Whitaker, Floyd, Toney, Ali
You forgot Nicolino Locche and George Benton whos credit for creating the philly shell
anyway, I would rate both above Pep cause unlike those 2, Pep relied heavily on his feet to avoid punches, in other words he ran alot. Pep was advanced for his generation but he couldnt do what Whitaker, Locche, Floyd, Benitez or James Toney did which is setting their feet and stand toe to toe yet being so damn elusive.
As for Floyd vs Whitaker, I go back n forth on this one. Floyd is a sharpshooter and has more snaps on his punches while Whitaker was a volume puncher who went to the body alot. Also Floyd is a great body puncher but if they fought I think Whitaker will outwork him with flashy non-damaging combos or shoe-shine a lot, cause Whitaker was the best at slipping the straight right hand which is Floyd's go to punch
Floyd does have more power so maybe he could close the distance and make it an inside fight a fight like he did against Judah, that'd give him a better shot I beleive
Willie Pep fought very similar to Pernell Whitaker, they depended more on their footwork and body movement then on their shoulder and gloves.
Floyd Mayweather fights very similar to Charley Burley in style.
No 1 knows who the best defensive fighter is because many of the best from the past, including Pep, have few fights recorded.
Pep supposedly won a round without throwing a punch and he was very small so i would guess smaller agile fighters can better avoid punches.
Pep is my vote
They are all great defensive masters, mastering each technique,though though mastered different defensive techniques.
Such as Willie Pep relied on back stepping and circling around his opponents for defense so he basically use his defense for it.
Pernell Whitaker relied on torso agility and head movement for his defensive ability.
While Floyd Mayweather relies on his shoulder roll and blocking/parrying as his main defensive weapon.
Sorry for the long topic though overall I will say Willie Pep was the best at overall defense where he would spend rounds without getting hit.
I rank Whitaker as #1. I am literally in shock and amazement every time I watch one of his fights.
He utterly outclassed JCC, who is an elite fighter.
Floyd
IMO, second behind Pep.
where does Floyd rate among fighters "no one could ever hit" ??
who belongs on the Mt Rushmore of defensive fighters? anyone that i may have forgotten please include
can't say i've seen all that much of Pepp, may be 3 or 4 rounds of his action max.....but i know that fighters have been evolving for about six or seven decades from his hey day....
but i think i have Mayweather a clear notch above Whitaker, based on the Floyd having a bit more of an offensive mind
who are your top defensive masters, and how did you come to that conclusion???
