things anyway. Ray was a special fighter. He was an Olympic gold medalist with a smile that won over America before he turned pro. Once he was a professional we all learned it was not just hype. He defeated the legendary Wilfredo Benitez for his first world title, stopping the champ with 6 second to go in the fight. And from that point on his legend grew and grew. What made Leonard so great? Everything. He was fast, he was tough, he was flashy, he could box and fight (and do both better than most) and, his biggest intangible was he was likeable. He was a media darling, a perfect product pitchman and he is the biggest reason boxing stayed relevant in America after Ali retired.

Well, there is my list, let’s hear your takes on it. Drop me an email if you agree, disagree or just want to ask a question for my monthly Q&A column. And stay tuned for the next in this series, The Middleweights!!

[si-contact-form form=’2′]