Holyfield Or Marciano - Chin

Evander Holyfield...

 

Evander.

Faced better and bigger men and while being bigger than Marciano he was certaibnly smaller than his opponents and took a hell of a lot punishmnet.

 

Whose to say Marciano couldnt have taken the shots evander did? We dont know. Both had great chins..holy gets the edge because hes a bit more proven against the very best of the superheavyweight punchers, but marciano took some hellacious shots off big punchers himself. I suspect Marciano would have been able to take some hard stuff off the same superheavyweight punchers holy faced, but its only speculation with no evidence...so it doesnt hold much water.

Holy with the slight edge



Here are two things which showcase both fighters durability


1. Evander Holyfield took flush punches off some of the most ferocious 210lb + heavyweights who ever lived without going down

2. Marciano is one of the few champions of all time we have never seen rubbery legged or glassy eyed on film.

 

Holy had a granite chin. That's for sure.

 

Holyfield withstood shots from Lewis in two fights. Shots from Tyson in two fights, even though one was cut short. He weathered shots from Bowe for 2 fights, but was stopped in another. And he took shots from Foreman. I would say, at the very least, Holyfield has a more proven chin.

 

He definately has the more proven chin, but we don't know if Marciano would have also taken those shots or not.

 

Based on their opposition (and that's the only way I can judge) I would have to say Holyfield. He fought much bigger men than Marciano but then again we'll never know if Rocky could have taken shots from Holyfields opposition either. Simply based on comparitive opposition though I have to go with Holy.

 

Holyfield because his is the more tested.

 

Let's see ... one guy took the best of Bowe, Moorer, Cooper, Mercer, Tyson and Lewis ... the other Archie Moore and Joe Walcott ... Holyfield had an exceptional chin proven against exceptional punchers ... Rocky fought no one close ...

 

Hah, and you didnt even include Foreman in that group.

Holyfield has an argument for the GOAT Granite Chin in my opinion considering the fighters he took on.

He also has no shortage of heart in comparison to Rocky and a vastly superior resume to boot.

 

I wouldn't go that far. He definitely had a great chin, but he was rocked from time to time. There are the freaks like McCall or Chuvalo who stood up to more flush power shots without wavering (and that's just at Heavyweight). He did, however, have perhaps the greatest recuperative powers in Heavyweight history, made up mostly by that horrifying determination of his.

 

I didnt outright say it was the greatest, and wouldnt go that level of absolute but I certainly think he has an argument (i.e. amongst the top five) considering the opposition and in some cases, incredible size difference. Chin and Recuperative Powers are separate entities to be sure, but have a fair correlation considering they both involve how well you can take a punch.

I honestly dont feel Holyfield has much to be concerned about below heavyweight, but that is dependent on one's interpretation of pound-for-pound in various instances . A lot of people would rate Hagler's chin greater than Holyfield even though Hagler only fought men of equal size and two of the biggest punchers he met in the ring were both moving up. He had a great chin at 160 lbs, Holyfield's was great against all comers and many among the most savage hitters in history - heavyweight or otherwise. Size isnt everything, but I cant see anybody disputing the abilities of a George Foreman, Riddick Bowe or Lennox Lewis.

 

Holyfield KOed by Fat Toney. Marciano unstopped.

Oh wait, that's right, Holyfield's era was much better..........so says the true boxing aficionados around here whose average age is 23.