Henry Akiwande, Boneclutcher Smith, Jack Johnson,Vlad,Ali ,Quick Tillis, to name a few heavyweights but the lower weights are full of them as well
How about Jack Dempsey for the way he clutched onto the HW title by refusing to meet Wills or Dempsey? heh heh heh heh heh.
There is skill level on clinching. I think Wlad is the best as he's quick, technical, and a powerhouse who happens to have a good 15-20 pounds on most opponents. But he doesn't use clinching to add to his offense much. Ali was good. Johnson was good. Lewis was good, and could be illegal Ruiz was good, as was illegal. Aikenwande had octopus arms. So did Terell Jeffries was said to be impossible to handle in his prime in the clinches. Sam Langfrod was rather good too.
Larry Holmes could tie a guy up when he wanted to. Usually he used his legs but when he decided to tie a guy up until the ref broke things up, he was a master at it. It's really such an effective underrated tool. And lots of guys through the years could have benefitted from having that skill.
