Oliver McCall ... Best Chin Ever?

[juggernaut666]

Good perspective on Mccall! I am glad this guy is getting some cred. Around the gym he was, according to many accounts, an alpha dog. Much like Michael Moorer, Mccall was a fighters fighter... the kind of guy you would rather have preparing you for a fight than having to fight.

Definitely one of the better beards. At some point it becomes a little silly to try to delineate between guys...But among those mentioned the later incarnation of Foreman is a another good one, Hagler, even Holyfield really.

heres my problem with Vitalie: I think based on his knees that Sanders caught him and he looked ready to go in the Lewis fight...meaning essentially that Lewis, not known for his beard, and Vitalie, known as a puncher, both caught each other many times, and imo Vitalie looked the worse for wear.

Ali definitely belongs...Its not so much that he has been down, but I would like to see any fighter get up from that Frazier hook.

Lewis hit harder than Vitali ,he was cut but never buckled ,maybe a few exhausting late round stumbling by both guys ,however Vitali strength was chin ,and Lewis was the slight power advantage despite k.o percentages .

[Weltschmerz]

Jake LaMotta?

[boxingnut712]

Jake LaMotta?

Jake LaMotta was tough. When it comes to Oliver McCall, McCall was tough too, but McCall fell into drugs. Could have been so much more.

Was David Tua ever put down?

[deansluk]

pretty sure david tua got put down by monte barrett at the tailend of his career in the 1st fight ... mccalls chin was unreal , cant think of anyone at heavyweight in the last 20 years with a better one , although ive never seen the douglas fight , ive seen the tyson sparring lewis fight where hes crying , lewis is landing free shots and hes taking them like its mallignagi lol . atg chin , and the bull could **** !

[Weltschmerz]

Jake LaMotta was tough. When it comes to Oliver McCall, McCall was tough too, but McCall fell into drugs. Could have been so much more.

Was David Tua ever put down?

I don't believe Tua was on the canvas once.

[NW1]

I don't believe Tua was on the canvas once.

He was dropped by Monte Barrett but that was an old man Tua.

[billeau2]

Lewis hit harder than Vitali ,he was cut but never buckled ,maybe a few exhausting late round stumbling by both guys ,however Vitali strength was chin ,and Lewis was the slight power advantage despite k.o percentages .

but but what about KO %? lol. I think Lewis does hit harder. Vitalie was never dropped as a professional fighter so one has to give him the edge with chin and he did show good punch resistance.

[juggernaut666]

but but what about KO %? lol. I think Lewis does hit harder. Vitalie was never dropped as a professional fighter so one has to give him the edge with chin and he did show good punch resistance.

K.o percentages are how you go about the k.os mostly. Lewis many times became a very laid back ,see if you can beat me fighter more than Vitali. looking on video,i see Lewis with more pop in his power punches..Vitali reminds me more of a Foreman clubber, heavy hands but not the pin point accurate power of Lewis..vitali was more of a shovel type puncher.Lewis also fought some good chins..Tucker/Holyfield twice /Tua/Vitali and Mercer all fights sure to drop your k.o percentage down, if you aren't aggressive.I tend to look at the opposition more than the percentage as it makes more sense ,also if the fighters went out of there way to k.o someone in the fight.

[Fury4daWIN]

Not best chin ever but it's up there, with Ali, Foreman, Marciano, Holyfield being higher.

All of those guys were knocked down or badly rocked at one time or another. Marciano and Ali were dropped by sub-200 guys. I don't see anyone there in the running except for 90s era Foreman, and even he was stunned at times.

McCall has never been hurt, stunned or knocked down. Remember that.

[Fury4daWIN]

I don't think he fought anyone who hit as hard as Foreman or Shavers or Frazier or Tyson. Plus all the names I posted, fought at a higher level and their chins stood the test. Outside of Lewis, who did Oliver fight that was on that level? Answer is no one.

You don't think Lennox punches harder than Shavers or Frazier? I think you need to rethink that. And what about Bruno, Tyson (whom he sparred many, many vicious rounds with), Maskaev, Bert Cooper? All of those guys are huge heavy hitters regardless of their standings. This isn't about levels, it's about power and how much you can take. Oliver wasn't the most skilled of fighters but he took plenty of monstrous hits in his time and he wasn't remotely fazed by any of them. That's what makes him so special in the chin department.

And honestly, there's nothing wrong being ranked in any way below those guys. McCall still probably has a top 10-15 chin, thats damn impressive.

Tell me another heavyweight who'd be able to take what amounted to multiple flush sucker punches from one of the biggest hitters in the division and not even seem to care or notice them, let alone fifteen of them. Answer: no one. McCall's chin belongs in the very upper echelons, above all the exalted names you mentioned, and there's nothing wrong with that either.