many times on this forum people have stated that jake didnt really get hit that hard as he rolled with the punch but ive seen him on film take some serious shots and did not roll withem and walk right through them. didnt see him roll too much as srr was beating the **** out him and against nardico he took a serious beating and held onto the rope ro stay up, murphy nailed him good a bunch in their first fight and i diudnt see jake roll with those shots. so what the real answer did he have the greatest chin of all or did he as people have stated just rolled with the punches?who has the second greatest chin?
I don't know that he had the strongest chin, but to fight SRR six times, and also fight quite a few fights in a heavier division like light heavy, to only get knocked down in one fight, at the end of a long career is impressive. Especially, since he stands and fights and doesn't run or coast to victory.
Jake explained what he did when reviewing The Valentine's Day Massacre with Robby and host Curt Gowdy on "The Way It Was" during the 1970s. Of course he had the physical template Chuvalo articulately analyzed for himself. But both also stated that they were much better defensively than credited. LaMotta described how he would put himself in a state of "self-hypnosis," a form of self talk to convince himself he couldn't be hurt. Beyond that, he mentioned moving an imperceptible fraction of an inch with a shot to dilute it's effects. Because of his confidence in his imperviousness, he wouldn't flinch, and thus see everything coming his way. SRL telegraphed his shots, which is part of why he was never able to hurt Duran. Hearns sent his lightning down from where the 5'7" El Cholo couldn't see them coming. Jake appears to have always had excellent vision. (Is there a photograph of LaMotta wearing glasses anywhere?) He also had some survival skills which many steel chinned competitors lacked. He was more resilient than, say, Cuevas or Galindez. He could clinch if need be, as he did against Lou Woods. There are other reports of him being seemingly staggered by the likes of Satterfield, then recovering. Nardico couldn't finish him before the round was up. Antuofermo was another armor chinned fighter who was vastly underrated defensively. But in his era, footage was clear enough to see what he did, if you knew what to look for. He would slightly turn his chin left and right so that punches, while scoring, did brush past his head, usually failing to score with full force although frequently looking like flush shots to the uninformed. (Actually, I don't know exactly how underrated Vito was defensively. Bob Waters was an influential vocal supporter, and the staff of KO Magazine, International Boxing and Inside Boxing trio of publications also gave him credit in this area. It didn't hurt that he brought the MW Title back to American shores for the first time since Griffith in 1968, although I tend to think of him in terms of his land of birth and pre-title EBU LMW Championship.)
duo thats a great answer and one can see that you took your time and thought out the question that you answered so well.
