Least believable "Best I've Faced" answers?

After going through the heavyweights, I think some of the "bias" people are perceiving is coming from our preconceptions. Yes, fighters can be biased, and some of the attempts at self-justification in those "best I faced" can be silly. But sometimes, it might be that a certain fighter just wasn't as strong, or hard punching, or durable as we imagine he was. Elite fighters usually aren't effective because of one superlative trait; they're complete packages, and usually do well because they have a lot of pretty-good qualities. And even the surprising answers sometimes come in clusters -- more than one guy has a similar opinion. So I don't doubt some of these answers as much as some do.

Coetzer, for example. It's an interesting bit of trivia that not only did Bruno pick Coetzer as the strongest he'd faced; Coetzer also picked Bruno. And Coetzer had been in there with Bowe and Foreman. Part of it might have been the physical nature of the fight. It stuck out in their memories, and each got a good sampling of how strong the other guy was. But part of it might also have been that Bruno and Coetzer were just really strong guys, even if they didn't necessarily rely on that strength as much as someone like Lewis or Foreman.

That, and you can sometimes triangulate multiple answers when they converge in a single guy, which takes some of the bias out.

 

The triangulation thing is important to note. Look at how many fighters said Holyfield was high in so many categories, for instance, and especially noted his ring IQ. That many people who experienced it can’t be wrong.

Another for instance: Roy Jr, James Toney and Frankie Liles all rated Merqui Sosa as the hardest puncher they faced. If three guys with their credentials agree on Sosa’s power, it would be foolish not to take their word on it.

I do think it’s kind of laughable how many people on forums think they know who hit a guy harder or had faster hands than the guys who actually fought them.

The one answer out of all of these that stands out to me is what Dwight Muhammad Qawi said about Matthew Saad Muhammad’s power: he said Saad hit him so hard for a period of time he was seeing upside down. That’s insane.

 

He mentioned Jones also, but said that he himself had slowed down by then, so he probably felt that he it was difficult to say what depended on what. Against Jackson you can clearly see a peak McCallum struggling with the speed of Jackson's bombs and I can see how that left an impact on him.

 

Kalambay named Barkley as the best he faced and Pac, in similar fashion, named Margarito. Guys they dominated. Hard to buy that, even though their toughness certainly made an impression.

 

And often skilled fighters themselves, at that.

 

Likewise, fighters tend to talk up fighters that they demolished.

Ego ego and ego.

 

Bruno is another good example of the value of triangulation. I never thought of him as particularly strong despite his physique, but both Coetzer (who fought Bowe and Foreman) and McCall (who fought Lewis) rated him as the strongest they'd faced.

There are other quirks as well when you cross-reference the "Best I've Faced" with the stats from the "Superstars" athletic competition. For example: Bonecrusher Smith is rated by several guys as extremely strong, but he rated the strongest guy he'd faced as...Mike Weaver. Who actually didn't have a very impressive push press poundage, objectively speaking.

 

Funny I just watched an interview with Zab from recently and he was talking about how hard that Ward fight was, and that he got hit so hard in the body he wanted to quit in the corner between rounds and told his dad so, to which his dad responded by saying get yo a** back out there, you ain't quitting! And he just dreaded going back out there for more of those hooks. He really was affected by that fight, and long term.

He was laughing about it and having fun with it but you could see the memory of anguish as he talked about it...

 

Bowe and Foreman weren`t stronger than Bruno, Foreman might have hit harder than Bruno but Frank lifted more weights and by the time he fought Tyson in their rematch was far heavier than a prime Foreman, Bruno punched harder than Bowe.

 

Besides being talented I think also the reason Olivares had so many fans and was worshipped basically in Mexico is he comes across as a very humble person.

 

A lot of them aren't too bad about giving credit, actually. Several guys listed the people who KO'd them as the hardest punchers they'd faced.

 

Rosario ruined him .. he was never the same ..

 

Yup. You'll find a lot deflecting losses to better fighters as they were at their best and similar. It's a reasonably common theme. Not many ever got beat at their best. Those 4 or 5 losses to top shelf fighters were definitely tainted

But of course that's what makes many fighters what they are - the unwavering belief and refusal to concede there's better.

 

Bramble had his moment of stardom because he beat television superstar Mancini, a very good and tough but NOT great fighter twice .. he was colorful in his own right with the Rasta snake thing going on and then he had a nice win against Crawley but he had no clue about what sort of monster he was facing in Rosario, still near his own prime at 135 , fast and a monster hitter ... Edwin took him apart fast and furious .. it was a change in matchups but also a big jump in class from Mancini ... always, to this day, makes me thing Ramirez wore handcuffs in his shutout loss to Mancini ..

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Pernell Whitaker be like: "The best I faced was this pal but I'm the goat and the best and I know I won that fight" repeated for every question I swear