He had a good chin, but I also think his reflexes in mind and physical were so sharp he was aware when he was hit that he absorbed it. Hearns traded more and didn't think defense as much, so he was caught more off guard, which is why I think being hit when a person is not expecting it is more devastating to the system.
Usually the pretty boys are flashy but lack the chin or are not known to be too tough. Leonard however broke that rule- a flashy boxer who could throw down and worse for his opponents had a rock soild chin.
Had the exact samething happen to me- noticed when I would spar when I was in my 40s that EVERY single punch seemed to hurt.
Just found it funny that when I was younger blows that I could absorb quite easily without any trouble all the sudden seemed to hurt. People think that its always wear and tear that cause people to lose the ability to take puinishment but in reality its that bone desenity starts to decrease around the age of 30 and that is actually the main factor in alot of people not being able to absorb punishment.
That's an interesting point re the decrease in bone density. Again, thanks for your educated insight.
Good point - and the reverse might be applied at least to a few KDs suffered by early career Patterson when his balance was less than ideal at the very moment of the KD punch.
Never liked him from the start , and I am talking from the 76 Olympics onward. Just never liked his phony personality. And I am not alone.
A lot of tall, lean muscle guys like Wilder have balance issues. Hearns being an obvious example. His balance was great coming forward and throwing punches, but defensively, not so great. Angelo Dundee pointed that out many years ago and I remember thinking that was very interesting. Dundee went on to say something like how Hearns would have been unbeatable if his balance was as good as SRL's.
Aside from the Bobby Joe Young fight, Aaron Pryor suffered at least two career KDs, one vs Dujuan Johnson and the other vs Akio Kameda, both due to poor balance, IIRC.