Best I've faced

[TBear]

Terry Downes - Oct 2017

BEST JAB
Sugar Ray Robinson: I suppose it could be Pender or Robinson; both were great boxers. The timing – they’re reading you while you’re standing in front of them, their movements drawing you into something. It’s just part of the fight game. I would say Robinson.

BEST DEFENSE
Paul Pender: I’ve never thought about it. Pender was awkward; he’d grab hold of you. He was a very awkward bloke. He was … long, skinny. Very classy, but an awkward fighter. They used to call him “The Boston Crab.” He used to grab hold of you whenever you got inside; he was renowned for it.

FASTEST HANDS
Robinson: He was such a great fighter. Great timing; timing’s everything. He was just quick. He could probably drop something and catch it before it hit the floor. He had fast hands, fast everything.

BEST FOOTWORK
Willie Pastrano: I would say Pastrano. Pastrano was quick, but more body movements than handspeed. He was a natural mover. He developed it in a boxing way and it paid off. He was a natural fast mover.

BEST CHIN
Phil Edwards: I gave Phil Edwards some good shots over the period of 25 rounds and he took ’em all. Both fights were toe-to-toe. Edwards was a good, tough fighter. Giardello had a good chin. Phil Edwards had a good chin, because I hit him and he didn’t go away.

SMARTEST
Robinson: How can you go against Sugar Ray Robinson and say someone was better than him? The man was amazing.

STRONGEST
**** Tiger: Probably **** Tiger. He was attacking all the time; it was hard to keep him off. You couldn’t push him back.

BEST PUNCHER
Salah Ben Fahrat:I can’t remember, it was that hard! (Laughs.) I fought a bloke at Leighton Baths, an African, he was just a sharp puncher. No one knew much about him and all of a sudden he hit me and I was on the floor. I was up and down two or three times. Every time he hit me, I went down. Gradually I fought my way back and stopped him in the fourth round.

BEST SKILL SET
Robinson: You can’t weigh up anything without putting Robinson top of the list. … That was the man. He was a great, great fighter and miles above everybody else in the time he fought. He was good at everything. You can’t take anything away from him.

BEST OVERALL
Robinson: Because he had the ability. He could do everything better than anybody else. It was a mixture of everything. That’s what makes a great fighter, and he had it all.

R.I.P. Terry Downes
May 09, 1936 to Oct 06, 2017

[ironmt]

Floyds biggest butt hurt opponents didn't say how good he is? Shocker. They're both still in denial about losing you ***ing ******

Manny said cotto was his smartest opponent lmao. Manny has a 4th grade education

A 4th grade education and still more successful than anyone on this board. What a tragedy.

[T-1000]

Manny was interviewed before the May fight. I think to u should read the date.

Keep educating these idiots. Thank u.

[Chrismart]

Frank Bruno - Oct 2017

BEST JAB
Lennox Lewis: Lewis had the best jab. He was very accurate. He caught me when I wasn’t expecting it. He had a sharp jab. He had a good variation of punches but you could tell he definitely worked on his jab because it hurt when he made contact.

BEST DEFENSE
Tim Witherspoon: He was very good at reading me. He was quite technical and difficult to catch with a clean punch. He was a bob and weaver. I remember I tried to land him one and he would block it by either slipping or ducking and weaving out the way and then catch me with a counterpunch.

FASTEST HANDS
Mike Tyson: Tyson had the fastest hands. He was a good all-rounder and brilliant attacker. He was able to multi-task by reading my moves and punch at the same time as well as dodge. His punches came very quick given his size. He was definitely an animal in the ring, he knew what he wanted and went for it. Massive determination to win.

BEST FOOTWORK
James Tillis: Tillis moved around in the ring quickly and could counterpunch. He could slip in and out. He was fast on his feet which made it harder for me to land one on him cleanly. A bit of a dancer.

BEST CHIN
Oliver McCall: He never got put down or knocked out as far as I know. I hit him with a few and he stayed up; a tough guy. I just could not understand how he took some of my punches without a minor flinch.

SMARTEST
Witherspoon: Witherspoon sparred with some great legends of boxing like Muhammed Ali and Larry Holmes and this gave him a wealth of experience. He would have to be the smartest fighter I fought.

STRONGEST
Pierre Coetzer: Coetzer stands out in my mind as one of the strongest. When I fought him, I can remember thinking this isn’t easy. This guy is strong. He was super-fit and used to train with the South African Army. When he landed a punch, it hurt more than most.

BEST PUNCHER
James “Bonecrusher” Smith: Smith had a hard punch and he was strong. This was one of my hardest fights. I was quite young at the time and he was a lot older. I lost this fight outright but it gave me a lot of experience. I learned a lot from his punches and tried to use his style later on in my boxing.

BOXING SKILLS
Witherspoon: Tim Witherspoon was definitely a good all-rounder and a lot better than people give him credit for.

BEST OVERALL
Tyson: Tyson had it all; the hunger to win the belts, to fight, to move and determination to take anybody down that crossed him at his peak. He knew the quicker he could get rid of his opponent the less chance he would get caught and he was determined to get rid of his opponents quickly.

[soul_survivor]

where do u get these interviews from chris?

also, just thinking back to Brunos gen of heavyweights, pretty much every american heavy contenders was labelled the next Ali and they all failed for various reasons, from never being good enough to never living up to potential...and then tyson came along and revitalised the sport, only to be lost among his demons.

Eventually Holyfield and Lewis, two men that were never supposed to be the heirs to Ali's throne took over and the American press and public never liked it. Since then, the US heavyweight scene has never recovered. Did anyone living through that gen ever think the scene in the US would be as bad as it is now? I certainly didnt.

[Ray*]

One of the best threads hands down in recent years. I love the date updates on them as well. Because some did those interviews whilst they were still active, and then after they have retired.

[WesternChamp]

Floyds biggest butt hurt opponents didn't say how good he is? Shocker. They're both still in denial about losing you ***ing ******

Manny said cotto was his smartest opponent lmao. Manny has a 4th grade education

well, he's right. how can he give it to floyd if he feels he was never in a real fight with him?

[yngwie]

Frank Bruno - Oct 2017

BEST JAB
Lennox Lewis: Lewis had the best jab. He was very accurate. He caught me when I wasn’t expecting it. He had a sharp jab. He had a good variation of punches but you could tell he definitely worked on his jab because it hurt when he made contact.

BEST DEFENSE
Tim Witherspoon: He was very good at reading me. He was quite technical and difficult to catch with a clean punch. He was a bob and weaver. I remember I tried to land him one and he would block it by either slipping or ducking and weaving out the way and then catch me with a counterpunch.

FASTEST HANDS
Mike Tyson: Tyson had the fastest hands. He was a good all-rounder and brilliant attacker. He was able to multi-task by reading my moves and punch at the same time as well as dodge. His punches came very quick given his size. He was definitely an animal in the ring, he knew what he wanted and went for it. Massive determination to win.

BEST FOOTWORK
James Tillis: Tillis moved around in the ring quickly and could counterpunch. He could slip in and out. He was fast on his feet which made it harder for me to land one on him cleanly. A bit of a dancer.

BEST CHIN
Oliver McCall: He never got put down or knocked out as far as I know. I hit him with a few and he stayed up; a tough guy. I just could not understand how he took some of my punches without a minor flinch.

SMARTEST
Witherspoon: Witherspoon sparred with some great legends of boxing like Muhammed Ali and Larry Holmes and this gave him a wealth of experience. He would have to be the smartest fighter I fought.

STRONGEST
Pierre Coetzer: Coetzer stands out in my mind as one of the strongest. When I fought him, I can remember thinking this isn’t easy. This guy is strong. He was super-fit and used to train with the South African Army. When he landed a punch, it hurt more than most.

BEST PUNCHER
James “Bonecrusher” Smith: Smith had a hard punch and he was strong. This was one of my hardest fights. I was quite young at the time and he was a lot older. I lost this fight outright but it gave me a lot of experience. I learned a lot from his punches and tried to use his style later on in my boxing.

BOXING SKILLS
Witherspoon: Tim Witherspoon was definitely a good all-rounder and a lot better than people give him credit for.

BEST OVERALL
Tyson: Tyson had it all; the hunger to win the belts, to fight, to move and determination to take anybody down that crossed him at his peak. He knew the quicker he could get rid of his opponent the less chance he would get caught and he was determined to get rid of his opponents quickly.

Respect to Bruno, all of them were solid picks and seemed really honest about them.

[WesternChamp]

not sure why floyd fans is getting mad that most fighters is not picking floyd.

floyd never fought his opponents in a way to really make them see how good/great he is. you cant respect someone who has never tested you.

[Ray*]

Really, really love this series.

But as usual thread getting hijack for someone else.