Rank the Best Chins...Ever.

There are really very few I could put in who are not heavies, I will throw in 1 though, James Toney.... to come from middle and still be rock solid is something, like him or lump him.
My other qualifier here is that we are talking about prime versions, I recognize Cobb was floored in a later fight.
I listed some fighters after their names where I think the chin was demonstrated, although with Chuvalo, I was a bit at odds as Quarry kind of knocked him down...at least it appears that way to most. However, he has longevity which is rare in a fighter who gets hit a lot.

1. George Chuvalo (Frazier, Foreman, Quarry, Ali (1 was closer, 2 was sad), Patterson (sorry George, you lost this one, and I am Canadian))
2. Oliver McCall (Lewis, Bruno, Maskaev)
3. David Tua (Ibeabuchi, Lewis, Rahman, Maskaev)
4. Tex Cobb ( Shavers, Mercado, Holmes, plus basically every other fighter he fought used him as a speed bag...)
5. James Toney (Browne, Rahman, Peter, Holyfield)

 

Laporte has got to be at the top of the list.

Nelson, Lockridge, Chavez were all pretty good punchers and couldn't dent his chin. Sanchez, while not a big puncher, usually had a cumultative effect that often caught up with his opponents in the late rounds. Not so against Laporte. Gomez landed all fight long and didn't hurt him. McGuigan was a decent puncher, nothing happened when he hit Laporte.

In fact, Laporte hurt Nelson, Lockridge and McGuigan more than visa versa, although McGuigan and Nelson outhustled him.

 

oh. I didn't read the qualifications.

Why not just call the thread what heavyweight had the best chin

 

1975-1980 Saad Muhammad/Matt Franklin. That early version was a bobble-head and took everything. Vs Y.Lopez, Marvin. Johnson 1-2. Although he fought way too long he can't be ranked with the all time chins.

 

Thanks for reading my post more carefully than I ;-)
I miscommunicated, I didn't think either Chuvalo/Ali fight was remotely close, I should have said Chuvalo was more competitive in the first one, his body work was strong. I watched it some years back, to me at the time, maybe I would give him 2 rounds out of 15, but he was 'fighting' the whole way, if that makes sense.
The second fight, I would give him 0 rounds. He actually tried to win in the 1st fight, probably because he had not faced Ali before. He must have known he was not going to win the 2nd one going in, whereas the 1st he would have had to wait until about 30 seconds in to figure that out.
Neither of these is a criticism, just he was a league below Ali.
I am not sure that I would say Chuvalo and Tua fought just to survive, from what I recall with Chuvalo, he did his best, but he was a limited fighter, good endurance and great chin, only average puncher, and molasses slow.
Tua gets a bit bashed for his loss to Lewis, I would consider that Lewis was really just a whole lot better than Tua, and that the fight was largely a result of Lewis imposing his plan on Tua, rather than Tua fighting to survive, others might feel differently, but I just can't see any sense in headlong charging in. Much like Chuvalo/Ali, Lewis was a whole level (at least) above Tua. However, Tua could take a shot.
It is a shame that McCall had the mental issues that caused him a disaster, he could have been a more successful fighter for sure as opposed to a footnote champ.
Fair point about Toney and PED, and he was caught. I have my own personal suspicions about PED usage throughout pro boxing, but until anyone is caught, it is very unfair to tar them with it. In Toney's case, he earned his tarring ;-) However, he still has a great chin. But yes, there may have been factor with muscle mass etc. I also suspect much like other fine infighters he may just roll his head enough to take some sting off the punches, Duran used to do this, and it generally worked until he ran into someone who punched as fast (and hard) as Hearns.
I really enjoyed this topic

 

...sandy saddler.....knocked out once... in his third fight, i believe .and never again in a long career....check his record for number of fights. retired with the featherweight title after eye injuries in an automobile accident. i'm not sure he was ever knocked down except for that knockout.

billy graham. fought top fighters in three divisions....lightweight, welter and middle. knocked off his feet only once....and that is disputed....in his last fight with gavilan, who himself, as listed here had a great chin.

i'm not going back to check, but max baer had a granite chin.

 

As always, we would disagree on PEDs using...

PEDs can't help you take a better punch, it improvers your strength or stamina, but not your chin. Never.

So Toney qualifies quite well.

Obviously McCall, Chuvalo

Marion Wilson (who has fought more punchers than McCall and was never stopped in his life - Golota, Izon and McCall all X2, RayMercer, Kirk Johnson, Shannon Briggs, Ike Ibeabuchi, Greg Page, Ezra Sellers, Derrick Jefferson, Oleg Maskaev, Hasim Rahman, Samuel Peter and few others). Wilson has fought till 50 and no one of those hard hitters were able to stop him.

 

Its possible, Floyd was prone to knockdowns. I don't think Marvin's opponents would have hurt him, though everything is possible, a strong 160 lb can hurt any man if he lands right. What I do feel rather certain of though is that if Hagler had faced Pattersons opponent he would have lost to most of them, and he would have been ko'd plenty.

 

Ray Mercer had iron in his chin

 

1- George Chuvalo
2- Muhammad Ali
3- Max Baer
4- Rocky Marciano
5- Oliver McCall (overrated chin, underrated power)

 

Many believe the single most important asset in the heavyweight division is a good chin as it prevents upset Ko losses and losses in general.

Who had the best chin of past lineal / ring magazine champs? And when I say pure chin, I mean the ability to take a clean shot and recover from it with minimal ill effects vs a man who's known to stop top ten opponents.

Top level chins in boxing are rare, and some who had them were not great fighters.

**Other facts such as stamina, and heart also factor into avoiding TKO / KO losses, so I will give these traits consideration as well. **



1. Jeffries – Never floored or badly hurt in until he retired. Faced some good punchers, and took hard punches. Fought in an era where the gloves were lighter, and protection such as mouth guard and foam cups that help absorb punches did not exist. Jeffries heart and stamina were proven to be superior in contests over 15 rounds. Jeffries was only stopped once when he was older and rusty when he attempted a come back after a 6 year lay off. Grade A+

2. Holmes – Could recover from absolutely bombs, such as the one Shavers delivered, then get up and win. Holmes was extremely tough, and had the stamina to come on late in 15 round fights. Holmes beat a good collection of power punchers, and none of them were early Ko’s for him. Holmes was hardly ever down, and only TKO'd once at age 39 vs a prime Mike Tyson. This was Holmes 51st fight. Grade A

3. Ali. – Ali could take a good punch for sure, but his will to recover / mental with stand adversity are under rated. Whether it was eyes blinded by a foreign substance, or the willingness to out tough Foreman on the rope a dope, Ali had a heart of gold. Ali was only stopped once, and that happened at an old age. However he was hurt and down quite a bit by some guys who were not big punchers. Grade A

4. Vitali Klitschko – Only Ring Magazine champ never to be floored in his career. Vitali has only fought men over 200 pounds. Vitali has proven his chin, withstanding shots that would have directly Ko’d most fighters with good chins, such as the uppercut from Lewis or the hook to the temple from Corrie Sanders. Vitali rates as high as anyone on a pure chin, but has a lower grade because like many hall of fame fighters, he quit with an injury. He proved his heart vs Lewis though by fighting with a bad cut. Grade A


5. Holyfield – Holyfield has a hard head. His chin was very good, but his fighting heart was even better. Stamina was at times an issue though. Holyfield could be knocked down, but he proved he could take a heck of a punch. Holyfield was only Ko’d once in his prime, by a Big puncher in Bowe. Grade A-


6. Willard – Willard was a sturdy man, with tons of stamina. His heart was general good, even though he did not like boxing. Dempsey really blew him out, but he was older / coming off a long layoff. Grade A-


After Willard, the picks become harder…….


7. Marciano - Marciano was never knocked out. He had amazing stamina, enough to fight for 20+ rounds in my opinion. Marciano’s fighting heart is perhaps the best ever. However, he was knocked down by the two best punchers he ever faced. This, and a lack of fights vs big puncher is why I rank him here. If he did not go down from two solid heavyweight ( not light heavyweight ) punchers, I would rate him higher. Grade A-


9. McCall was known for taking a big shot and he and Klitschko are the only champions never to be floored. However, McCall had questionable mental fortitude ( Quit in the Lewis fight without being seriously hurt ) , and was badly rocked vs. Bruce Seldon in a very good action fight. If Seldon could do that, is McCall’s whiskers a little over rated? I say yes. McCall really did not take a lot of punishment in any fight, and called Bert Cooper the hardest puncher he fought. While Cooper could hit, he wasn’t among the best punchers of his time.

Grade A-

10. Tunney - A strange pick on the surface. However, Tunney was NEVER knocked out. In fact he was only down once in his career, vs Dempsey best combination on film. Tunney had amazing stamina, and the heart to fight under any circumstance. There was no surrender in the Gene the Marine. Tunney is hard to rate since he did not face many true punchers besides Dempsey, and his defense and footwork prevented him from taking punches. Grade A-


11. Liston – Liston took a heck of a shot for sure, and nothing was wrong with his stamina either as he could throw lots of punches all night long. Only being knocked down three times in 50+ fights is impressive. Liston heart was questionable though as he did quit twice vs Ali. On the other had, he did fight with a broken jaw in a SD loss. Badly Ko’d at an old age vs Martin take a bit off his grade as Liston was out cold for 60 seconds. Grade B+


12. Foreman – Foreman could take a good punch, though strangely enough he did not have to take many from Norton or Frazier. He did have to take them vs Ali, Lyle and
Young, and was floored in all three bouts. Foreman ability to take a shot was good, but not great. The major draw back for Foreman was his stamina. It was poor. Foreman slowed down as the rounds went on. In his second career, Foreman was shaken up by C00ney, Lakusta, and Holyfield. Big George was only Ko’d once in 81 fights, but he did come close to being stopped on a few fights. His lack of stamina downgrades him a bit. Grade B+


13. Dempsey - Dempsey had a solid chin for sure, but he did go down a bit too much to rate any higher. Dempsey could be shaken up on film by medium level puncher like Jack Sharkey. Big punchers like Fripo proved he could floor the mauler with solid shots. Others could stun him. Dempsey’s stamina was good enough to go 15 rounds, but he did seem to slow down quite a bit as the rounds rolled on. Dempsey’s fighting heart must be considered to be great. The 1st round TKO loss to Flynn is an eyesore. Some say it was a fixed fight. Grade B+


14. Tyson - Tyson could take a heck on of a punch. He has proven this. On a pure Chin, Tyson would rate much higher. In his prime, he had good enough stamina to fight 15 rounds. However, Tyson’s fighting heart was a serious drawback. Indeed, he never came back to win a fight in his life, and would often quit or DQ himself when things did not go his way. Activity level with Tyson dropped in the mid to late rounds. Grade B+


15. Max Baer - Bear could take a good punch for sure. His stamina was excellent as well. However, his heart for battle was often lacking. This is why I rate him here. Grade B+

My grading scale.

A + = Fighter was never down in his prime, and it took a lot of punches to TKO him. Fighter proved he could take hard shots from certified big punchers who landed hard shots. Very rare.

A = Fighter was rarely down, and hardly ever stopped from punches. It usually took a heck of a shot to drop him, and in most cases, the fighter recovered to avoid the stoppage loss.

A - = Fighter had a top chin, but could be dropped or hurt by solid to good punchers. But because he was durable, a stoppage loss based off 1-2 hard blows is not likely..

B+ = Fighter had a top chin much like an A-, but unlike an A-, the fighter is more liekly to be stunned or hurt by solid to good punches whereas the A- fighter would likely shake them off.

B = Fighter chin is not an issue vs average to non - punchers who land occasional hard shots. He's down a bit more than the B+ fighter, and doesn't recover as quickly as the B+ fighter. The term puncher’s chance starts to multiply here. Still his chin is not considered to be bad. It’s solid.

B- = Fighter can be dropped by average to solid punchers. Good punchers can and will knock this type of fighter out. Chin is defiantly questionable vs punchers. When punchers land they will produce a stoppage, a knockdown, or stun him in most cases. Anyone below this point has a bad chin for the heavyweight division.

C+ = Fighter has been Ko'd and down quite a bit by punchers, solid punchers, and some non punchers. Durability is defiantly an issue and the margin for error to get up and recover is slim.

C = Suspect durability that has been proven so over different levels of fighters, sometimes by fringe contenders or journeyman types. This fighter is not likely to make it into a 3rd party top ten, such as Ring Magazine.

C - or below.....glass jaw type.


I am going to tinker with this post a bit...

 

Marciano fought 3 men ranked in the RING magazine top 100 punchers of all time list. I would say that shows he fought big punchers. Old or not power is the last thing to leave a fighter right?