Jeff Mayweather presents his top 10 greatest defensive fighters

7. Wilfredo Benitez-  He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17. 8. Chris Byrd- A two-time heavyweight champion of the world.  In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he captured a silver medal.  He quickly rose through the ranks as a pro, picking up wins against  Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield along the way. 9. Willie Pep-  Pep’s hallmark was his speed and finesse.  Considered by most as one of the best fighters of all time, he was indicted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.  He has also been named as the greatest featherweight of all time.  View the list »
10. Celestino Caballero-  The former unified super bantamweight champ gets things rolling.  In 2011 he also added the WBA featherweight crown to his trophy case, but surrendered the title when promotional issues made it difficult for him to land a fight.Jeff’s take:  Celestino is very crafty.  When I first saw him, I didn’t even see that part of him.  Once I watched him more, he amazed me.  He is very creative and great at creating angles. Read more http://proboxinginsider.com/jeff-mayweathers-10-greatest-defensive-fighters/

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Jeff Mayweather is one of the top trainers in all of boxing today. As a former fighter himself, Jeff Mayweather was widely known as a top defensive fighter and has passed those abilities down to those fighters under his watch.

Furthermore, as a member of the famous Mayweather boxing family who are known for their defensive prowess, there are perhaps few others as qualified to make a list consisting of the best defensive fighters of all time.

Here are the ten greatest defensive fighters of all time according to Jeff Mayweather.

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  • 10. Celestino Caballero-  The former unified super bantamweight champ gets things rolling.  In 2011 he also added the WBA featherweight crown to his trophy case, but surrendered the title when promotional issues made it difficult for him to land a fight.Jeff’s take:  Celestino is very crafty.  When I first saw him, I didn’t even see that part of him.  Once I watched him more, he amazed me.  He is very creative and great at creating angles. Read more http://proboxinginsider.com/jeff-mayweathers-10-greatest-defensive-fighters/
  • 9. Willie Pep-  Pep’s hallmark was his speed and finesse.  Considered by most as one of the best fighters of all time, he was indicted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.  He has also been named as the greatest featherweight of all time.  
  • 8. Chris Byrd- A two-time heavyweight champion of the world.  In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he captured a silver medal.  He quickly rose through the ranks as a pro, picking up wins against  Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield along the way. 
  • 7. Wilfredo Benitez-  He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17. 
  • 6.  Marlon Starling- Two-time U.S. world champion boxer.  He turned professional in 1979.  After 25 straight wins, he lost his first fight.  He ended up with a 45-6 career record. 
  • 5. Cassius Clay- In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War.  Ali was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges; he was stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended.  He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was eventually successful.Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.  Known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” he employed techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope. 
  • 4. Mark Johnson- Johnson, a fast and skilled southpaw, won titles at flyweight and junior bantamweight twice.  He also was a pound-for-pound ranked stalwart during the prime of his career, which ran from 1990 to 2006.  If Johnson’s resume was largely devoid of star names, it was because standout fighters of the day, such as Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero, Michael Carbajal and Ricardo Lopez are widely considered to have avoided him. 
  • 3. Michael Nunn- Nicknamed "Second to Nunn," he was a 6' 2" southpaw with great speed.  Nunn was the IBF middleweight champion and the WBA super middleweight champion.  Sadly, his post-fighting career has not turned out so well.
  • 2. Pernell Whittaker- Whitaker was a lightweight gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics.  He then embarked on a pro career in which he became world champion in four different weight divisions.  During his career, he fought world champions such as Julio César Chávez, Oscar De La Hoya and Félix Trinidad.Whitaker is also a former WBA Light Middleweight Champion, WBC Welterweight Champion, IBF Light Welterweight Champion, WBC, WBA & IBF Lightweight Champion and NABF Lightweight Champion.  
  • 1. Floyd Mayweather- He is a five-division world champion, who has won eight world titles and the Lineal championship in three different weight classes.  Mayweather is a two-time Ring Fighter of the Year and also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year award in 2007.Jeff's Take:  He's been hit less than anyone.  His ratio of hitting versus being hit is the greatest of all time.  He's the best defensive fighter in history.
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, Nashville Boxing Examiner

Michele Emrick is a lifelong boxing fan, contributing regularly to several boxing sites. A school teacher by day, she follows the sport actively, travelling often to attend fights throughout the country. As a woman in a male-dominated sport, she isn't afraid to tell things how they are. You...

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