Best Boxing Footwork in History?

Ive been arguing this with friends for a while about which boxer has/had the greatest footwork in boxing.

IMO i would go with SRR but have had the likes on Benny Leonard, Wille Pep, SRL & Ali mentioned to me as being as good if not better.All of theese fighters were diffrent in their approach but have all been comended for their slick movment and footwork.

Who would you say was the best? please let me know of any other boxers as im sure ive missed a few big names out.

Sweet Pea and a prime Calderon were pretty damn good.

1960s Ali for me by a country mile. I'll also add Terry Norris had superb footwork

Who'se the British boxer ko'd by Tyson who had the Mirror advertised on the souls of his boots?

azania wrote:1960s Ali for me by a country mile. I'll also add Terry Norris had superb footwork

Who'se the British boxer ko'd by Tyson who had the Mirror advertised on the souls of his boots?

Julius Francis

Soldier_Of _Fortune wrote:

azania wrote:1960s Ali for me by a country mile. I'll also add Terry Norris had superb footwork

Who'se the British boxer ko'd by Tyson who had the Mirror advertised on the souls of his boots?

Julius Francis

Yep. he made is feet pay. Excellent move.

Roberto Duran had superb footwork. The way he cornered and cut of the ring and moved his feet to get into position to throw hurtful shots was a joy to behold. Add JC Chavez into the mix also.

Good shouts on Duran and JCC, pressure fighters never get complimented on technique.

Also i always thought the way smokin joe could cut off a ring was amazing, Not like others mentioned he did not dance around the ring as such but with constant pressure made the ring so small for oppentents.

azania wrote:1960s Ali for me by a country mile. I'll also add Terry Norris had superb footwork

Who'se the British boxer ko'd by Tyson who had the Mirror advertised on the souls of his boots?

Julius Francis. Safe to say, someone was being very cynical there.

Back to the original question, I'd say that Pep had the best footwork out of the fights you've mentioned in the article. His defensive mastery didn't come from using a jab and move tactic, and not always from lateral movement, either. He was simply like a ballet dancer, wonderful quarter and half turns to get in close to an opponent and then a lightning fast leap backwards to avoid the counter. Incredible gift. Whitaker would be right up there too, of course.

I think Miguel Canto would be worthy of consideration, too. When someone is so devoid of any real knockout power they need something to make up for it, and he was always very light on his feet, mixed his circling nicely between clockwise and anti-clockwise and used a lovely feint and then mini leap forward to launch his left hook. It was a consistent tactic, but still most opponents couldn't see it coming or counter it due to the speed of his feet.

Another stand out to me would be Kid Gavilan. Beautifully balanced, always on the move, a very hard man to pin down when he was in full flight.

Thanks for that input Chris.

i havent seen any of Miguel Canto's fight i will have a look into that, anyone know of any video links for him?

Burley's was good too judging by the fight I watched the other day. Never moved excessively so was always in position to punch, pivoted when he needed too so he had a firm base, and could quickly get out of the way backwards while maintaining balance.

Jersey Joe Walcott had wonderful footwork, and only let himself down by lapses in concentration. I'm not suggesting his is the best of all time, but his little shimmies and shuffles, while understated, allowed him to box in range while remaining very elusive, and coupled with his subtle shoulder feints they made him very difficult to hit.

Even Ali remarked, of Walcott : " Now THAT man could move."

naseem for me had great footwork, he could move in and out like lightning- his footwork always made it hard for him to beat hit as well.

Naz had too many off balance knockdowns for his footwork to be considered good IMO.

when you move around like he did i think its a risk you take been caught of balance

Precisely why I don't think his footwork was that good. Pernell and Calderon moved as much but were rarely if ever off balance.

RJJ have a slight say wouldn't say the best footwork of all time but very good, more of a head movement guy though.

Tyson Fury for his attemped shuffle against McDermott were he nearly fell on his @r$e

Rocky?

Gentleman Jim Corbett had great footwork, very elusive fighter, maybe doesn't compare to fighters in future generations but still good enough for a mention i feel.

Nassem or RJJ if if had to pick I would say Roy.

Calderon out of the recent lot for me and by a fair distance as well, he was a joy to watch at his best

Of all time would plump for Pep because simply put he has the best

@scottrf
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lmaoo who said Naz had goot footwork? must of been blind, he had horrible footwork, poor feet came together religiously, Bradley's got the best out of the fighters i've seen recently though, very fast

I'd put forward roy jones too, i was watching the reggie johnson fight again today and the way he sat down on his punches and could move out the way wasn't just because of his reactions but also because of his good footwork

Manny Pacquiao, best footwork I have seen. The speed his move around the ring is phenomenal but not only that but it is his little movement, he will be just out of range then bang, in rang fire of a combo then slight movement and he is gone again.

Little movements from to keep his just have a step from firing off a combo but just a little to the left or right.

Hardly stops moving, which must be very frustrating for his opponent who can't seem to pin him down.

Hard to look past Robinson but he's a safe pick on almost any technical aspect.

As Chris mentioned, Pep had outstanding footwork and it's an absolute joy to watch him in full flow. Benny Leonard who you mentioned originally is also a good call. Great footwork on the way in and out. I'd also throw Tunney into the ring as well. Great footwork for a heavyweight and not equalled until Ali came along.