Ali: Best Chin All Time?

The best chin and Parki.

 

Toney deserves a mention, big hitters from middleweight to heavyweight

 

Great thread. Good logical debate, I like it.





Anyway, I agree with pretty much everyone but I'd like to much mention that Toney's beard is rock solid. He's taken shots from some big time punchers and was rarely rocked. The guys chin is concrete. I'm also glad to see that Tysons beard is getting a good mention. Whenever someone thinks of Tyson, they think of speed, power and ferocity, rarely do you hear him get a mention for having a solid beard.

Tyson had an amazing ability to take some solid shots.

With that said, I'd agree that Ali's beard has got to be one of the best. Chavez also was a freak of nature. McCullough is also a freak of nature.

 

Amir Khan should be mentioned... ****, wrong thread...:huh

 

Ali had an excellent chin but even more amazing was recuperative prowess.

 

Back in 1963 Henry Cooper badly hurt Ali ( Cassius Clay at the time ) knocking him down at the end of round 4 , so badly in fact that Ali's cornerman illegally broke a phial of " something " under Ali's nose in order to revive him. It must have worked as Ali fought with vigor in the 5th popping the jab to Coopers cut left eye and the fight was stopped due to the cut.

Henry Cooper weighed 186 lbs at the time to Ali's 207.

 

Chuvalo, Hagler, Ali, Chavez, Holyfield, Baldomir. These are just some that come to mind but for the ones on this short list, there are only two that I have never seen in trouble. Hagler and Baldomir.

 

You could argue Ali had the greatest chin/determination combination in the heavyweight division history maybe all time. Every time Ali was knocked down he was never truly hurt and got up very quickly. Against Banks Ali was hit hard but he got up at 3 virtually fine. Against Cooper he got up at 4 or 5 I believe and only seemed Shook but he was not badly hurt. Against Frazier it was a hard left hook but take into consideration that it was the 15th and Ali was way past running on empty, it was a combination of being extremely tired and of course the hard hit, despite that Ali got up at 2! The Wepner "knockdown" does not count. Ali also took shots from the hardest punchers of all time in Liston, Foreman, Shavers and Frazier and took them head on. Ali was never truly stopped in a fight. The only time he was ever stopped was when he was 40 years old and already showing signs of PS against Holmes, and that time Dundee stopped the fight. And it does not take a genius to figure out that Ali should not have been fighting past 1978 after he beat Spinks in the rematch.

 

He is definitely an Iron Chinned ATG Warrior, I don't know about #1 though. There are other guys like Chuvalo, Ray Robinson, and Hagler too.

 

Ali fought alot of cruiserweights so I wuouldn't put too much stock into his jaw- Cooper was 185 lbs when he rocked Ali with the left hook. The same hook from a 230 lb. Tua might have KO'd him.

 

Has anyone mentioned Barney Ross????


Keith