BoxRec

Bodyshot3 wrote:Andries remains my prime example but thinking back I would suggest another Brit light-heavy who is much-maligned....namely Clinton Woods.

Clinton arguably had a wee bit more in his locker than Dennis but he was still something of an over-achiever in my book and a great deal of folk were frankly gob-smacked that he got as far as he did.

There was just something about Clinton that ensured that he somehow graduated from being a hard-strong lad from Sheffield who could win a British/Commonwealth belt through to world class.

He had the knack of delivering a bomb when he needed it (Klemetsen and Hoye) and had all those fights with Johnson and Gonzalez when he often did not look that good at all; a tall-ish and rangy guy who often got bogged down in the trenches and did not manage to fight from distance.

Admittedly, Johnson was bloody brilliant at turning any fight into a life-and-death-scrap and should probably have a nod on this thread too

Tomasino wrote:Carl Froch. He often looked crude and slow and very hit table on the way up.

handsofstone wrote:Why is it that all the fighters from back in the day were great for a quote and came out with something quirky,clever and funny yet fighters today talk absolute bollocks?

Even the fighters who grew up with no education said some great quips,todays fighters all talk the same bland crap

Froch might be a good call.
don't know about Woods or Johnson. They each has a bit of ability and had solid careers but were hardly legends.

Bodyshot3 wrote:

Froch might be a good call.
don't know about Woods or Johnson. They each has a bit of ability and had solid careers but were hardly legends.

Clinton is an interesting fella...he actually came to the sport fairly late as far as I can remember and without much amateur experience.

He was scrapping on the streets of Sheffield (after a beer too many) and often getting into bother....so some of his mates encouraged him to go down to the gym and work off his aggression usefully/legally.

Interestingly for a Sheffield lad...he did not work with the Ingles either and primarily traded on his fitness, strength and heavy-hands.

I saw a good number of his fights and Clinton did have plenty of ability; but there was always a very raw side to him and he often got involved in a brawl when his height and reach suggested that working from distance was the smarter move.

Clinton was definitely better than the sum of his parts and went a heck of alot further than anyone expected.

Hoye came over to the UK pretty much to 'collect' the belt of Clinton and got one hell of a shock.

howard Rainey was his coach wasn't he?

I'd say Ricky Burns is/was better than the sum of his parts as well. Has some good skills but I'm sure not many people would have predicted he'd be a fight away from becoming a 3 weight world champion after losing his first 2 attempts at the British title.