BoxRec

Can you rate these 5 qualities in order of importance, or if you were a fighter, what would you want the most.....
speed, power, chin, stamina, footwork.......



when you choose your number 1, the others are rated as average. So I would pick a great chin, with average stamina, speed, power (punch), footwork....

Walsh

I started a similar thread to this a while back... I think speed will take you further in the game than any other quality. So, if all the other things are equal then I'd take speed. BUT a close second must be power and a power puncher managed in the right way might get more opportunities and make more money.

personally i`d say power. you`re never out of the fight if you can genuinely bang, even if there is 30 seconds left and you`ve just had a boxing lesson for the last 14 rounds. plus it buys you a bit of time and respect in the ring, even when your hurt guys are weary of just wading right in there to finish you off.

Interesting choice of power. I fully agree that a big punch is so beneficial in pro boxing. If you can't hurt your opponent, you can't get his respect. It's just that a great chin means you will have more of an opportunity to be there to land the shot. You may have the power but the average chin means you are taking a risk......

Footwork. If you got great feet you're always in position to punch with leverage, and more dificult to hit. You can be difficult to pin on the ropes against a stronger fighter, and can cut off the ring without losing control or balance against a faster one. Seems to me like boxing has more to do with your feet than anything else. Of course great power is always nice though, but n average puncher with great feet can punch from angles and catch people coming to him, and still knock guys out.

yes footwork is so very important too, but I believe average footwork is enough, once you have KO power at all times and a granite chin.....I'd place footwork as number 5....

I'd say a solid chin. Doesn't matter if you have the other attributes and are as talented as Sugar Ray Robinson, if you can't take a shot their worthless.

After that footwork(good footwork can negate speed), stamina, speed, then power.

power
stamina
chin
speed
footwork

A good jab???, I'm talking more of the qualities of a great fighter. Jab we all know is essential but I'd be thinking more of putting that in a whole new category, eg jab, uppercut, hook to body, overhand right.....what would you consider the most important of them.

Heart is the # 1 requirement. If you don't have it, it don't matter what you do have.

Speed over power every time. However as you age you will say goodbye to your speed before your power so you will be in the game longer than your speedy buddies. So power can not be discounted.

I'm going to go with footwork. Seems to me all the other four qualities stem, in one form or another, from good footwork.

When your feet are right, you punch with better leverage and therefore with more power. When your feet are right, you move more smoothly and fluidly and therefore expend less energy -- hence, better stamina. When your feet are right, your punches are quicker and crisper. And, when your feet are right, you're in better position to react to your opponent's punches, which is at least indirectly related to having a better chin.

1. Footwork
2. Stamina
3. Speed
4. Chin
5. Power

bill.lockhart wrote:Heart is the # 1 requirement. If you don't have it, it don't matter what you do have.

Tyson seemed to do pretty well for himself without heart. Same goes for Liston in my opinion.

barry wrote:power
stamina
chin
speed
footwork

speed power chin stamina footwork..


1 question about footwork... do you guys think joe louis' footwork was terrible or is it just me? he was top 2 fighter of all time, yet he continuously got knocked down n caught off balanced.

Rory I love watching Louis and thought his punches were beautiful, but his lack of footwork, his shifty flat footed ponderous movement was his major flaw in the ring and the reason I could never see him beating an Ali, or why guys like Frazier, Dempsey and Foreman could nail him pretty easily resulting in KO wins. His chin was not granite either and he could be knocked out easier than other greats...