1. Pernell Whitaker
2. Willie Pep
3. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The big difference between Whitaker and Pep is that Pep had great balance and made great use of his legs. However, if you caught up to him you could hit him. Whitaker could stand right in front of you and make you miss. Mayweather could be hit at ring center but he could make a fool of most men, especially against the ropes. He is more a blocker than a mover.
4. Wilfred Benitez. He could make you look foolish. Again, his best work was against the ropes.
5. Muhammad ALI. I have to give him a lot of credit because heavyweights just don't fight the way ALI fought.
6. Nicolino Locche. Like Pep, Locche had a ton of fights and was a master at avoiding punches.
7. Roy Jones Jr. I give it to Roy over two of his opponents who are often ranked higher in regards to defense. Both Hopkins and Toney were great defensive masters. However, neither could come close to matching Roy's speed at 168. Speed and offensive are as important as movement and avoiding punches. You could argue that no one had faster hands than Roy at his best.
8. Benny Leonard
9. Gene Tunney
10. Bernard Hopkins
Toney just misses the cut here because he was lazy and often failed to train. Hopkins was never out of shape. Perhaps, only Mayweather ever worked harder of fighters in the last 20 years.
In no order:
Willie Pep
Pernell Whitaker
Nicolino Locche
Floyd Mayweather Jr
Wilfred Benítez
James Toney
Gene Tunney
Muhammed Ali
Bernard Hopkins
Benny Leonard
Since theres not many whole fights for the likes of Pep of Tunney, this is my top post 40s
Nicolino Locche
Pernell Whitaker
Floyd Mayweather
Wilfred Benitez
Ali
Joe Walcott
Ivan Calderon
Bernard Hopkins
Omar Narvaez
Paul Spadafora
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. - greatest defensive fighter I've ever seen in my life.
2. Pernell Whitaker
3. Wilfred Benitez- legend is the smoothest defensive practitioner in the history of the game.
4 James Toney
5 Jack Johnson
Another great question sir. Please keep it posted a little longer, thanks.
1. Pernell Whitaker
2. Willie Pep
3. Nicolino Locche
4. Wilfred Benitez
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
6. Benny Leonard
7. Gene Tunney
8/ Jack Johnson
9. Bernard Hopkins
10. James Toney
