Most athletic fighters ever.

It's always tough to really define what people mean by athleticism. Sometimes people just mean pure speed (hand and feet); other times people add in power, balance, and coordination into the equation, as well.

Taylor and Whitaker probably deserve a mention (Taylor was faster than Whitaker, but Whitaker had better balance, coordination, and was simply a more fluid athlete). Nunn had pretty special physical abilities for a 6' 2'' MW. If we're talking current fighters, I'd say Lomachenko probably stands out as the best overall. Khan still has extremely fast hands and feet. Linares is a pretty complete athlete (very quick, well balanced).

Ken Norton was an exceptional high school athlete for however much that means. Interestingly enough, he isn't really what I'd call a massively athletic boxer in terms of what we traditionally look at when we talk about athleticism in boxing.
 
ssx said:
RJJ is probably the most gifted ever.
Pacquiao and Mosley are good athletes too and compete in different sports.
I don’t think Tyson is a particularly good athlete, a gifted fighter yes, but I saw a video of young Tyson playing basketball and he looked very uncoordinated. Could barely dribble, or shoot. I think he just was born to be a wrecking machine.
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Aren't dribbling and shooting more skill than athleticism? In terms of pure physical attributes, Tyson definitely is near the top.
 
Most athletic is someone like bo Jackson. Can he box? No idea.
 
JayE said:
It's always tough to really define what people mean by athleticism. Sometimes people just mean pure speed (hand and feet); other times people add in power, balance, and coordination into the equation, as well.

Taylor and Whitaker probably deserve a mention (Taylor was faster than Whitaker, but Whitaker had better balance, coordination, and was simply a more fluid athlete). Nunn had pretty special physical abilities for a 6' 2'' MW. If we're talking current fighters, I'd say Lomachenko probably stands out as the best overall. Khan still has extremely fast hands and feet. Linares is a pretty complete athlete (very quick, well balanced).

Ken Norton was an exceptional high school athlete for however much that means. Interestingly enough, he isn't really what I'd call a massively athletic boxer in terms of what we traditionally look at when we talk about athleticism in boxing.
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I'd argue that conditioning and endurance are athletic qualities too. Some guys not only work hard but have naturally more gifted cardiovascular fitness. Guys like Pacquaio at his peak, Joe Calzaghe and Lomachenko now who just don't get tired and have really high work rates stand out.
 
CastletonSnob said:
How do you think Bo Jackson would have done if he took up boxing?
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Someone else will undoubtedly know his height weight etc and his era better than I do. If boxing was what he schooled in young he’d be elite. If he took it up for funsies he’d get slapped back to where he came from. Brute force in boxing isn’t everything, if you’re powerful with no idea about footwork, combinations guard and ring generalship you’re fucked. We also don’t know how he would like getting punched in the face.
 
Athletic attributes: Speed (hand & foot), reflexes, power, strength, coordination (motor & hand-eye), agility, ambidexterity, balance, cardio/endurance/stamina (gas tank, aerobic fitness & cardiovascular endurance), mobility and also flexibility to an extent in boxing.
 
Kovalev's "Man Bag" said:
Athletic attributes: Speed (hand & foot), reflexes, power, strength, coordination (motor & hand-eye), agility, ambidexterity, balance, cardio/endurance/stamina (gas tank, aerobic fitness & cardiovascular endurance), mobility and also flexibility to an extent in boxing.
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I'd say that Lomachenko has all of the above better than anyone else around right now apart from power. I'd even give him the slight edge over Floyd in terms of athleticism but Floyd had more power so it depends on how you look at Loma's cardio vs. Floyds power. Speed wise I think they are pretty equal. Skill wise it's harder to determine. Floyd had better in-boxing and was better in pure defence but Loma is better defensively when he attacks. So it depends on which you favour.
 
aries said:
I'd say that Lomachenko has all of the above better than anyone else around right now apart from power. I'd even give him the slight edge over Floyd in terms of athleticism but Floyd had more power so it depends on how you look at Loma's cardio vs. Floyds power. Speed wise I think they are pretty equal. Skill wise it's harder to determine. Floyd had better in-boxing and was better in pure defence but Loma is better defensively when he attacks. So it depends on which you favour.
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And yet someone like marcel Dareus would work him.
 
aries said:
I'd argue that conditioning and endurance are athletic qualities too. Some guys not only work hard but have naturally more gifted cardiovascular fitness. Guys like Pacquaio at his peak, Joe Calzaghe and Lomachenko now who just don't get tired and have really high work rates stand out.
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Yeah, that's certainly a quality which should be included. Going back to Norton, he actually did have some of the best stamina for a HW that I've ever seen.
 
RJJ and Pacquiao come to mind.

Both had incredible power, hand speed, foot speed, and skill.
 
aries said:
Who's that? And work him where, in a boxing ring? I'd like to see that.
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He plays defensive tackle for the jaguars and don’t tell me you can cut off the ring without the risk of a bomb landing
 
Sunfish said:
He plays defensive tackle for the jaguars and don’t tell me you can cut off the ring without the risk of a bomb landing
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You think he could land a solid shot on Lomachenko? Professional fighters can't but some football player could.. ok...
 
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CastletonSnob said:
I'm watching the Mikkel Kessler-Anthony Mundine fight, and Mundine is still really quick, especially for a guy in his 40s.

So, it got me to thinking, who were the biggest athletic freaks to ever lace em up?
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Mundine is one of the greatest athletes Australia has ever had, with what he did in rugby and boxing, no one as come close to dominating two sports the way he did (that I can think of anyway). No one appreciates him cause he has basically acted like a dick to sell PPVs (and it has worked). Apparently he's a very different bloke off camera I've heard.

Other than that I'd reckon Deontay Wilder could have probably done well at some other sports, big athletic fella with some long arms. And Nikolai Valuev just because.
 
TankAbbott4Eva said:
Mundine is one of the greatest athletes Australia has ever had, with what he did in rugby and boxing, no one as come close to dominating two sports the way he did (that I can think of anyway). No one appreciates him cause he has basically acted like a dick to sell PPVs (and it has worked). Apparently he's a very different bloke off camera I've heard.

Other than that I'd reckon Deontay Wilder could have probably done well at some other sports, big athletic fella with some long arms. And Nikolai Valuev just because.
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Ben Askren has been conpeting successfully in disk golf for years. Won 4th place in the world championships. Lol ikr.

How far did Mundine achieve in rugby out of curiosity.
 
nac386 said:
Obviously Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson come to mind. In more recent years, Manny Pacquiao proved to be an impressive athlete.
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I feel like athleticism should be define as how well someone can pick up other sports with better ease than others.
So can u play football, basketball, baseball. How well can u run and jump. Can u hit a tennis ball. Shit like that.
 
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