Which fighter is most unfairly maligned for having a weak chin?

Thomas Hearns . Yes he was stopped by Leonard and Hagler but they were deadly finishers .
The Barkley ko was unexpected but it was at LHW. Hearns prime ko there was no shame
as he was round from beating Leonard and gave Hagler , Barkley hell before stoppage.
Hearns defeated many heavy handed fighters like Medal , Roldan and Cuevas.

 

This is my choice too....

 

RJJ before the losses to johnson and tarver, He got hit by many guys including ruiz flush several times, took alot punches from tarver in the first fight too, his punch resistance vanished after the 2nd tarver fight however.

 

Lennox Lewis

 

Thomas Hearns.
I consider only the stoppages by Leonard and Hagler to come against Hearns in his prime...Barkley Ko'd him too...But IMO Hearns at that time wasn't the same fighter. Hearns in his prime years wasn't easy to get out of there...Only two of the very best of all time did it.

 

Barkley was at 160 for the title. I agree with Hearns tho. Lewis too, Frazier as well. Louis too. Larry Holmes is highly ranked for durability but he was staggered numerous times and dropped a couple so i think some heavyweights are indeed hard done by.

 

I actually thought that up to the knockdown punch that Barkley landed which effectively ended the fight, that Hearns was looking great. He was really busting up Iran's face which was cut and swelling up and also surprisingly Hearns was really attacking the body as well. You could really hear the impact of the left hooks thudding into Barkley's body and I was sure that this was on the verge of being stopped in Hearns favour in one or two more rounds when Barkley landed the right hand that surprised everyone watching as well as Hearns.

 

I agree...that's exactly how the Barkley fight was going, there is no disputing that...I just feel at that point in time, and especially after that war with Hagler, that Hearns wasn't the same...He had some quality wins, and fought some more wars...but in my view, the well wasn't as deep as it used to be...not by any stretch.

 

I don't agree with this one. R.Jones reflexes and his physical speed were such he rarely if ever got tagged cleanly. His ability to slip and ride with punches were almost super human. Only when he began to slow did we see he didn't have a great chin.

 

Nah, that one is pretty fair.

 

He got hit more than people thought all of his fights are on youtube. The first tarver ko was legit but every fight after that where roy got knocked out he was a damaged fighter, he didnt react to punches like even a normal fighter with a weak chin would. He'd take a few punches and then all of a sudden his lights would go completely out for minutes. Dont take my word for it, emanuel steward himself said that roy had a type of brain damage where he could never take a punch anymore because he came back too quickly after getting KO'd by tarver

 

Lou Del Valle landed the same punch as Tarver and Roy was fine after. It's pretty much impossible to move up through the weights like that without getting knocked out if you don't have a chin.

 

Who else faced a line-up of punchers like this, not just guys with great power but who relied almost solely on their power: Mason, Ruddock, old Weaver, Morrison, Rahman, McCall, Vitali, Tua, Grant, Briggs, Golota, Bruno, old Tyson?

He was stopped twice but really rarely buzzed beyond that. I dare say that many other champs fair much worse over this course.

 

Ken Norton was knocked out 4 times. Shavers, Foreman, and Cooney could bang. Against Shavers and Cooney he was past his prime. Tommy Morrison was stopped 3 times. Lewis was a huge puncher and he was stopped on his feet not really that hurt, Mercer was a good puncher who had to land a barrage a punches to stop him. Bentt had good power and Morrison walked right into it and was stopped on his feet. He went down to guys like Purrity but Ross Purritty knocekd out Wlad and people think he has a better chin than Morrison. Michael Moorer was stopped 3 times. All by world class fighters. He was knocked down by guys like Cooper but Cooper could punch and hurt Holyfield with his power. Something neither Tyson or Lewis could do with a past his prime Evander.

 

At the heavyweight level...most heavies carry the power to put someone down. That is why defense is important.