BEST JAB Lennox Lewis: Lewis’ variation of the jab was disruptive because it was forceful and maintained distance. Usually a jab doesn’t have much force. However, with Lewis, his jab was very fast and powerful. BEST DEFENSE Michael Dokes: Even though we only went four rounds, his defense was impeccable. [He was] extremely slippery, feinting the entire fight without a hiccup. He was constantly moving his head, making it difficult to connect. Very good at escaping punches and responding with combinations. FASTEST HANDS Dokes: His hands were quick and he was exceedingly experienced. He had lightning speed that you would not see coming. At the end of Round 2 he stunned me with his sharp left hook and I knew I had to keep my cool because he was going to keep coming at me. There is a reason his nickname was “Dynamite”. BEST FOOTWORK Greg Page: He sprouted from Muhammad Ali’s backyard (Louisville, Kentucky) and sparred with the icon on a regular basis. Imagine fighting a younger Ali. He was exceptionally light on his feet and knew how to work the ring. Page would be moving constantly but instead of jumping around like Dokes, Page would glide. He did a great job at controlling the space. SMARTEST Mike Weaver: He has explosive brute force with his punches but he doesn’t neglect his defense. I remember he was labeled a slow starter, but I think he was just studying his opponent. When we fought, I could feel him studying my movement and adjusting for the following round. He was always thinking three-four moves ahead. After he deceived me with that deceptive shoulder drop, I was not going to allow him to bait me. Instead of brawling and looking for a knockout, I decided to maintain distance by being quick on my feet and outpointing him. STRONGEST James “Bonecrusher” Smith: At the weigh in, I tried to feel his strength. I leaned on him and it was like leaning on a wall. He was ****ing unbelievably strong. He was terrifying and embodied what it meant to be a slugger. Bonecrusher would punch through you. I tell you, when he punched me it felt like an earthquake. Every inch of your body felt that power. BEST CHIN Mike Tyson: I consider myself a hard puncher. I hit this man with some haymakers and he shook it off, like, ‘Is that all you got?’ They called him “Iron” Mike Tyson, and that was not a joke. He was iron-chinned. I ruptured his ear-drum and he still came back. BEST PUNCHER Tyson: Tommy Morrison had a very good left hook; he caught me and dropped me. Lennox is a strong puncher. Weaver’s punch was a single-punch that would be a devastating knockout. Tyson’s punch was a series of powerful punches, like a submachine gun looking to annihilate you. Tyson has a punch to remember. BEST BOXING SKILLS Page: He was so crafty because he came from the Muhammad Ali camp. He was very slippery. He had good skills; he was champion of the world. I would have him on the ropes and his hand and footspeed would work in tandem to comfortably dodge a wave of punches and dance away. He would then continue to dance around the ring. Page was a superior fighter with a remarkable uppercut that tagged me several times. It was an all-out war between us from beginning to end. When I landed, he would absorb the blow and just continued to move his head despite the punishment. He just kept bouncing around exhausting my energy as I threw power punches. He had great stamina with a lot of heart. It was remarkable. BEST OVERALL Tyson: I’d have to go with Tyson. He’s very good at his job. There’s different levels to boxing and Mike Tyson fluctuated in levels. When he’s training and [switched] on, it’s hard to beat him. I shared a ring with him for 19 rounds. Tyson had good defense – he was always slipping punches and had great head movement. He made it difficult to land power shots as he was maneuvering inside. At the same time, he applying constant pressure, not giving you any time to recover or breathe. Tyson was also quick but had unbelievable power for his size. He also had good timing and coordination, where he was throwing punches from all angles. You never knew what to expect and when he connected you felt the damage. He broke my jaw in the second round [of the second fight]. He had that killer instinct. When he went in the ring, you knew he had the desire to try to kill you and not hurt you. When he said, “If Razor Ruddock doesn’t die, it doesn’t count,” he meant that.
Great interview. Razor fought some solid guys that i feel he doesn't get enough credit for. He's primarily known for losses to Tyson and Lewis
Both interesting and telling how highly he rates the 80's guys tho Page was 8 years past his best, Dokes and Weaver similar with Smith, never a big player excepting the one smelly battering of Witherspoon also on the down. Sure he happened to beat those guys but Page was surprisingly awkward and Smith had him on the deck.
Great read. The answers generally feel honest and are also very well formulated. It is typical, though, that the guy who really blew you away almost never is picked as the best. You could of course make the point that he didn't have time to learn as much about Lewis's abilities.
Weaver as the smartest was the answer that really stood out. Very interesting to read his take on that.
He used to spar Lewis quite often so he did know about Lewis. But I agree with @Bokaj as often with these topics, the guy who actually knocked out the fighter is never rated as the best puncher. I mean Ruddock only lasted barely 2 rounds with Lewis.
To be fair, sometimes the guy who knocks an opponent spark out clean and early doesn't get rated that highly BECAUSE it was such a a fast and sudden knockout. He may honestly not remember exactly how hard Lewis hit him. And he did mention that Lewis was a strong puncher. In regards to Tyson, the way he worded things I think he meant that Tyson is the best overall puncher because of his wide variety of punches and the fact he threw lots of combinations with good speed and power. It doesn't seem as if he meant Tyson hits harder with one shot than any of his other opponents.
Yeah that's true I just meant in most cases pretty much with these type of threads. Fighters always claim the hardest puncher they fought, is the one that beat or survived against, rather than the fighter who sparked them out. I'm not saying that's the case with Ruddock necessarily but you know what I mean.
The most bizarre case I can think of is Shannon Briggs. He claimed Foreman hit harder than Lewis, and then after the Vitali bout claimed Vitali hit harder than both. Lewis actually knocked him down 3x. Vitali threw everything but the kitchen sink at him all 12 rounds unable to make him take a knee.
