Best Jab. -Jimmy Ellis: despite not being a natural heavyweight, he gave me some trouble with his great skills, especially his darting left jab! Best Defense. -Eddie Machens: you can make a case for foreman, but machen was in my eyes the hardest fighter to hit, he was one of the first real contender i stepped in the ring with and his defensive prowess made him a very live dog in the fight! -Best Chin Oscar Bonavena: I throw everything at him and he kept coming back for more. -Strongest George Foreman: there is simply no way to push him back, it was one of the few times where i had to move backward due to his sheer strength. -Best Puncher George Foreman: other than his "ox like" strength, his punching power was also one of the reasons i couldn't get inside, i mean his jab....my god his jab was so powerful its stopped dead in my tracks, even his hooks and Uppercuts lifted me off the ground!! His jab was like getting hit by a bus!! Fastest hands. Jimmy Ellis: this has to be Jimmy, he has great handspeed, even in footspeed as well! -Fastest feet. Jimmy Ellis: i already said Ellis, don't you understand? -Best Boxer. George Foreman: if all of my opponents fought each other, i believe big george would come at the top. Reporter: Does Muhammad Ali deserve a little mention? Frazier: No.
I think the opinion of the very old boxers would be interesting to know. Perhaps some questions would have to be changed, due to different fighting techniques and circumstances. Which opponents, e.g. during John L Sullivan's prime in the first half of the 1880s, at the time of bare knuckle fights and London prize fighter rules, had particularly strong attributes. Jack Johnson's opinion would also be interesting. I read once that Hank Griffin was a particularly tough puncher for him. But there would be so many interesting candidates. Joe Louis could compare punching qualities of Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Rocky Marciano, maybe even Elmer Ray (but just some exhibition fights and Ray was already a bit old) ... or footwork of Bob Pastor, Billy Conn, Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles... Jersey Joe Walcott would be great too. Eddie Machen, Zora Folley and Cleveland Williams (big puncher too) because they faced punchers like Bob Satterfield, Ingemar Johansson, Sonny Liston, Mike DeJohn, Bob Foster, Mac Foster, Joe Frazier and many great boxers.
Of course Langford is up their with every ones top 5 I would imagine, maybe going off piste slightly, so not the Greats, but the contenders the likes of : KO Chaney, Jimmy Brit, Joe Grim, Chuck Wiggins, Soldier Bartfield, Ace Hudkins, Lew Tendler, Lloyd Marshall, fighters of this caliber, after all they fought the Champs !. keep well.
Tough one. Frank Erne. It might look like this: Best Jab: Joe Gans Best Puncher: Terry McGovern Fastest Hands: Young Griffo Fastest Feet: Joe Gans Smartest: George Dixon Best Chin: George Lavigne Strongest: Rube Fearns Best Defence: Elbows McFadden Best Skillset: Jimmy Britt Best Overall: George Dixon
