The Physiology of Punch Resistance

[Dr. Z]

Nobody's ruining anything I am making a salient point.
This may have escaped you ,but Vitali is notably bigger than average.therefore so is his head and neck!

Side by side is his head and neck bigger than his brothers or Lennox Lewis'? Clue. The answer is no.
Carnera had a huge head and neck but was chinny. Abe Simon was not.
My point being skull and neck dimensions are not a reliable way to assess chin durability.

It's that simple.

N.B. Repeated concussions can thicken the skull . This has no connection to the photo.

image.png

>> So you think punch resistance has something due with size? I agree . And the neck size is a plus. As is having a big head. Lewis as I recall did not have a big neck, however Holyfield did. Tua did. Mercer did. So did Vitali. Is this an accident these men took a good punch?

Yes, there is a coloration between a big head and neck and a good boxing chin. There are exceptions to the rule and defense which Carnera never had needs to be factored in. The guy was a goon like fighter who could not take it to the body.

From my concepts of breaking things in martial arts is easier to break tall and thin things, and bit harder to break short and thick things. And heavier the something is, the harder it is to move and break Physics.

[Ivich]

>> So you think punch resistance has something due with size? I agree . And the neck size is a plus. As is having a big head. Lewis as I recall did not have a big neck, however Holyfield did. Tua did. Mercer did. So did Vitali. Is this an accident these men took a good punch?

Yes, there is a coloration between a big head and neck and a good boxing chin. There are exceptions to the rule and defense which Carnera never had needs to be factored in. The guy was a goon like fighter who could not take it to the body.

From my concepts of breaking things in martial arts is easier to break tall and thin things, and bit harder to break short and thick things. And heavier the something is, the harder it is to move and break Physics.

Having a thick neck obviously helps but for every example we can give, we can cite another that invalidates it.
Valuev and Simon, agromelic giants had great resistance tp punches.Impellettiere ,Carnera,and Wray did not.
So there is no definite CORRELATION,only a possibly indicative one.

[Slugfester]

Neither Lye or Shavers had a big head or good boxing chin.

JCC did. As did Vitali Klitschko with his big strong neck and head. He was one of two heavyweight champions never to be knocked down.

If your looking for an old timer Jim Jeffries all has a strong neck and huge head. Here is a good side profile of him.

https://www.thefightcity.com/july-25...itzsimmons-ii/

Jeff does have a large cabeza. His face is huge too.

Here are some photos of Aurthur Cayley, one of the best mathematicians of the 19th century. You think this man couldn't take a a hella shot?

https://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/...hurcayley.html

https://www.google.com/search?channe...=arthur+cayley

[Dr. Z]

Having a thick neck obviously helps but for every example we can give, we can cite another that invalidates it.
Valuev and Simon, agromelic giants had great resistance tp punches.Impellettiere ,Carnera,and Wray did not.
So there is no definite CORRELATION,only a possibly indicative one.

There is a correlation, but to admit it one takes being objective, which you are not. Enough on Johnson. Valuev had a big head and and and neck. So did Simon. They took good punches.

Now for some modern heavyweights. Joshua has a narrow neck IMO. Can he take a punch? Not a very good one. Hrgovic has a big head and neck. Can he take a punch? Yes, he can. Joyce has a big head and neck. He can take a punch too.


In the middle weights withs, let's use Tommy Hearnes with his narrow neck and legs and compare him to Hagler. Hagler who has a muscular thick and big neck for a middle weight and thick head. Who took a better punch? Do I have to say it.

If you want to look at little guys, Featherweight Nel Tarleton had one the best pound for pound chins in boxing history, but in fact the he was never knocked out in 152 fights! Yes he has a big head and neck for his size too. So does the original Joe Walcott.

Now there is definitely a correlation. How much is up to you. This is not to say all people who have big heads and necks have good boxing chins. Wlad who has a very long neck ( remember wha I said about long objects ) and is shy of contact does not. There are other things that go into taking a punch.

They don't call it " sweet science " for nothing

[Slugfester]

A man with a big head and not much punch resistance was Michael Moorer. A very long head front to back with protruding occiput. Of course we do not know how the punches already taken have affected some fighters who could not take it.. Some may have had undetected small concussions for years and gone on fighting.

You cannot make your head bigger, but you can build your collar up.

Is it a general fact in boxing that punch resistance fades with age? Hard to separate causes into age and punches already taken. What we likely get in reality is the combination of both factors working together.

I guess there may be no real evidence that Moorer had a bad chin. He was a pumped up light heavyweight fighting heavyweights, and the guys who KO'd him were big punchers, as I remember. Tua and Foreman could knockout anyone if they connected. Maybe he didn't have a rotten chin after all. Maybe he had good resistance, since he beat some pretty good punchers. Can't remember if they were able to hit him or not though.

Where do opinions stand on Moorer's ability to take a punch?

[BKM-]

I really want to agree with you guys, I just can't get over the examples of Oliver Mccall and Marvin Hagler. Two of the best chins ever, tiny heads & jawlines, average necks. Maybe another explanation is the way the head is shaped/built. Their heads are kind of wide, short and what's the word...compact. I could believe their brains just didn't rattle inside those skulls much.

[GrandpaBernard]

Marvin Hagler seemed to have a small head and a long average neck. One of the best 'chins' ever, and his actual chin/jaw was small too.

I'm not sure there is a consistent physical built for punch resistance. We seem to know for sure that Mexicans and Samoans have an above average consistency in punch resistance, perhaps something to look into there.

Mexicans are made with slow-twitch muscle fibers. fighters with endurance are harder to stop than tired guys.

all of this slow-twitch comes at the expense of speed. It’s rare to see a ridiculously quick Mexican.

A doctor doing a post-fight examination on Hagler was amazed by how thick his skull was.

Henry Armstrong’s physical heart was bigger than usual. It allowed him to fight at a high pace.

Mayweather’s neck is big for a small ectomorph.

Manny has thick wrists despite being tiny.

Top fighters are a blend of strong genetics and dedication. Hard work unleashes their natural gifts.

[Dr. Z]

A man with a big head and not much punch resistance was Michael Moorer. A very long head front to back with protruding occiput. Of course we do not know how the punches already taken have affected some fighters who could not take it.. Some may have had undetected small concussions for years and gone on fighting.

You cannot make your head bigger, but you can build your collar up.

Is it a general fact in boxing that punch resistance fades with age? Hard to separate causes into age and punches already taken. What we likely get in reality is the combination of both factors working together.

I guess there may be no real evidence that Moorer had a bad chin. He was a pumped up light heavyweight fighting heavyweights, and the guys who KO'd him were big punchers, as I remember. Tua and Foreman could knockout anyone if they connected. Maybe he didn't have a rotten chin after all. Maybe he had good resistance, since he beat some pretty good punchers. Can't remember if they were able to hit him or not though.

Where do opinions stand on Moorer's ability to take a punch?

Moorer was a blown up light heavy. He was fine at light heavyweight but could not take a punch at heavyweight. Bert Cooper gave him a hard fight Foreman, Holyfield, and Tua destroyed him once they connected with something serious.

Yes, boxing chins like everything else fades with advanced age for a fighter.

[Rockin']

Moorer was a blown up light heavy. He was fine at light heavyweight but could not take a punch at heavyweight. Bert Cooper gave him a hard fight Foreman, Holyfield, and Tua destroyed him once they connected with something serious.

Moorer was a terror at Light Heavy.

We always used to go to Cobo for the fights and watch him make other fighters get carried out on stretchers.

One bad man at Light Heavy! ...................Rockin'

[Rockin']

Most in how a fighter excepts punches has to do with his eyes, in whether or not he sees the shot in coming which triggers his mind and body to brace for impact.

Hence James Toney................Rockin'