How great would the following be with an iron chin?

Hearns, RJJ, Norris, Moorer, Linares.

Emmanuel steward called linares the most talented fighter he had ever seen(in a fight he got stopped in)

Go ahead and name some other chinny greats(almost greats)
How would their careers have gone?

 

John Ruiz if he coulda shaken off tuaesque onslaught ,

 

I think all the above mentioned fighters would have taken a step up if their chins were better. To be fair though, some of them weren’t THAT weak. You had to pack a pretty good punch to take out Hearns and Jones durability was pretty good but deteriorated with age….

that said I think Donald Curry, Ken Norton, Meldrick Taylor and Floyd Patterson could have benefitted from a better set of whiskers.

 

Norton for sure.

 

Iron chinned norton, where does he rank? How does his career change?

 

He doesn’t fight good enough in the first place to capitalise, bit better version of Chuvalo?

 

Hearns chin was a making weight problem I think, he probably wore it down fast in all his fights at the lower weights and it stuck around. Moorer? Well he looked like steel at 175lbs and fought like a p1ssed off buffalo so we might see more of that, which would be sweet.

 

Imagine Floyd Patterson with a chin of steel! The lad would have been nigh on untouchable.

 

Wlad if he had an iron chin would have won a few more fights he lost. But would he have become as technically good with an iron chin? Probably not, so maybe he would have lost some because his iron chin, same with boxers on your list.

I used to wrestle and things a lot of the strongest guys rely on their power and don’t get as good.

 

I think Norris would have benefited the most. He was always on the attack and had the skills to give everyone hell. His chin was such a big setback for him. He couldn’t really unify in his own division and usually preyed on smaller or past it guys. I don’t think Linares would be that much better with a chin honestly. Moorer probably still loses to the big heavyweights of his era. The others op listed already had great careers, probably wouldn’t change much aside from a few more good wins.

 

Hearns's chin wasn't as bad as people make out, it wasn't granite but he showed he could take a shot. He took quite alot of punishment off Leonard 2nd time, Roldan, Barkley the 2nd time without being stopped.

Norris on the other hand had probably one of the weakest chins of any P4P fighter, Simon Brown literally knocked him out with a jab.

So I believe Norris would've definitely benefited more with a better chin as that was a huge achilles heel for him.

 

From what I have seen, Tommy Morrison with an iron chin would have been awesome! His chin turned worse than glass when he got tired or gassed (maybe sugar candy glass?). Even if he had just seriously trained and ditched the night life, he probably would have been awesome.

 

No mention of Lennox yet, then.

 

Well, if were talking about genuinely iron chins - among the best in their division's history - then I think the outcomes differ for each of them.

If Hearns inherited the chin of Marvin Hagler, then he'd be nigh on unbeatable. He had the skill, length, jab and speed to outbox most and the power to take out anyone else. I can't think of anyone I'd favour over him at 147 or 160 if his chin weren't an issue. Now, he'd still have the problem of having less than Leonard-like stamina, but realistically, his stamina was more than good enough if the durability 'issue' is negated.

I don't really see how Jones would change much as a fighter with an iron chin. He may have been more aggressive, but Jones was never afraid of taking risks anyway. I think it just would've made his decline slower.

I think Norris would've always been a headcase. Sure his chin wasn't great, but it wasn't his only flaw. His temperament and general ring IQ held him back more than his chin ever did. I still think he'd have avoided the top dogs after Jackson, and I don't think he'd have scored any less DQs.

Moorer, iron chin or not, probably would never have become an all time great IMO. He was a good fighter, sharp and decently powerful with a very good right hook. But he was also extremely small in a division with giants around like Bowe, Golota, and obviously Lennox. Not to mention guys like Wlad and Vitali not too far behind. He probably wouldn't have lost to Foreman, though.

Linares himself would've been a very, very good fighter if his skin and chin weren't a weakness. He was fast, fluid and snappy along with some very nice boxing. I think he'd have absolutely stayed champion for a while, but I don't think he'd have ever beaten Lomachenko.

 

Lewis was in need of a stronger set of whiskers, we all saw what Hassim Rahman and Oliver McCall did to Lennox's chin.