Theres a difference between "chin" and "endurance/recuperative powers". Lennox took many flush shots to the chin without getting dropped, but he was koed twice by devastating right hands he didnt see coming. Its harder to recuperate if you're on wobbly legs and got hurt by a sudden, sharp, explosive blow. Larry Holmes didnt have the greatest chin, but he had incredibly revuperative powers and knew how to "shake it off". Tyson didnt stop holmes because of brute force alone, he had to drop holmes 3x and was an excellent finisher. Holmes didnt play his cards right when tyson smelled bled and went for the kill. Same with Ali, he rarely went down but even if he did he got right back up and shook it off dancing. They were also very evasive. When lennox got hurt, he didnt have the best defense and didnt do much other than hold or turtle up. Wladmir, in contrast, was on wobbly legs against peter but mamage to get back up and won the fight. I certainly dont think wlad had a better chin than lennox, but he had better recuperative powers and was a better survivor. It was almost like lennox never even considered that he would be badly hurt.
I don't think Wlad was much of a survivor whatsoever. In those three stoppages once he was dropped there was no recovering even with decent amounts of time. At times he looks like he'd still be wobbling 15 minutes later.
I don't think Lewis was chinny by any means. The two times he was knocked out he got caught with shots that may have put anyone out. To get to Lewis's level you have to be able to take a punch and he took many solid shots. The fight with Mercer comes to mind, Briggs, Tua, Holyfield and especially Vitali, Lewis showed he could take their shots. Also I've always considered Lewis to be very tough, he seemed the most willing and confident of the 90's heavies to take on whoever and would buckle down and fight when tested. Lewis IMO is a sure top 5 heavyweight and could even be argued as 1# no one could make it to that level without being able to take a punch. For me Wlad was the one who I always seen as not taking a shot well and using a safety first approach because of this. Not to knock Wlad who IMO is forsure either a top 10 heavy or just on the out skirts which is a testament to his great skills.
