Does Vitali really have a granite chin?

[WILL2WIN]

His chin is not granite fighters like Ali,Duran,Marciano and Hagler had much tougher chins and were more durable. What makes Vitali so hard to put away is his length,size,strength and reflexes. Arreola really has a mucch tougher chin than Vitali,i would like to see him take the kind of punishment from a big puncher of his eqivalency that lands clean and flush like his did against arrela and still stay standing!

vitali has a good chin but it's far from granite imho

[TheGreatA]

A: Vitali has not hit the canvas yet
B : Many other fighters have
C: This means Vitali must have a good chin

It is the exact definition of a triangle theory sir.

My counter argument would be, vitali has not been hit cleanly throughout his career due to his size advantages & good defence which have 0 to do with your chins ability to take a blow.

When you take evidence such as the Lewis fight and the fact that Vitali has never been down (a rare feat in the heavyweight division, only matched by the likes of George Chuvalo and Oliver McCall), you have to admit that the man has the ability to take a punch better than most.

Even if it is only up to his size and defense (which are attributes that his brother also possess), we would still have to admit that he is durable and difficult to knockout, no different from saying that Floyd Mayweather is.

A weak triangle theory would be based on a single performance, such as saying that Vitali is tough because he lasted under Sanders's onslaught while Wladimir did not, but Vitali has proven his durability well enough at this stage over a long career.

I'd rather not use terms such as a "granite chin" as a well-timed punch can knock out almost any man and such terms are usually bestowed upon those who are too easy to hit for their own good. Durability is most important, not how many punches you can take before being stopped.

I'm sure Vitali himself would rather be known for a good defense than a granite chin, although I never thought his defense was that good.

[Daddy T]

The best chin is the one that doesn't get hit - thats vitali's secret

[stefl14]

The best chin is the one that doesn't get hit - thats vitali's secret

Lets be honest though, the reason he doesn't get hit is because the opposition he faces is rubbish and he is taller than everyone else - not because his defense is good. He sure got hit a lot vs Lewis and his defense was almost non existent.

[Joeyzagz]

Vitali's chin AND Power are so over rated I wonder if any of these imbeciles have actually seen him fight.

His dominance comes from his defense, reflexes and incredible balance.

His chin is most likely the same as his brothers, the only difference is Vitali was able to run away before Sanders could land that second shot.

[StarshipTrooper]

Lets be honest though, the reason he doesn't get hit is because the opposition he faces is rubbish and he is taller than everyone else - not because his defense is good. He sure got hit a lot vs Lewis and his defense was almost non existent.

Lennox landed 60% of his power shots against Vitali. That's an obscene connect rate that should put to rest the myth that Vitali has "great defense". It's easy to look great at anything when your opposition is a never ending series of D-class fighters who be detritus in even an average era.

Poet

[Joeyzagz]

When you take evidence such as the Lewis fight and the fact that Vitali has never been down (a rare feat in the heavyweight division, only matched by the likes of George Chuvalo and Oliver McCall), you have to admit that the man has the ability to take a punch better than most.

Even if it is only up to his size and defense (which are attributes that his brother also possess), we would still have to admit that he is durable and difficult to knockout, no different from saying that Floyd Mayweather is.
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I'm sure Vitali himself would rather be known for a good defense than a granite chin, although I never thought his defense was that good.

Lennox was hitting Holyfield with those same shots for 24 rounds, and not once did Holy look as pathetic as Vitali did in round 6 clinching for almost 2 mins.

Tyson was basically a deer in a cage, took twice as much punishment as Vitali and lasted 8 rounds without going down. Id say both Tyson and Holyfield have tougher chins than Vitali.

If you want to call Vitali the greatest defensive Heavyweight of all time, fine. But he needs to eat a 3-4 punch combination before he can have the chin argument.

[StarshipTrooper]

[GoogleMe]

Can you really find a fighter with around 50 fights (and many championship fights), who has not been rocked?

[StarshipTrooper]

Can you really find a fighter with around 50 fights (and many championship fights), who has not been rocked?

He got rocked by both Lennox and Sanders.

Poet