Best I've faced

[buge]

Razor Ruddock - April 2022

BEST DEFENSE
Michael Dokes: Even though we only went four rounds, his defense was impeccable. [He was] extremely slippery, feinting the entire fight without a hiccup. He was constantly moving his head, making it difficult to connect. Very good at escaping punches and responding with combinations.

Picking as best defense a guy you KO'd cold in 4 rounds is kind of weird. Ruddock was landing lead uppercuts at will, etc. Dokes' defense in that fight was nothing special.

[tritium_arma]

Picking as best defense a guy you KO'd cold in 4 rounds is kind of weird. Ruddock was landing lead uppercuts at will, etc. Dokes' defense in that fight was nothing special.

Kind of like Pauli saying the one guy he actually dropped had the best chin.

[Chrismart]

Omar Narvaez - June 2022

BEST JAB
Zolani Tete: He had a long reach that made it impossible for me to get near and he was also southpaw, just like me.

BEST DEFENSE
Alejandro Hernandez: “Payasito” made it complicated for me because he was very defensive. He was fast with his movements and never straight ahead to fight, so it was difficult to connect a clean punch, a hard punch or a firm punch. I had to always start from the body to then get to the head.

BEST HANDSPEED
Alex Makhmutov: Makhmutov had those surprising punches, he threw very fast punches with precision. He was a veteran with lots of speed who surprised me with his punches more than once. So, I think he was one I noticed as one of the fastest.

BEST FOOTWORK
Tete: He was very tall, with long arms. He only had to move a bit and it made it uncomfortable for me to reach him. I couldn’t even connect to the body.

SMARTEST
Nonito Donaire: The most intelligent was Nonito Donaire because he always fought in his distance. It made me uncomfortable to connect with him and it also turned dangerous for me. He always tried to control me, to make me go to the body or get into his distance so he could connect. I did a couple of times and he connected with hard punches and held his cool.

STRONGEST
Cesar Seda: He was big for the category; he was throwing his body weight on me and he was firm. He was strong. I had to hit and move all the time since I was faster.

BEST PUNCHER
Naoya Inoue: I felt the power in his hands from the first moment. With the left hand you could feel great power, a great punch. He was the only one who managed to knock me down and beat me by KO.

BEST CHIN
Felipe Orucuta: He always came forward. I hit him with hard punches and could not move him. I fought him twice and both times I landed several hard punches and could never make him step back.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Donaire: The one with the most technical resources was Nonito Donaire. A very complete boxer who had a good jab, a lot of hand speed. He worked up and down with his punches. Good footwork. He always kept the distance, the one he felt most comfortable in. I think he was the one with the most resources to face.

BEST OVERALL
Inoue: The best opponent in general I think was Naoya Inoue. He combined that explosive strength and hand speed that made him constantly dangerous. He is very complete; he knows how to box and is supported by his hand speed and power when he unloads his punches.

[Chrismart]

Andy Lee - Sep 2022

BEST JAB
Billy Joe Saunders: John Jackson had a great jab, Peter Quillin had a great jab but I think Billy Joe Saunders probably surprised me with his jab the most. He sat quite low with his legs and would jab quite high and I found it difficult to out jab him or jab with him.

BEST DEFENSE
Saunders: I wasn’t able to catch him with that one big shot. He was clever, he wouldn’t risk landing his own punch, he was quite safe and quite clever in how he boxed. Very smart boxer and when he knew he was in with a puncher, it made his defense even sharper.

BEST HANDSPEED
John Jackson: Maybe because it was at a lower weight, that fight was at 154, most of my career was at 160 but I’d gone down the weight to take that fight. He had speed and power.

BEST FOOTWORK
Saunders: Part of Saunders defense is his footwork. Chavez Jr. was quite liberal with his footwork. His footwork was pressure footwork and where he would try to maneuver and position to get you onto the ropes. I would say Saunders.

SMARTEST
Matt Korobov: Saunders was a very smart, very clever fighter. Chavez had a lot of tricks, Quillin was quite clever, we had to be patient because we were punching so hard. You look at the Russian and Eastern European’s who have come on since Korobov, you can see when they have that amateur schooling behind them, there’s no mistakes, everything they do there’s a reason and method for it. Korobov was outpointing me, I class myself as a boxer, and I didn’t let anyone outpoint me but he was outpointing me for six-rounds before I caught up with him.

STRONGEST
Peter Quillin: Chavez was strong but I would say Peter Quillin. The size of the man, when we were in close, he was hard to move around and move off his feet when you were trying to tie him up.

BEST CHIN
Carl Cockerham: He basically a journeyman at the time, a gatekeeper. It was on a Top Rank show and they wanted to see what I had and they put me in with Carl Cockerham and when we were at the weigh in, I looked at the guy and Johnathan Banks was with me and said, ‘Andy he has a big head.’ We always said a big head equals a good chin. I hit this guy clean with everything and he kept coming. Brian Vera had a great chin, too. Brian Vera was a warhorse.

BEST PUNCHER
Quillin: John Jackson was a massive puncher; he had his dad’s power. He dropped me for the for the first time in my career in the first round and that was a new experience but the biggest puncher was undoubtedly Peter Quillin. Quillin dropped me at the end of that first round in that fight. I don’t remember any of the fight, the next thing I knew I was getting up off the stool and it was Round 11. I said to Adam Booth, ‘How am I doing? Am I in the fight? Shall I go for the knockdown?’ He said, ‘Andy, keep boxing, you’re in the fight.’ But I had no recollection, I didn’t know what I was doing, that’s how hard he hit me. Quillin, it was lights out for me. My fitness and conditioning got me through, I was on auto pilot until the end of Round 11.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Saunders: Korobov was an excellent, master technician. Billy Joe Saunders is someone I appreciated a lot more since fighting him. Saunders (is the best) because he beat me.

BEST OVERALL
Saunders: It’s between Saunders, Quillin and Korobov. At another time or had things gone differently Korobov could have been a great champion but he met me on that one night and that one punch changed the course of our careers. Probably the best overall I fought was Billy Joe Saunders.

[hugh grant]

Picking as best defense a guy you KO'd cold in 4 rounds is kind of weird. Ruddock was landing lead uppercuts at will, etc. Dokes' defense in that fight was nothing special.

If you don't trust their opinions there shouldn't be a best I've faced, armchair fans can make their own conclusions up. He might feel he landed a lucky punch. I mean if ever anyone koed Floyd !weather they might still say Floyd s defence was best. I mean jmm might say Pac was hard to nail

[buge]

If you don't trust their opinions there shouldn't be a best I've faced, armchair fans can make their own conclusions up. He might feel he landed a lucky punch. I mean if ever anyone koed Floyd !weather they might still say Floyd s defence was best. I mean jmm might say Pac was hard to nail

It wasn't one lucky punch though, I watched the whole fight.

[BodyBagz]

Picking as best defense a guy you KO'd cold in 4 rounds is kind of weird. Ruddock was landing lead uppercuts at will, etc. Dokes' defense in that fight was nothing special.

Weaver being the smartest

[hugh grant]

It wasn't one lucky punch though, I watched the whole fight.

Oh i see, i might have to watch that i cant remember it. But hes saying Dokes is more elusive than Lewis or Tyson? Yes a bit suspect i suppose. But Tysons ability his peers respected even though many say tyson is overated. I bet Tony Tucker, and Tyrell biggs rate Tyson also, as well as Bruno rates tyson the best overall i bet and i just realised Bruno does think tyson was the best he's fought overall

[Chrismart]

Adonis Stevenson - Nov 2022

BEST JAB
Badou Jack: “He gets the jab out, the timing; he’s patient. It was a swift jab.”


BEST DEFENSE
Jack: “He had a good defense, too. He can block the punch.”


BEST HANDSPEED
Chad Dawson: “I could see his jab was very quick.”


BEST FOOTWORK
Oleksandr Gvozdyk: “He moved around the ring very well.”


SMARTEST
Andrzej Fonfara: “When I fought the first fight, he let me punch him, he kept blocking and was waiting for a good moment. He was very wise, waiting for his moment. When his moment came, he caught me and I realized everything he was doing was to wear me down. My energy was going and he knew it. He saw the opportunity, he caught me and [I went down, then] I got up.”


STRONGEST
Fonfara: “He’s big and very strong physically. He walked around at 200 pounds.”


BEST PUNCHER
Dawson: “I could feel his power, and he also disrespected me. I said in my mind, ‘I have to finish him quick,’ before he got his rhythm.”


BEST CHIN
Sakio Bika: “I don’t think there was a boxer who knocked him out. I hit him clean, he went on the floor and he got up. He had a good defense, but he had a good chin. When you punched him in the head you felt the punch in your hands. He’s got a chin!”


BEST BOXING SKILLS
“I think Tony Bellew had good skills. He had long arms, good jab. Aaron Pryor Jr., he’s tall — this guy is 10 feet (laughs) and he’s got skills.”


BEST OVERALL
Jack: “He was a two-weight world champion. He brought the best out in me; we had a great fight.”

[Chrismart]

Humberto Soto - November 2022


BEST JAB
Joan Guzman: Guzman’s jab was good, but it wasn’t a hard, stiff jab. It was a fast jab. It was to find the distance.


BEST DEFENSE
Guzman: He would move around so much. Guzman was toughest for me because of his movement.


BEST HANDSPEED
Guzman: He was overall fast. After he jabbed, he moved to the right or left. He had overall good speed.


BEST FOOTWORK
Benoit Gaudet: That was a tough fight because the guy would move and he had good foot movement. He had beautiful foot movement and knew how to use it and move around the ring.


SMARTEST
Francisco Lorenzo: He was able to bait the referee and judges and I was disqualified because of his cleverness and wittiness.


STRONGEST
Urbano Antillon: He was definitely the strongest fighter I fought. He just kept coming forward. Very physically strong.


BEST CHIN
Antillon: Brandon Rios and Antillon. I hit them with everything and the kitchen sink, and they were still there. I think Antillon. He would still come back for more.


BEST PUNCHER
Lucas Matthysse: Rocky Juarez and Matthysse are the two punchers I felt the most. When they hit me, I could tell they had power. Matthysse’s the one guy that definitely knocked me down for real when we were fighting. He was the hardest puncher, without a doubt.


BEST BOXING SKILLS
Guzman: It’s very hard for me, because you’re talking 82 fights. [Editor’s note: A 2004 bout against Jorge Solis ended in a no-contest, thus the additional fight Soto is counting.] I had so many tough fights. Rocky Juarez, David Diaz, Jesus Chavez were all good boxers. Guzman was a very good, complete boxer, didn’t hit hard but he had good overall boxing skills.


BEST OVERALL
Matthysse: Nobody did to me what Matthysse did to me. He was definitely the best fighter I shared a ring with.