What makes up a GREAT Chin ?

[McGoorty]

What is that makes a fighter almost impervious to being knocked out by a huge clean shot to his chin ? is it the neck muscles as i have heard many claim ?
does this equate to stats for those with great records of absorbing blows (guy who were either never knocked down, or knocked out or only ever KO'd by men known to be among the super hitters in history ? are there other physical factors that help ?.
.. obviously the ability to roll with big shots is a factor as well. My favourite fighter ever, Les Darcy was never knocked down from any blow in his career except for being badly hurt by a few low blows to the family ***els where he may have gone to the canvas but the ropes may have assisted him there. He is one of those blokes who had a massive neck. Who else can you name ?
I don't know Harry Greb's neck size but from pictures his neck looks very strong too although not as thick as Darcy's but Greb was stopped how many times in 299 fights ??? you know the answer to that, he surely must have survived many big clean shots in that long career even though he was known as being very hard to get a shot on (nobody not even the legendary Young Griffo could go forever without copping a huge one, every boxer is human).
OK obviously physics shows that every fighter has a limit Darcy and everyone else would be knocked out of a rhinocerous barged into their heads lol. So what is it about these guys, how many can we name on here ? and why is it so as Julius Sumner Miller used to say... remember only those with records to back up your claims are eligible.

[Anthony342]

I'd say neck size and skull thickness probably have something to do with it. Also conditioning and heart play major roles as well. If a fighter still has plenty of energy and is determined not to go down, those have to be factors.

[Pugilist_Spec]

Physically speaking, the best chins always belong to the smaller, stocky guys with thick necks.

But that's just one aspect of taking a punch. Mental strength plays a huge role as well.

When people bring up fighters like Ali or Holyfield when talking about "chins" I don't completely agree. These guys could be hurt, it's just that they were too tough and stubborn to be put away when under the heat.

[The Old LefHook]

This question has no chance of an original or even an authentic answer. I have heard about thicker skulls, but I did not see the X-rays. I have heard about bull necks, but I have seen men with them get knocked cold.

More than any other boxing question I believe this one requires a talented physiologist who has seriously studied the question. Could you trust an answer from anyone else? I could not, because it is either a professional physiologist or a bunch of people with no relevant knowledge guessing. On this question it matters not a whit how much one knows about the rest of boxing. General boxing knowledge will not help answer this question in the least.

[joeandthebums]

In the late 80's a Dr. King Liu, a sports-medicine researcher at the University of Iowa Medical School gave the following opinion on why some fighters can absorb more punishment than others.

"Individual variations in the way brains are constructed enable some people to sustain a higher brain pressure gradient—or rotational acceleration—than others. It’s simply part of the variation in all of nature."

[McGoorty]

Yes it's a tough question this, I asked because I don't really know but I have noticed that some guys who had long thinner necks have been called out by some as having a glass jaw or said to have "suspect" chins and the amount of times they were knocked out seem to back that up, think Julian Jackson, Thomas Hearns or Tony Mundine Sr, all three were also feared punchers... as i said before Darcy had a thick neck, well thick everything, no idea of his skull thickness, Marciano also had a thick neck, Basilio a pretty thick one to, Zale though seems to have a middlin size neck yet had a fantastic chin, it literally to Marcel cerdan massively powerful puncher and one with great speed and timing too add to his strength yet he still had to hit Zale like 200 huge shots to make him fall and even then he only went half way. I don't think its to do with short necks but surely a very strongly muscled neck is what basilio and Zale had. I guess it would take a study of the best best known chins in boxing history then look at photos and measurements might give us a clearer picture.

[The Old LefHook]

I think Joe is in the right direction to look for answers, or at least interesting speculations. As generalists, maybe we can begin to shape it the following way:

It seems likely that besides variations in the tolerance of rotational acceleration, other traits as well will cluster in a few individuals over a large population sample at an expected frequency, such as skull thickness, neck musculature, neck length, vein placement & artery depth and geometry of the jaw.

All of the above traits, and many more yet to be found, could play into the final equation of whatever it is that seems to make some fighters freaks of punch resistance. It is likely an equation of many variables. But remember it is the term of highest degree in an equation that represents it most strongly. That would be the trait, if there is one, most responsible for punch resistance.

I think it is important not to overlook the obvious. It is given that great conditioning and will has a lot to do with it among notable cases.

[The Old LefHook]

Overall head size apparently has nothing to do with it, as Lamotta and Moorer both had heads the size of a wood stove.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Natural toughness plays a part as well as developing the neck muscles particularly the shoulder girdle. Length of neck plays a factor as well, a short neck is going to be better than a long neck because your head won't whip back as much when punched. I don't know to what degree that the length of the neck dictates because Hagler's neck was a bit long. I would say overall, you can either take a punch or not also, if you are more alert and have more adrenaline going through you than that plays a key part as well.

[stephenmc]

Its got nothing to do with any kind of physical shape or the size of your neck or anything like that......
Its basically whether you have it or not..
It is mostly ingrained into fighters from a young age, if you have been getting hit since you were 8-12 then it becomes almost second nature...
An adult or even teenager starting boxing will have a weaker chin or at least not respond the way same way as a boxer who has been boxing most of their life.....

You cant train a chin, but from starting at a young age you become almost oblivious to the fact you have been punched hard or whatever.
A good chin is inbuilt into someone in a gym, sparrin and fighting and from years of taking punches since they were small