Big Guys and Chins Historically

Willard is said to have had an iron chin and prior to Dempsey showed it.

 

I think your off on this one, mixing talent and power. Lyle was limited .. he started very late, had no amateur background till his late 20's and survived a severe chest stabbing in prison that impacted his potential before he ever even started .. he was slow footed and had average hand speed ... none of that reflects on his power which Foreman, Shavers and Bugner all called frightening ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETzBcmHQhnU

 

I watched Lyle train back in 74. The guy had a huge right hand. Stamina and speed were his main problem areas but don't say he did not have a world class right hand in terms of power. Lyle stated he developed his punching power while in prison via wrapping his fists in towels and pounding the concrete walls of his cell.

 

I've thought about this a lot. I'm glad you brought it up.

I agree that most tall guys it seems to me don't take punches very well. I don't know if it's psychological where the taller guy might not get hit that often in the chin since they can get themselves out of danger quickly (long strides).

 

Lyle went into the Quarry fight 19 -0 with and seemed to struggle with guys who fought in the pocket. I would his power in the Chuvalo, Bonavena category. Strong guys with power more than pop.

 

I don't think that the super heavyweights have by and large rocked the world with their chins, but that might simply be because really good ones, are few and far between.

 

Chins don't get better as body's get bigger.

 

But speed and movement slow down as bodies get bigger.Maybe chins just get to easy to hit as a result.

 

I am sure all of that. Few are born with excellent abilities to take punishment and punches. Chuvalo comes to mind with his short thick neck, and what he termed a "big head". Unless blessed with unusual characteristics like Chuvalo the ability to anticipate punches to minimize being caught flush, rolling with blows as well as basic boxing skills such as slipping, ducking etc are important. Usually huge fighters are slower and this minimizes their technical abilities to fend off big punches coming their way.

 

I think this topic is misunderstood. Jess Willard and Vitali Klitschko had excellent chins. Valuev took a good shot. Abe Simon, who had limited defense, had a very good chin as well.

Why is the topic misunderstood?

Because those who are very tall stand out. Heavyweight Boxing has many trail horses and journeyman over the decades. Too many to mention! Yet when the journeyman is very tall, we know who they are/were.

Examples: Mike the Giant White, David Price and Tye Fields are known primarily because they are giants. If there were 6’2, they would just be another fighter who didn’t have the skills or durability to make it to the top ten.

Generally speaking the larger the bone structure, and the heavier you are, the better shot you can take. Fans sometimes confuse the ability to take a shot and conditioning. Those big guys who gas because they are not in shape are sometimes stopped because they aren’t in shape, more so than they cannot take a punch.