What is the best natural asset a Boxer can have??

Speed - If you're quicker chances are you'll get off first....

Power - You'll only need to land once as opposed to maybe a speedster who has to wear his opponent down! Always in any fight.

Durability - Sure without the other two you are limited but people lose speed the longer the fight gets and power punchers get arm weary leaving you there maybe to take over in the later rounds..

Speed or chin.

a good chin, if you cant take a shot you can be as good as you like, but you'll get caught eventually.

Thanks for the considered opinion..

Heart - all day, every day. You can be taught to improve your power, do exercises so that your speed will get better, can do the hard yards on the road to lessen the chances that you might gas.

Without intestinal fortitude, none of this matters.

I used to think nothing beats speed but considering the guys who are at the top of the tree Khan not withstanding starting to change my mind.

You obviously need a level of all three to be able to compete with the best; but of the three if I could pick one, it would be speed.

The ability to evade shots and get flurries in would win rounds and ultimately fights. Power is useful but not if you're in there against someone who has good movement or durability...

Heart you won't get anywhere without it good point...

But I think speed, power and chin are natural gifts and something you have or you don't..

It's the only thing that can't be instilled by a trainer, Truss. Of the three you mention, assuming that durability is a combination of stamina and a good chin, then I would pick that as the most necessary. We've seen great champions who were about as mobile as a supertanker, and great champions who couldn't knock the skin off a rice pudding, but I can't think of one great fighter who lacked durability to any noticeable extent.

Personally would go for self discipline or dedication, whatever you want to call it. All the talent in the world is academic if you do not have the discipline to put the graft in, only have to look at a guy like Kirkland Laing for this who most reports claim could have acheived anything he wanted in the game but for a lack of discipline

Tommy Hearns maybe???? supppose he had stamina though....

Watching a young Camacho could make anybody think speed was the most crucial..

devastatingly quick against Limon.

One could say that Hatton achieved great status without being the most disciplined as did Dempsey, John L and Johnson....

All Tommy lacked to be a top three all-time great, in my opinion, Truss, was intelligence. If he had allied ring smarts to his natural talent, he would never have lost in his salad days. He could crack under heavy bombardment, but it would be unfair to describe him as chinny, while he was durable enough to be winning titles by decision well into his 30s.

Like Jeff's point about self-discipline as well.

Hatton is a tricky one Truss because obviously hard to argue his lifestyle was great, however would say when he did go into camp apparently he really grafted. Think you could also argue that in an era when fighters regularly fight into their late 30s Hatton was pretty much finished by 30. Would not be too tricky to argue his lifestyle contributed to this

You not think like Khan...his durability came with a move up in weight...A chance to put some meat on that frame and muscle in the legs!!!

Tommy reminds me of Holyfield.....gets excited and wants to trade....

Should never have lost the Barkley fight..You're right wasn't the smartest slice in the loaf!

Probably at his best at 147 or 154, though. Holyfield, who had nothing like Hearns' sublime gifts, almost had to fight that way to obtain the best results. Hearns had the ability to win a fight in a number of different ways, but too often, chose the wrong one.

Think some fighters shine for longer than others too Rowley...

There is much more mileage in a Mayweather/Whittaker style than an easy to hit guy like Ricky!!!

Whilst there is validity to your argument..one can look at his style and see that it wasn't one to last forever..

You think he was at his best at 147/154 because those guys like Medal, Baez, Cuevas couldn't take his shot as good???

Or because he was just naturally better at those weights...

what he gained in durability he lost in power??? perhaps...

How about the ability to adapt?

We've seen Calzaghe adapt in fights and remain undefeated. We've seen Hopkins change from a stalker into a counter puncher over time. Leonard change up his style depending on his opponent. Mayweather in his fights, the moment a blueprint to beat him is set, he adaptable and never makes the same mistakes.

All of the above have adapted to change either throughout there careers or during their fights to be very successful. No doubt it has helped the longevity.

We've seen the likes of Hatton, Tyson and Pavlik use the same styles that made them successful7ultimately finish them too.

Didn't Marciano say it was good legs

Apparently his Wife had them.

Good question. I don't think there's any one clear winner though, for pretty much the reasons already stated.

We've seen the likes of Hatton, Tyson and Pavlik use the same styles that made them successful7ultimately finish them too.


Didn't realise that drinking heavily had contributed to their success

Doesn't work for everybody though obviously!!!

Has to be heart.

You can have all the physical attributes but if you dont have the heart to get youy through when things get tough, you'll lose everytime.

Auldley is a classica example fo this.

You don't think most Boxers have it already??

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:You don't think most Boxers have it already??

Heart? There's a distinction though between 'enough heart to enter the ring in the first place' and 'enough heart to pick yourself up off the floor for a third time, spit the blood from your mouth and hope your broken jaw and dislocated shoulder hold up for the last four rounds'.

However, I think that even the gutsiest fighter in the world won't have enough to overcome a sufficiently better opponent.

Speed can encompass a few things......Speed of thought, speed of hand, speed of foot etc..

I'll take speed anyday..I think.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I'll take speed anyday..I think.

Explains some of your posts.

Hit and run...one line per usual..

very good.....

Depends if you include the quote.

For me: A boxing brain

Every sport i've played has been about decision making, dealing with adversity without losing your logical thought process, not choking, not feezing, executing a strategy etc etc

Go to the boxing menu and scroll up..you'll see the non-Boxing chat thread!!

It was made for people like you..

I've always thought Rachel Cordingley was Froch's best natural asset.

A boxing brain isn’t natural. It’s developed through the teaching of technique, experience etc.

The best natural asset for a boxer is heart.

No you can have a natural Boxing brain....Like being good at Chemistry, Biology etc somethings do come naturally......

Public schools have a lot to answer for!

Scottrf wrote:A boxing brain isn’t natural. It’s developed through the teaching of technique, experience etc.

very good sir. Although surely increased speed and power etc is devloped through teaching?

Scottrf wrote:A boxing brain isn’t natural. It’s developed through the teaching of technique, experience etc.

No

I'm comparing it to my own personal experiences.

No-one could teach me how to manage my way round a golf course, when to back off, take shots on. More importantly no-one could have ever taught me how to control emotions, how to block everything else out, how not to bottle it, how to cope with adversity.

The same applies here, you're either mentally strong and intelligent or you're not, you don't get taught it. You can do things 100,000 times over but when push comes to shove it's all dependant on your mental strength and how you handle things from above the neck line rather than below.

Which boxers have become champions without trainers or experience then?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:
Public schools have a lot to answer for!

Me for starters Truss

Michaels, Sean wrote:

Scottrf wrote:A boxing brain isn’t natural. It’s developed through the teaching of technique, experience etc.

very good sir. Although surely increased speed and power etc is devloped through teaching?

Barely. The best punchers aren't always the biggest guys.

Every boxer has a trainer so that comment is irrelevant....

coxy0001 wrote:No-one could teach me how to manage my way round a golf course, when to back off, take shots on. More importantly no-one could have ever taught me how to control emotions, how to block everything else out, how not to bottle it, how to cope with adversity.

I'd think they are a lot of people making a living doing just that that would disagree.

You think pro golfers pay caddies all that money to carry their clubs?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Every boxer has a trainer so that comment is irrelevant....

Precisely, because you aren't born with a boxing brain.

coxy0001 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:A boxing brain isn’t natural. It’s developed through the teaching of technique, experience etc.

No

I'm comparing it to my own personal experiences.

No-one could teach me how to manage my way round a golf course, when to back off, take shots on. More importantly no-one could have ever taught me how to control emotions, how to block everything else out, how not to bottle it, how to cope with adversity.

The same applies here, you're either mentally strong and intelligent or you're not, you don't get taught it. You can do things 100,000 times over but when push comes to shove it's all dependant on your mental strength and how you handle things from above the neck line rather than below.

What about Benitez, Champ at an early age and known for his ring smarts even at 16, 17 years of age.

Think Joe Calzaghe proves that a boxing brain is fairly natural.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Think Joe Calzaghe proves that a boxing brain is fairly natural.

How? He boxed from a young age and traded on speed not really ring intelligence.

Think Joe Calzaghe proves that a boxing brain is fairly natural.

Maybe a buisness boxing brain but it would have been interesting to see how his slap and tickle tactics would have worked against a prime ruthless Roy Jones jnr instead of the Branco Sabots of this world.

So every boxer with the right trainer can become great............ok