And Now For Something Completely Different……
Edwin Valero’s recent exploits have proven once again that nothing thrills in boxing quite like a power puncher, but what about the other guys, the fellas who can’t punch like a mule kicks? They are the modern day ‘Slapsie’ Maxie Rosenblooms, fighters who either by choice or by necessity rely on skill, speed, workrate and movement to win fights over the distance, out-landing their foes rather than out-punching them.
Saddled with terms like ‘feather fisted’, this breed of boxer will generally put in longer shifts for less love, finding themselves tagged in the process as being ‘boring’ or ‘unexciting’.
There are of course exceptions to this, with Juan Diaz and Wayne McCullough immediately springing to mind, fighters who have utilised perpetual punching to overwhelm the opposition despite a distinct lack of pop.
Perhaps these ‘non-punchers’ are due a break. Consider how difficult it must have been for Chris Byrd, a manufactured heavyweight devoid of real power going up against both Klitschko brothers, (talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight).
The following ten men are the anti-Valeros, men who thrive without a devastating punch. ‘Slapsie Maxie’ (pictured above) would have approved.
Here’s the list, in order, of world rated fighters with the poorest knockout-to-fight ratios in boxing:
- Paulie Malignaggi 27-3 (5)
- Ivan Calderon 33-0-1 (6)
- Cory Spinks 36-5-0 (11)
- Wladimir Sidorenko 21-2-2 (7)
- Anselmo Moreno 26-1-1 (8)
- Yuri Foreman 28-0 (8)
- Vitali Tajbert 19-1 (6)
- Kohei Kono 22-4-0 (8)
- Ola Ofalabi 14-2-3 (6)
- Daigo Nakahiro 21-2-1 (8)
