BEST JAB Lennox Lewis: He was tall and had a long reach. When you’re tall you can use that reach to your advantage. He had a good jab. BEST DEFENSE Rodolfo Marin: He had a good defense and was tough to land a clean shot on. Damiani was so awkward, he had a good defense. BEST HANDSPEED Mike Tyson: He would swing those hooks and you wouldn’t see them coming. He was very quick. BEST FOOTWORK Lewis: Boxing him was like boxing yourself. When I would maneuver to do things to him, he would maneuver to do the same thing back to me. That made it difficult when you had someone with good footwork. SMARTEST Tony Tubbs: He was one of the most scientific boxers that I ever fought. He was a smart fighter. STRONGEST Jeff Sims: I fought him early in my career, after about seven or eight fights. He was stronger than Tyson, Bowe and Lewis. BEST CHIN Marion Wilson: I hit that guy with a good hook and right hand he took it and didn’t flinch. Nobody knocked him out. BEST PUNCHER Sims: He was a big puncher and I never felt punches harder. Everywhere he would land it would kind of bother me. He hit me on my collarbone and broke it. If he caught me right, he’d probably have stopped me. I would say Tyson hit harder out of him, Lewis and Bowe. Stevenson was the biggest puncher I faced in my amateur career BEST BOXING SKILLS Lewis: Being tall he was able to be elusive and slip and slide. He was technically very good. Tillis was a really good boxer. BEST OVERALL Tyson: I’d have to go with Tyson. Tyson was in a different mindset in the 80s. No question, Stevenson was one of the best I faced in my amateur and professional career. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d won the title. He would have matched up well with Tyson, Lewis and Bowe. He was in that conversation. Tyson and Stevenson were great fighters.
I do like when there are some surprise names in a boxer's answers. Rodolfo Marin, who would of guessed. Thanks for posting.
Good list. I agree with Tyson being the best overall. I would pick peak Tyson over any 90's heavy except Holyfield who may have had his number. Biggs was a good fighter but needed more seasoning before fighting a guy like Tyson. I feel like Biggs never fully developed. He needed more time to develop his defense. I don't think Biggs would have been especially great. He did not have a lot of power and while he moved well, he did not exactly have the speed and jab of a Larry Holmes. Good fighter though, and he could have achieved a bit more with better management and without cocaine.
Tyrell Biggs had excellent defense but he changed his style to become fan free to watch. Although I have to admit that he created some exciting fights such as with Renaldo Snipes and Gary Mason, but that wasn't the true Tyrell Biggs. He's a natural stick and mover. Noted how he outbox Tyson in the 1st round.
Not the first time I've heard Tubbs being called a smart fighter. Interesting that Biggs put him over Lewis in terms of intelligence.
Agree. Biggs I think had better skills than being relegated to a footnote in history. As you say, he had his shortcomings, but who knows? In an era like the early 80's he could have won a WBA strap.
He didn`t much on Tyson in the 1st round, Tony Tubbs landed more of Tyson in the 1st round of his fight v Tyson, Tubbs could match Tyson`s handspeed, Biggs didn`t have Mike`s combo punching ability and was only throwing one punch at a time v Mike, just pot-shotting.
Not here in South Florida. When he wasn't terrorizing the neighborhood by robbery or beating up people he was either training for a fight or in prison/jail . His biggest claim to fame was damn near cutting off Ali's lip in a sparring session. Shot or shot at many different times, he was destined to end up in a morgue at a relative young age. It finally happened in Miami one night in the early 90's someone's bullets found a vital area. Killed him dead. Ver few mourned his passing............... Yes it's very possible he hit harder with one punch than Tyson. Doesn't mean he would've gotten out of the 1st rd against him.
No hostilities at all brother . Please don't take it that way. Prime vs prime Sims last as long against Tyson as Scafff did lol. Robbing and Beating up drug dealers and state prisoners at the old Belle Glade Correctional facility means absolutely nothing in a boxing ring against one of the premier heavyweights in history. I was mainly talking about Sim's character. Though I didn't know him personally I know plenty people who did. I did watch him fight at the local auditorium years ago. Most of the people that knew him feared him, or just didn't want him around. A bad seed, made worst by poverty and the racisms of the area and times....
Nearly every poverty/crime ridden city in America has a guy like Simms. Wild man children who can't be rehabilitated and who use their size and strength to terrorize others or cause chaos. I knew a guy like that in my home town. Couldn't ever keep a job for more than 6 months, went to jail and then house arrest multiple times for street fights/disturbing the peace etc. Was a big guy with natural strength and knew some martial arts but couldn't keep his hands to himself and has a short fuse. The guy still acted like that even after going to college a few semesters. I don't know too much about his past, but he had a rough life and never sought counseling or a healthy outlet for all that anger. I tried talking to him a few times and he talked as though he wanted to change, but his actions said otherwise. When he wasn't fighting people, he smoke and drank a lot or pursued women despite already having 5 kids by 3 different women. Boxing is not a substitute for mental health counseling. It can certainly help and is a good stress reliever, but if you have serious issues that you haven't resolved, they will inevitably creep back up and affect your daily life. You know what they say about taking a cat out of the jungle. People don't change unless they're willing to accept help, that's been my experience. And in many cases they don't seek help until it's too late or they've burned tons of bridges and have a moment of clarity.