Who had the better chin: Marvin Hagler, James Toney or Gennady Golovkin?

Toney, more than anything because he fought at world class in every division from middle to heavy and was never stopped. I’ve no idea how GGG or Hagler would hold up in the heaviest divisions….I’ll always take the person with the data over the hypothetical.

 

OP also stated "in their prime".

The question i guess is was Toney in his prime by the time he went to Heavyweight?

The threads too murky really.

 

Hagler could not pronounce Antuofermo correctly during his career, pronouncing it "Antuofermio." Then, AFTER retirement, he did something crazy. He moved to Italy, learned Italian, and became an action movie star in that nation. Considering the shots he absorbed without ever coming remotely close to being buckled by a punch proves ridiculous neurological integrity. I do believe he possessed a heavyweight chin, but perhaps not a heavyweight body. In sparring former two time opponent Boogaloo Watts, Bobby hurt and reportedly dropped MMH with a body shot.

After Michael Spinks upset Larry Holmes, there was some talk of the Jinx dropping back down to 175 (which he could have very easily done with Mackie Shilstone's training regimen and his own inherent slenderness), but MMH shot that down, stating that when he trained, his weight went right down below the MW limit, so he wasn't interested in a bid for a version of the HW Title. Plus, he had the only Undisputed Championship in boxing, the historically prestigious Middleweight Championship. (In fact, Marv never had weight problems, and was the subject of physical culture articles in magazines which stated one could stick quarters in his abdominal muscles. Not only did he have a Spartan training regimen, running ten miles daily on the sands of Cape Cod in heavy boots (calling running sneakers "Sissy shoes"), he was noted for eating fish and skinless chicken for protein. It appears his nutrition was similar to bodybuilding food, although he eschewed and criticized weight training much as Salvador Sanchez did.

 

Every time Marv came across me or my sister (who was the secretary for the then nascent Deusche Williams law firm which represented MMH in certain legal matters), he ALWAYS remembered our names and those of everybody else. (He came in a couple times when I was visiting my sister at work. The lawyers there were very nice people.) He'd invite us to go with him on our walks outside the office, where everybody would greet him with "Hi Champ!" At that time in the 1980's, he was Boston's only Champion when the Celtics were in the wilderness between titles. He was always extremely friendly, in an excellent mood, and greatly enjoyed the attention from his local celebrity status.

As I said, he NEVER forgot a name or face, proving the same mental integrity which later enabled him to learn Italian after retiring, well enough to become an Italian movie star and actually speak with an Italian accent. Could Toney or GGG be able to learn a foreign language fluently enough to become a movie star speaking that foreign language, or do something else neurologically impressive, like obtaining a college degree like Tex Cobb did at age 57, MAGNA CUM LAUDE from Temple University? This demonstrates obscene punch resistance, that the neurology of Hagler and Cobb was COMPLETELY unaffected by their careers, especially with the ridiculous shots they absorbed to their chins.

(My sister, as a postscript, remained friends with many of the lawyers at Deustch Williams until they quietly closed operations after 34 years in March 2018. But when my sister lived in Medford and Somerville while working at that firm during the mid 1980's, it was a magical time. Incidentally, she was surprised at how small Marv was, but I explained that when competitors his size are that well conditioned and ripped, they become extremely compact.)

 

I would say Hagler. He was aggressive which amplifies the impact of the blows. Took many shots from punchers like Hearns and Mugabi. Toney was more stationary with great defensive skills. And James was decked by RJ (I do not count the RJ KD which was a push though).

1. Hagler
2. Toney
3. GGG

 

GGG's chin is overrated. It's great but he was always unphased because he was one of the greats at rolling with punches. Hagler and Toney (mainly Hagler) would straight up just eat shots

 

Another way of saying Golovkin had better defence than Toney and Hagler.

 

No, it's basically comparing a middleweight who fought at heavyweight to middleweights who fought at middleweights.

 

It's impossible to tell. I mean there's a case to be made that if Golovkin and Hagler were both demonstrably tougher at middleweight they'd be tougher at higher weights too. And there's another case to be made that Toney fared well-ish at higher weights because he was a defensively minded guy that tried not to get his chin tested if he could help it.

 

He did

 

Judging on proven big punchers has to be Hagler.
Let's go down the list of above average to
great punchers he faced : Hart, Briscoe, Watts, Seals,
Sibson, Obijemas, Lee, Roldan , Hearns,
Mugabi.
Other than a split 2nd stumble , against
Hearns , a push ruled as a knock down
from Roldan, theirs a serious question
of was he actually hurt by a punch from
anyone he faced.
The uppercut he took from Mugabi in
the 6th rd has to be one of the hardest
punchers ever landed cleanly on a boxer
and he didn't go down. Hagler only
sneered . I don't believe any other
middleweight other than Lamotta,
possibly Tiger survive that punch.

 

Toney's is the most tested but I feel like it might be GGG. A very difficult question to answer tbh there's arguments for any of the three.

 

Yes but it is a reasonable speculation.
It is hard enough for someone to have a great chin at their natural weight, is is very unlikely that even Hagler-or anyone-would do so well with guys naturally 40 lbs. heavier.
And a lot MORE in in some cases!

It is like say Julian Jackson.
He punshes waaay above his weight.
He may be the hardest hitter ever at say Jr. MW.
But he is not hitting as hard as the very best hitters near 200 lbs.
Let alone the biggest ever freaks of power who weighed in the 190's!

Being larger helps generate more force & dissipate blows more.
There is always overlap,; but taking the hardest hitters, just like in say powerlifting or weightlifting...
The very best guys & world records are rarely more than even the one weight class just above them!

 

I guess it would be reasonable therefore to say that if GGG and Hagler have better chins than Toney at MW, they'd have them better at heavier weights too.