Ian Napa - Waste of talent?

[rhino222]

well...im not really sure what i think. I was ringside in 2001 when napa got stopped in the 8th by Culshaw, he was stopped for no other reason than stamina...this suggested his training had not been 'all that'.

from then on napa carved out a semi decent career and certainly achived quite a lot, culminating in holding the EBU bantamweight title.

Napa always looked 'soft' at the weight, even when he was campaigning at fly. does this suggest that he did/does not live the life? a break in his career in the early/mid noughties would also suggest that.

for a man with no power whatsoever, napa had immense skills. i really enjoyed watching him 'roll' with punches, tuck up nicely on the ropes, hide behind his shoulder etc etc, style wise he was the best british boxer by far (in my opinion). he really was james toneys 'mini-me'.

IF he had lived the life, worked on his power and offence, i really think he could have achieved more.... but at flyweight, there is no way he should have campaigned at anything heavier. you reap what you sow in this cruel game, and napa, when he reflects, might just think the same as what i do.

i think its the end of the line for him now, 9 defeats.... its really time to call it a day on a 'decent' career. those defensive skills were second to none on these shores, he hardly took any punishment at all.

but....... it could oh so have been a whole lot more !!

[winkveron]

He definitely looked a bit fleshy last night, and his retiring suggests again that he didn't train hard enough.

[kierny]

they said some people compared napa to floyd mayweather last night, my personal opinion is if he was boxing at the right weight eg. light flyweight he probably could of acheived world honors, and i think he would have had some stoppages on the record down there too because he was hurting a big bantamweight to the body last night, i dont think its his training where he lacks . i think its his diet.

waste of talent? alot of people would be happy to be 2 time british champion and european champ, but he could of acheived alot more if he dropped down 2-3 weights

[Crease]

Napa had the talent to be World-Class in my opinion...

[Bomber 1]

Napa had the talent to be World-Class in my opinion...

I agree, Im a fan of Napa.. I just feel he found it hard going last night and was thinking in his head is this really worth it?? ?? I'd like to see him take a break and reflect on what he really wants to do... I still feel he could do something though as he has bags of natural talent...

[Autobarn]

good little fighter who maybe overachieved, peaked already and is now on the way down?

he has no power and it's a demanding style to keep up, for this long.

[rhino222]

they said some people compared napa to floyd mayweather last night, my personal opinion is if he was boxing at the right weight eg. light flyweight he probably could of acheived world honors, and i think he would have had some stoppages on the record down there too because he was hurting a big bantamweight to the body last night, i dont think its his training where he lacks . i think its his diet.

waste of talent? alot of people would be happy to be 2 time british champion and european champ, but he could of acheived alot more if he dropped down 2-3 weights

exactly...i know he has achieved already more than the majority of fighters will ever achieve...but, could it have been so so much more?

i think its all down to committment !! .. nothing more and nothing less, napa, in my eyes, has been too prepared to coast to a points victory, against fighters who, talent wise, should not even have held his spit bucket.

he could have achieved so much more, with proper training, proper committment.... and a proper 'eye' watching over him in his 'out of the ring' hours !!

he could have challenged for world honours...at flyweight at heavyest !!!!

[mickey1975]

good little fighter who maybe overachieved, peaked already and is now on the way down?

he has no power and it's a demanding style to keep up, for this long.

He never overachieved.Going back,people thought they had a new Sugar Ray Leonard on thier hands.I remember watching him on Sky in the ams against the U.S.A and the build up they gave him was incredible.He also got a great deal to turn pro i believe.His out of the ring problems wont have helped and fighting outside his natural weight class he got by on talent alone.

[bennie]

His lack of power always hindered him. Nevertheless, his revenge wins over Booth and Power were big and he cruised to a Lonsdale Belt for life.

[lurkyshaka]

Napa's sheer boxing ability is superb, and if he had even 30% type power then he'd have been a world champion, but as it is he basically carries no clout and its of course a huge hinderence.

To have achieved what he did whilst carrying no power against naturally bigger opposition is impressive in its own right. I do think he could have gotten his weight down earlier in his career and stayed at fly and super-fly, but the lack of power would have always held him back to one degree or another.

[DavidPayne]

Napa a world-champion if he'd tried harder.....really?

Just because he doesn't block punches with his face he's a world-class talent.

Good fighter with no power. I'd have thought a British champion was plenty of achievement for the fighter I've seen.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Didn't Napa say he moved up in weight because he couldn't find any opposition at the lower weights? Whilst he never had power really at any weight, he surely suffered fighting above his best weight for much of his career.

Good fighter, but lack of power is always going to prevent you winning world titles, even if you're defensively very good, you need to hit hard enough to make your opponent cautious.

[stujones]

He had a massive hiatius also.... and should be at flyweight.

He might be one of those fighters who feel more comfortable fighting at closer to their walk around weight. James Toney said something along these lines. Look at Jason Booth also, seems to be refreshed at Super Bantam, even though he can probably make Bantam easily enough (seems fleshy at Super Bantam). Similar, Mickey Cantwell another who could make Strawweight easy enough but just wasn't as good there.

But overall, I think he probably could have been a longer reign EBU champion if it wasn't for the hiatus and the weight.