Yeah that's the difference. Ali could be rocked but still had the mental clarity to move around, clinch, and talk trash. Lewis didn't have a "bad" chin, it's just that it CLEARLY wasn't as good as Ali's and he had much worse recovery and mental clarity.
That was in 1962. Lewis probably had a better chin than 62 Ali. 72 Ali was a different kettle of fish.
Let's just say if the Frazier punch from FOTC that knocked down Ali lands on Lennox Lewis Lennox isn't getting up.
As Cobra said, I don't think it's that cut and dry. Let me put it this way: almost all of us on this forum will agree that Cooper and Frazier did not hit as hard as Foreman. Plenty will say Shavers also hits harder than those 2. Yet Shavers's bets shots were not enough to take Ali down, while Cooper's and Frazier's were. One might argue that 70s Ali took a shot better, which I agree with. So that rules out Cooper. But still leaves Frazier. So does that mean Frazier hit harder than Shavers of Foreman ?!? You tell me. Personally I think Ali went down against Frazier cause he got hit in the jaw clean. Shavers hit Ali's cheekbone, while Foreman did not manage to land his best shots on Ali's face. Hi landed body shots, but we are assessing chins here. In Lewis's case, he was hit clean with power punches. So until someone brings a time machine and puts Ali in Lewis's spot, I am not convinced Ali had a better chin.
How could you possibly know that ?!? He might go to dreamland or he might not even go down, there is no way to prove it one way or another.
The punch that McCall put Lennox Lewis down was nowhere near as good. McCall wouldn't have been able to put Ali down with that punch.
But that is where the flaw in your judgement comes. If all those guys would have hit Ali with their best shots and he'd have survived them, I'd completely agree with you, but the fact is many did not manage to land on him.
Lennox kinda walked into the punch which made the impact harder. Plus he didn't see it coming, that makes a huge difference. And although he was clearly dizzy, he got right up.
Lewis' chin was suspect through half of his career. Ali's was never really much in doubt. By the mid-70s it was revered. LL became top 6 ATG DESPITE not having an even top 15 chin.
If youve ever been KO'd you'd know that its the punch you dont see coming that gets you. As a 16 yr old kid I was Ko'd & I dont remember even leaving the corner just the bell ringing & then the light shining in my eyes
