Greatest chins ever

paddythere · 19-04-2020 4:16pm #1

Which fighters had the best chin's in boxing history?

Personally, I think Hagler had the best chin I've ever seen. The punches Hearns hit him with in the 1st minute of their bout would have left anyone else unconscious.

Eubank is also worth a mention, he was as tough as nails.

Ali also had one of the best chins ever.

Lamotta too.

walshb · 19-04-2020 4:21pm

Toney in the reckoning as he fought all the way from MW to HW, and took some licks..

paddythere · 19-04-2020 4:34pm

walshb wrote: »

Toney in the reckoning as he fought all the way from MW to HW, and took some licks..

Good shout... Wayne McCullough also worth a mention

normanoffside · 19-04-2020 5:36pm

Oliver McCall

walshb · 19-04-2020 5:37pm

Throw in GGG, Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall and Chris Eubank..

normanoffside · 19-04-2020 5:51pm

walshb wrote: »

Throw in GGG, Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall and Chris Eubank..

David Tua's chin was pretty solid too

olestoepoke · 19-04-2020 5:51pm

Jimmy Hill

StringerBell · 19-04-2020 7:49pm

At the weight and as much as I dislike him, Mayweather has to be mentioned. His agility and defensive positioning saved him most of the time but any time he did get tagged (the Mosley one answered my questions about his chin) he came through it solidly.

GGG, Eubank, Froch?, Holyfield all probably deserve a mention. Vitali Klitschko?

Toney is definitely an all time contender.

blade1 · 19-04-2020 8:43pm

Canelo's is pretty solid as well.

walshb · 19-04-2020 8:48pm

Mike Tyson and his 20 inch shock absorber, of course!!

blade1 · 19-04-2020 8:57pm

Amir Khan

normanoffside · 19-04-2020 9:07pm

A couple of more historic contenders are George Chuvalo and Jake La Motta

walshb · 20-04-2020 11:09am

normanoffside wrote: »

David Tua's chin was pretty solid too

Twas.

He was dropped and stopped by Felix Savon in the amateurs..short right hand.....looked all over the shop.

walshb · 20-04-2020 1:53pm

paddythere wrote: »

Which fighters had the best chin's in boxing history?

Personally, I think Hagler had the best chin I've ever seen. The punches Hearns hit him with in the 1st minute of their bout would have left anyone else unconscious.

Eubank is also worth a mention, he was as tough as nails.

Ali also had one of the best chins ever.

Lamotta too.

Just on this...

Not that easy to see and assess and evaluate the type shots Tommy landed really clean...

Tommy was a very good hitter, but not so much past 154 lbs. I don’t think, for example, that he hits harder and heavier than a real big MW like Gerald McClellan..

How heavy and clean were the shots in that war? I never really got to see them clean and analysed and slowed down..

paddythere · 20-04-2020 2:42pm

walshb wrote: »

Just on this...

Not that easy to see and assess and evaluate the type shots Tommy landed really clean...

Tommy was a very good hitter, but not so much past 154 lbs. I don’t think, for example, that he hits harder and heavier than a real big MW like Gerald McClellan..

How heavy and clean were the shots in that war? I never really got to see them clean and analysed and slowed down..

Not sure I'd really agree with that. Hearns moved from welterweight all the way up to cruiserweight and was KO'ing guys the whole way. Fair enough McClellan was probably a harder hitter at middle but he was harder hitter than just about anybody EVER at middle.

As for the Hagler Hearns fight. Hearns caught him with a few clean shots in the first 30 seconds where you could see he was putting everything he had into them. If you watch the fight you can see Hearns was pretty much exhausted after a couple of minutes as he basically went all out to knock Hagler out and he never even really hurt him, it was amazing.

walshb · 20-04-2020 2:58pm

paddythere wrote: »

Not sure I'd really agree with that. Hearns moved from welterweight all the way up to cruiserweight and was KO'ing guys the whole way. Fair enough McClellan was probably a harder hitter at middle but he was harder hitter than just about anybody EVER at middle.

As for the Hagler Hearns fight. Hearns caught him with a few clean shots in the first 30 seconds where you could see he was putting everything he had into them. If you watch the fight you can see Hearns was pretty much exhausted after a couple of minutes as he basically went all out to knock Hagler out and he never even really hurt him, it was amazing.

I think the best shot that Hearns landed was the one that damaged/broke the right hand, and it actually kind of slipped off Marvin's head. It wasn't a clean shot to the jaw or chin. That's likely why it was damaged, it hitting the skull of Hagler...It's the shot where Hearns has his back to the camera and his back is close to the ropes. He kind of spun Hagler a bit.

Not saying he didn't hit Marvin hard, but I always felt that this fight was a bit exaggerated to bolster the claim on Hagler's chin; I mean, he hit Duran harder and cleaner in 1984....now there was a clean right to the jaw...

trashcan · 20-04-2020 3:06pm

I was going to say Jimmy Hill and Bruce Forsyth, then I saw this was a boxing thread !

(Sorry, couldn’t resist )

normanoffside · 20-04-2020 3:18pm

trashcan wrote: »

I was going to say Jimmy Hill and Bruce Forsyth, then I saw this was a boxing thread !

(Sorry, couldn’t resist )

What about Desperate Dan?

paddythere · 20-04-2020 3:21pm

walshb wrote: »

I think the best shot that Hearns landed was the one that damaged/broke the right hand, and it actually kind of slipped off Marvin's head. It wasn't a clean shot to the jaw or chin. That's likely why it was damaged, it hitting the skull of Hagler...It's the shot where Hearns has his back to the camera and his back is close to the ropes. He kind of spun Hagler a bit.

Not saying he didn't hit Marvin hard, but I always felt that this fight was a bit exaggerated to bolster the claim on Hagler's chin; I mean, he hit Duran harder and cleaner in 1984....now there was a clean right to the jaw...

I know the one your talking about and it looked pretty solid to me. He also landed 3 or 4 other clean right hands in that exchange. For me, Hearns would've knocked any other middleweight down with them bombs while he completely fresh like he was there.

blade1 · 20-04-2020 5:53pm

trashcan wrote: »

I was going to say Jimmy Hill and Bruce Forsyth, then I saw this was a boxing thread !

(Sorry, couldn’t resist )

And I was going to say Lee Chin until I saw it was boxing.

walshb · 21-04-2020 12:36pm

paddythere wrote: »

I know the one your talking about and it looked pretty solid to me. He also landed 3 or 4 other clean right hands in that exchange. For me, Hearns would've knocked any other middleweight down with them bombs while he completely fresh like he was there.

I am not aware if there is any slowed down clear footage of the shots, apart from the replays of the shots on the actual fight; but I do think some shots were kind of partially blocked with Marvin's gloves...

Anyway, it was a real fight that showed Tommy's vulnerabilities....for a fighter I admire, he had clear weaknesses that really cost him. He was great mid to long range, but he never really had that survival instinctual game on the inside. He either beat you, or you beat him type.....sure, he survived some scary moments through his career, (survive being the word), but he always looked vulnerable when he was forced to fight hard in close, or when hit hard and in trouble....

There was suggestions that he may have beaten Hagler had he not broken the hand.....not a chance... Hagler would have simply broken him down and eaten him alive....because Marvin brought real heat, that Tommy's vulnerabilities could not avoid....

I'd make a few MWs and SMWs favorites over him for these very reasons....

Toney eats him alive. Eubank knocks him out. McClellan knocks him out. McCallum breaks him late stoppage.

Roy Jones would be interesting, because Roy's chin is not getting a grade A from me, and I think Tommy could find it....Roy could KO Tommy, that is for sure, but if it goes to points (which I believe it does not with the others), then Hearns can absolutely have his hand raised. Tall, rangey, fast, great outside boxer.....and carries enough power to really hurt Jones...

EagererBeaver · 21-04-2020 12:38pm

paddythere wrote: »

Good shout... Wayne McCullough also worth a mention

Absolutely, the Packet Racket took a fair few batterings and stayed standing even at the very end of his career.

blade1 · 21-04-2020 12:49pm

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Absolutely, the Packet Racket took a fair few batterings and stayed standing even at the very end of his career.

That sounds like someone best known for always eating crisps.

Sheridan81 · 21-04-2020 2:37pm

Marcos Maidana is tough.

blade1 · 21-04-2020 2:56pm

blade1 wrote: »

Canelo's is pretty solid as well.

If I mentioned Canelo, I should have also included GGG.

21-04-2020 3:03pm

George Chuvalo

Your Face · 21-04-2020 3:07pm

Rocky Marciano
Steve Collins

Muhammad Ali took some big shots especially later on in his career.

walshb · 21-04-2020 3:15pm

There really is several award/layers/levels to a good chin..

Best way to assess is for single power shot absorption....

This category is the real test...

For me there are a handful in this category...those who were never really affected/troubled/proper dropped by heavy shots..

And also, I think the HWs need to be separated from the rest, as they are taking shots across any weight class, really....from 175 + lbs upwards; the CW division, of course came in in the late 1970s to split this....

HWs: Chuvalo, McCall, Tyson, Mercer, Vitali stand out here for me.....great at absorbing power shots and remaining there and lucid and ready to fight. Just physiologically designed to take a helluva punch.

Below HW I am thinking Hagler and Eubank and McCullough and Juan Laporte and Mexican, Marcus Villisana as great absorbers' of power shots. Sal Sanchez comes to mind as well.

Juan Laporte gets my nod in the lower weight categories....those below welter. Villisana a close second, who may have taken more flush shots that Juan, but I don't think ever was knocked down.

All names mentioned get grade A for me....

21-04-2020 3:17pm

Holyfield could also take a beating and keep coming

Sheridan81 · 21-04-2020 4:12pm

Audley Harrison deserves a shout.

Huntergonzo · 21-04-2020 4:15pm

Vitali Klitschko deserves a mention, he went his entire career without being knocked down in the heavyweight division. That's impressive even if the overall standard was down on the previous decade.

nacho libre · 21-04-2020 9:35pm

George Chuvalo and Oliver Mc Call.

Bobby Baccala · 22-04-2020 11:43am

Batrachotox wrote: »

Holyfield could also take a beating and keep coming

Holyfield has the best chin for me, he ate bombs off Tyson and Bowe who are 2 of the hardest hitting heavyweights I’ve seen.

walshb · 22-04-2020 1:00pm

Bobby Baccala wrote: »

Holyfield has the best chin for me, he ate bombs off Tyson and Bowe who are 2 of the hardest hitting heavyweights I’ve seen.

But he was knocked out by Bowe from one punch....

Bert Cooper had him down and badly hurt.

He has a very good chin, no doubt....I think for single power shot absorption, there are better...

Take Tyson.....never dropped from a single shot whilst anyway fresh.....his TKO/KO losses were all from absolute pastings for several rounds before he fell.

Bobby Baccala · 22-04-2020 5:33pm

walshb wrote: »

But he was knocked out by Bowe from one punch....

Bert Cooper had him down and badly hurt.

He has a very good chin, no doubt....I think for single power shot absorption, there are better...

Take Tyson.....never dropped from a single shot whilst anyway fresh.....his TKO/KO losses were all from absolute pastings for several rounds before he fell.

9/10 lads woulda been knocked out by Bowe in round 1 by some of them boxes but like Tyson it took several rounds before he fell so what’s the difference really?

walshb · 22-04-2020 7:41pm

Bobby Baccala wrote: »

9/10 lads woulda been knocked out by Bowe in round 1 by some of them boxes but like Tyson it took several rounds before he fell so what’s the difference really?

Well, because he wasn’t taking a pasting off Bowe and Cooper before being badly hurt/dropped..

Tyson is different. I think Mike took a better single power shot...

I don’t think Mike is dropped by the shots that Holyfield was dropped by in those same circumstances..

Same way I don’t think Chuvalo is dropped, McCall, Mercer and Vitali..

Mike fell from exhaustion and pastings...

iebamm2580 · 22-04-2020 10:24pm

Vitali, think he got knocked out in kickboxing though.

nacho libre · 23-04-2020 2:04pm

iebamm2580 wrote: »

Vitali, think he got knocked out in kickboxing though.

Yes he did. McCall, if he had tried kickboxing might have been knocked out by a headkick too. In a boxing ring they both had great chins

Littlehorny · 29-04-2020 7:56pm

Can't believe Julio Cesar Chavez hasn't been mentioned yet lads.

SHOVELLER · 23-05-2020 9:05pm

Great thread. Never saw him live but Wayne has to be up there as he could take some punishment. BTW good article below:

https://www.irishnews.com/sport/boxing/2020/05/19/news/wayne-mccullough-1943487/

RobbingBandit · 23-05-2020 9:15pm

Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins only fighter to manage to knock him out

normanoffside · 23-05-2020 9:26pm

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins only fighter to manage to knock him out

And that was a body shot.

RobbingBandit · 23-05-2020 10:21pm

Yup it was too just watched it a few minutes ago again.

normanoffside · 23-05-2020 10:44pm

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins only fighter to manage to knock him out

In all seriousness though, he is not really in the reckoning.
Quartey had him down and badly buzzed.
I am pretty sure that the light hitting Pea Whittaker floored him too,

His chin was good but not in this debate.

23-05-2020 10:56pm

Billy Graham. Over 120 fights and to the best of my knowledge he never hit the deck.

walshb · 28-05-2020 2:57pm

normanoffside wrote: »

In all seriousness though, he is not really in the reckoning.
Quartey had him down and badly buzzed.
I am pretty sure that the light hitting Pea Whittaker floored him too,

His chin was good but not in this debate.

I don't think Pea had him down, at least not "floored" him...

Oscar had a pretty decent beard.....

normanoffside · 28-05-2020 6:26pm

walshb wrote: »

I don't think Pea had him down, at least not "floored" him...

Oscar had a pretty decent beard.....

Yeah it was a slip/balance thing for sure.

Oscar had a good chin, but I don't think you can put him in this category (Greatest chin of all time).

walshb · 28-05-2020 8:25pm

normanoffside wrote: »

Yeah it was a slip/balance thing for sure.

Oscar had a good chin, but I don't think you can put him in this category (Greatest chin of all time).

Agreed. Good chin. But doesn’t enter my head when assessing legendary chins!

The Nal · 29-05-2020 2:56pm

Chuvalo probably. 93 fights at heavyweight for more than 20 years and never knocked down. Crazy stuff. Some of his fights were brutal aswell.

Marvin Hagler in the conversation too.

Honorable mentions for Carmen Basilio, Rocky Marciano and Willie Pep.

Greatest chins ever

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