Who was closest to being 'unknockoutable'?

Chuvalo, McCall.

 

David Tua (yeah he's not exactly retired or classic but he needs to be mentioned)
Hagler
James Toney

 

toney and lamotta stick out to me as being hard to ko

 

The first name that sticks out for me is Chuvalo. his head is abnormally huge just looking at it.

 

Chris Eubank

 

Hagler, Toney, Sweat Pea....Number one and three are a couple of my all time favorites...Toney on the other hand has my respect but...bleh

 

And thats a prime Pea...hehe,,Even though he was never actually "knocked out" in the first place.

 

Based on his defence, Mayweather. I don't like coming into threads like these and naming the most recent hype-job, 'cause it makes me look like a dick when you get names from the turn of the century, but really, has anyone ever hit him clean with a real hard shot? Not often. If you were to count about the flush shots he's taken, you're looking at a tiny amount. He has never been in big trouble in a fight. Not once.

You could "Tommy Hearns would KO him", and that may be true, but in all his career, he has shown an incredible amount of talent that has made sure he hasn't ever been hurt big time.

I don't think there are many, if any, elite fighters who you could say the same about. Especially not in a world title career ranging from 130lbs to 154lbs.

I don't know about Hagler. He certainly recuperated quickly, but he was hurt in his career. No doubt did he have an incredible chin, but I think he could have been knocked out. Right now with Mayweather, unless you go to a ridiculous weight, there isn't a boxer who could stop or hurt him.

And I can't stand Mayweather either!

 

Good posts so far. I have to say Ray Mercer and Tex Cobb.

 

That post was a great jumping off point for this. I will be ever so slightly off subject.

One of the best "can't be knocked out" fighters was Jerry Quarry. He shows a lot of KO's, but he was a bleeder and therefore not "durable". Most of you know that Quarry died of dementia pugilistica as did his brother Mike. That is where I'll make a brief aside. Taking a punch well can stink in the end.

That was not the question of course. Quarry took some of the hardest punches I have ever seen. Especially in the case of his fight with Frazier. He ate Frazier's best Sunday left hook. I don't mean he ate it and attacked, but he didn't go down.

Some of the guys being mentioned here probably did have a better chin, but I personally never saw a chin like Quarry's. He cut easily and lost all of his fights that were at the highest echelon, but he could stand up after being hit by a wrecking ball.