Chris was stopped once in his 50 fight career, in his last ever fight, on doctors advice. Down only 3 times in 50 fights. His opponents were hardly shabby - Calzaghe, Benn x2, Watson x2, Collins x2, Wharton. The man just would not give up. Granite chin and lions heart. I'm not sure who is actually THE 'closest to being unknockoutable', I know hagler was one hard sonofa, and I ain't gonna dispute your choice on that, not one jot mate. There are plenty of others who could lay claim to this 'title' for sure. I'm sticking with Chris Eubank, call it a hunch. And he certainly deserves a mention in this thread IMO.
Forgive me, Manassa, but how does having a good chin not relate to being the most unknockoutable? Chuvalo made the list, and I don't see you saying anything about him. Hagler had a great chin. He was a good boxer, and had defense yes. I just never saw him have to use his defense to ward off a ko. He might have blinked against Hearns, but he in no way looked out of it.
The stand-out for me is Hagler. Hearns confirmed it and Mugabi put an explanation point on it. Hagler's chin is superior to Quarry, Chuvalo, Cobb, Mercer, and Lamotta. Hagler fought guys who could punch with not only incredible power, but incredible speed as well. He was never knocked down (the Roldan fight saw a slip and I remember Hagler having that KD overturned), and never wobbled or hurt. Hearns stunned him momentarily and he recovered in seconds after holding on to make sure everything was working after that right uppercut-cross that Hearns NAILED him with WHILE HE WAS COMING IN. Some guys with granite chins take shots and while they don't go down, they step back and shake it off. They feign bravado but don't be fooled. Other guys take shots and while they don't go down, their output declines while they clear the cobwebs. Hagler took bombs and not only did he not blink, he continued punching as if nothing happened. Mugabi nailed him with an uppercut and Hagler's head flew up and what happened? Hagler just kept coming and kept punching. He's in a class by himself for not only taking shots (which many of the heralded great chins have to do) but because he didn't pause or disrupt what he was doing to clear cobwebs save one time that I know of -and that was after eating what may be the most devastating single shot in history -the Hearns Right. Sorry, but Cobb getting slammed in the nose and then stopping and smiling means more than bravado... it means "damn. Let me get a second here." Hagler barely even blinked.
Duilio Loi is a good candidate as well as Hagler. Billy Graham was also never floored or stopped. When Jeffries was HW champion, he too may have been impervious. Marciano was cut and dropped twice, but he reported that he never saw stars, or otherwise had his bell rung. Greb should have been stopped by concussive force, yet despite failing vision, and competing in hundreds of contests, he was only stopped by a broken arm. In 350 fights spanning 25 years, Jack Britton was only stopped once, in his second fight. These are mind-boggling statistics.
Hagler has to be a top mention, also Marciano. Ali and Holmes pulled them selves off the canvas from bombs/haymakers that would have KO'd most guys, but I'm not saying that they are unknockoutable, just they were very hard to KO. Frazier seemed to get up from beatings quite a bit, like his first fight with Foreman. Getting knocked down 6 times in 2 rounds, and still getting up.
Muhammad Ali is actually a fighter I can't ever see being ko'd. Dropped, hurt, stunned, you name it but not put out cold and not stopped by the ref. Hagler was one of the guys who I can't see ever being phased. His chin is great but he was also always in great shape so meant it was always as fresh as could be.
Chuvalo had a great chin. But he could be hit hard and often, and would let himself become a target and so could be stopped. Therefore, he was vulnerable. A fighter like Hagler had far better survival skills, more determination and a better defence - much harder to stop or knock out.
The most stark example of what you're talking about came in the Hagler-Mugabi fight, but not 'the' uppercut. Sixth round... The action has heated up and the fighters are toe-to-toe. Hagler starts throwing some punches but leaves his chin unprotected and Mugabi lands a booming left hook that really jolts Hagler's jaw, but there is no effect whatsoever. Hagler's head violently jerks from the impact but he carries on punching and moments later, Mugabi is stumbling back into the ropes. Check that one out - you'll know it when you see it. You'll hear it as well.
I'll concede that Eubank was stopped due to superficial damage (although I can't help holding it against a fighter; a 'TKO' on the record just doesn't look as good as no stoppage losses at all), but Hagler was more proven and hurt less times. I have to stick with him.
My apologies, guys. I was not mentioning Hagler, because he was already mentioned. He is the first to come to mind with being near impossible to stop. I mentioned people that were not posted yet. I did not mean them to be harder to stop than Marvin. This was one of the threads that it is ok to mention the same person over and over. So yeah, Hagler. I meant those other guys more like honerable mentions.
That's fair, although Eubank should be in the top 10. A modern fighter who deserves recognition is Winky Wright. Admittedly, he was down a LOT against Vasquez, but no matter how many flush shots, Vasquez couldn't knock him out, suggesting some serious recuperative abilities. Add the fact that he's taken everything that every other boxer can dish out and his obviously very sound defense, and you have a boxer who is not going to get stopped. I can't think of anyone from light-middleweight upwards who has both the power to stop Winky and the skill to land on him frequently enough. MAYBE he could be stopped on his stool or on cuts... Maybe... James Toney has to get a mention. In fact, his "unknockoutableness" is arguably more impressive than Hagler's or Monzon's, because they had the advantage of staying in one division. Much as I like them, I can't seem them lasting against George Foreman or Earnie Shavers if they had to bulk up to heavyweight. Toney's two knockdowns were both cases of being knocked off balance, and after them he went on to take serious punishment from proven punchers without being seriously hurt. Indeed, Toney has never been wobbled about; he's just wobbled about of his own fat accord.