boxers who changed there style?

[Jesus]

watched rocky 3 last night...you know where apollo creed trains rocky and turns him from a heavy footed slugger to a slick fast boxer....was just wondering if there has been anything like this in real life?are there any boxers that drastically altered there style for a particular opponent??

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Roberto duran went from savage destroyer to slick counter puncher with age. That is probably the most glaring example.

Hector camacho went from man to woman after Rosario.

Barrera was another that switched gears and turned boxer in the hamed fight and after.

Gerrie Coetzee & santos laciar turned into knockout punchers later in their careers. The ole bionic fist.

[Goodnight, Irene]

In my time following the sport (1994-Present) Barrera --- & Saad has beaten me to it --- has been the starkest instance. It was quite remarkable, really.

Oscar De La Hoya made quite the adjustment, too --- going from a seek-&-destroy human missile, to a boxer-mover with a penchant for counter-punching & fighting off the backfoot.

[Counter-puncher]

McCallum went from a centre-ring-dominating, in-your-face, bodypunching destroyer at 154, to a much more subtle boxer-ring general at 160, by way of the kalumbay fights.

[Goodnight, Irene]

McCallum went from a centre-ring-dominating, in-your-face, bodypunching destroyer at 154, to a much more subtle boxer-ring general at 160, by way of the kalumbay fights.

That's a decent shout.

[Counter-puncher]

whisper it quietly but the move away from the kronk did him the world of good, stylewise.

another 'Professor', Azumah Nelson, got a lot more precise and less intense (and ultimately got a lot lazier) as he got older.

Chacon tended to oscillate between boxer-puncher and outright banger throughout his career.

[Counter-puncher]

probably worth noting that JMM's style became a lot more aggressive and 'fan-friendly' in his later fights.

and for a change in tactics for a specific fight/opponents, Corrales vs casamayor 2, chico went from brainless slugger to jab-first ring general, or at least the best impression of it he could muster.

[Jaywheel]

The two versions of Foreman were leagues apart. Of course, he had quite a while to think about it but still...

Gatti had a go at it for a while with McGirt when he tried to become a jabber. I didn't find it suited him well.

Some heavy punchers went the other way...starting with good fundamentals, then falling in love with their own power and relying only on that afterwards. It's not something they really worked on though.

[JC]

Ted Kid Lewis successfully converted from being more of a boxer to an all action pressure fighter.

[hhaehre]

Thomas Hansvoll went from fighting off his backfoot, over cautious and safety first to agressive slugger. A reverse Camacho if you will. He is probably the only one I have seen who have gone that way, unfortunately it happened a little too late in his career but it did get him a title fight.

[alexpaterson]

Sweet Pea. He used a lot of lateral movement early in his career but as he moved up he started moving less and less.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Razor Ruddock had a crazy transformation. The others we have listed maintained their previous skills. He went from boxer to unpolished slugger. Anyone only familiar with smash Ruddock should look for a copy of his fight with Mike weaver. He outboxed him with the jab that he never threw again. Almost like a twin brother switch.

[jezzamundo]

Lower profile and perhaps less obvious than the previously mentioned fighters, but Danny Green is a rather different fighter to watch today than he was back at Super Middleweight.

This is somewhat to do with his increase in weight, from 168lb to 175lb and now fighting in the 200lb Cruiser division (although never weighing over 184lb to date), but more IMO to do with his switches in trainers. Jeff Fenech had Green fight largely as a brawler, always coming forwards with very little defense apart from keeping his hands up. Of course Green could get away with this because he always had an excellent chin.

When he moved to Light Heavyweight under the training of Ismael Salas, Green became more of a puncher-boxer, using his jab more and to greater effect and fighting at a more measured pace. This has certainly helped prolong Green's career (as well as the mini retirement).

[keithmoonhangover]

I think Ali had to change his style as he got older.

Nigel Benn had a very short spell of boxing behind the jab, when he went to the states after the Watson fight.

I agree with Saad (:o ) about Razor Ruddock, I think he watched too many replays of the Dokes knockout.

[alexpaterson]

Evander Holyfield- at cruiserweight he boxed and used lateral movement, hitting and not getting hit! Then at Heavyweight he turned into a slugger take 1 to give a few and got in some great fights!

[SaadOffTheDeck]

He was always a slugger with boxing ability.

[big train express]

idk if its really changing style but hopkins went from aggressive counter puncher to more conservative. watch the echols hopkins highlights.

[alexpaterson]

He was always a slugger with boxing ability.

I don't think so he sometimes brawled at cruiser but mostly boxed! I thought he was more effective boxing and used it effectively I felt

[SaadOffTheDeck]

He was pretty much a seek and destroy fighter at Cruiserweight.

[dempseyfire]

Razor Ruddock had a crazy transformation. The others we have listed maintained their previous skills. He went from boxer to unpolished slugger. Anyone only familiar with smash Ruddock should look for a copy of his fight with Mike weaver. He outboxed him with the jab that he never threw again. Almost like a twin brother switch.

I think after the Lakusta and Gross KOs he really fell in love with his own power and became a 'looking for the one shot' slugger. A shame . . he could've probably beaten Tyson and had a chance vs Lewis if he'd actually used the jab and some of his other skills he'd apparently completly forgotten about.

Max Schmeling went through a pretty big transformation from Dempsey style pressure fighter to patient counter-puncher.

[keithmoonhangover]

Watch him against Adilson Rodrigues and Dokes and you'll see him on his toes.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

He bounced in the pocket, that was a rhythm thing that he still does from time to time at almost 50 years old.