Marciano vs Frazier: Who had the better chin?

They are similar, both are overrated in this department.
I lean a bit towards Frazier, cause he was knocked down by bigger punchers.

 

Marciano.

 

I like both guys.

durability at all time great level is hard to assess. You don’t get to be great without having a great chin. And You can’t really knock a guys durability if he’s only getting stopped passed prime.

What you have to remember with all time great fighters is they’re usually so good they’re only getting tested at the absolute pinnacle of their careers.

I think Durability has a lot to do with the shape a fighter is in. Having the ability to stay on top in a fight at a high level takes something extra…and nobody who isn’t special is getting to do that for a long time.

So it’s probably worth noting Marciano and Frazier both made it to the top but the longevity for either fighter really wasn’t there by comparison to other champions.

An all time great generally has a great chin. Both guys were certainly great.

 

It's true to fight the way they did with the limitations both had they had to have tough necks. If they didn't no way they make it as far as they did.

Splitting hairs I'd say that Marciano's chin may have been as tough as Frazier's but it's hard to say for sure..Rocky's chin was not as proven Joe's but not many are. Could Marciano have taken those crisp 1-2s from Ali for 3 fights without going down? Possibly.

The Bonavena fight was Frazier's 12th pro fight. Rocky was still fighting at the club level then and much deeper in his career.

When Rocky did step up and fight the best of his time his chin passed the test but it was touched a couple of times..

 

If we stick to prime, I think both had all time great chins. Certainly “satisfactory” at ATG level. Which is pretty darn good. You can’t get much better.

I don’t think anyone can justifiably pick either to lose in their primes on the basis of bad chins.

 

He might have beaten Cooper for crying out loud ?

 

If either Joe or Rocky loses, it’s because the other guy was better. It’s not because of some weakness in the chin department. It’s because the other guy was better.

 

I am with you.

 

Marciano was dropped and hurt by a light heavyweight, it's Frazier.

 

Probably about the same but Marciano wins out in that his recovery seemed to be better than Frazier’s. When he did get up from his two knockdowns they seemed to have no affect as Marciano continued to throw without wobbly legs after. Even if he said he was hurt it certainly didn’t show in film. I think people underrate Walcott as a puncher. Man had pop but IMO wasn’t a good finisher which cost him fights w Louis and others.

 

Frazier

 

Rocky Marciano stats

Power: 8
Defense: 4
Hand speed: 5
Chin: 7
Stamina: 10
Foot speed: 5
Combination punching: 6
Punch variety: 7
Physical strength: 7
Technique: 6
Ring IQ: 4
Accuracy: 4
Heart: 10



Joe Frazier stats

Power: 7
Defense: 7
Hand speed: 8
Chin: 6
Stamina: 10
Foot speed: 5
Combination punching: 6
Punch variety: 3
Physical strength: 5
Technique: 8
Ring IQ: 5
Accuracy: 8
Heart: 9



Chin in my stat sheets refers to a boxer's ability to withstand a single solid flush bomb to the chin or a combination with each blow landing within a split second(s) before the boxer can react or move out the way.

Heart refers to a boxer's ability to recover from a very painful shot, getting buzzed/rocked, the fortitude to stand up when knocked down, etc. I also use heart to refer to a boxer's ability to catch their 2nd win of energy to recover stamina over time. The higher the number, the quicker a boxer can recover from being damaged.

Stamina is a boxer's gas tank, the energy reserves needed to throw punches, use head movement to duck/roll, to use their legs to dash, etc. It has nothing to do with the ability to taken punishment.


Rocky's chin against men under 200 lbs would be a 9 or a 10. The facts of the matter are that he never got hit by an elite modern sized power puncher, but he did get dropped by fairly old boxers under 200. It's a mystery how he'd do h2h but we can give him the benefit of the doubt that it would've been above average if he fought today. I can't go much higher than 7 with such a severe lack of info.

Frazier was dropped in the 1st by Mike Bruce, twice early by the moderately hard punching Bonavena, more than half a dozen times by Foreman across 2 fights, and badly rocked by Ali early in the 2nd fight. I think Frazier was more vulnerable early than he was late given that he is a late round fighter who actually gets better as the fight progresses with more intensity, but he didn't have a grade A chin. That much is clear. He did however have grade A heart since Frazier actually never got counted out despite being badly hurt and dropped. A glass jawed fighter wouldn't have been dropped 6x against Foreman, he would have simply stayed down with the first bomb to the chin. This shows Frazier had insane recovery powers and determination, which is why I gave him a very high rating for heart.

Overall, Rocky and Frazier's guts and determination were higher than their actual durability.

 

Marciano definitely. Only had two flash knockdowns in his career. We NEVER saw him come close to being stopped unless it was on a bad cut.

 

Too hard to prove for me. They were both durable guys with a lot of heart.

 

Good job he didn’t cause he’d have been in a similar state to Fraizer