Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Best I've Trained

Jesse Reid - Jan 2022

BEST JAB
Jesse Burnett: His jab was like a piston. He set the table with that jab, your head popped up and he’d take your head off with a right hand or hook. He had a really sneaky jab. I had a lot of fighters who had a good jab: Orlando, Johnny Tapia, but none of them could do what Jesse could do with a jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Orlando Canizales: Orlando was kind of sneaky. He had tremendous speed, great angles. He was probably one of the best angle fighters. Orlando was a great feinter. Reggie Johnson and Johnny Tapia had great defense.

BEST HANDSPEED
Johnny Tapia: Extremely quick hands and boxed better than people give him credit for.

BEST FOOTWORK
Canizales: Definitely Orlando. I worked with him for three or four years on his angles and his footwork on a tire, shifting his feet, and being more aggressive. He was more a counter puncher when he was an amateur.

SMARTEST
Paul Spadafora: He had reflexes like a mountain lion. When he was clean, nobody could touch him. If Paul had stayed away from the drink and drugs, there’s no telling how many title defenses he would have had. He could read fighters and know what he could do with them. He just had a way about him. He was very relaxed and confident. He wasn’t even a puncher and he would stop guys. He was clever and would wear you down.

STRONGEST
Lamon Brewster: He was so strong and such a big puncher. He asked me how to beat the bully and I said, ‘You bully him.’ He went out there in the first round and dropped [Andrew] Golota three times and stopped him. He was a very strong guy.

BEST CHIN
Tapia: Johnny Tapia and Orlando both had great chins. Orlando was never hurt or knocked down but he didn’t get hit a lot. Johnny Tapia had a great chin; he fought a lot of big punchers. They both had great chins, but Johnny got hit and went right through it – it didn’t even phase him. He’d take the blood off his nose, lick it and want to kill [the opponent] – just a tough guy.

BEST PUNCHER
Brewster: Lamon Brewster for heavyweight, and Roger Mayweather and Bruce Curry pound-for-pound. Roger Mayweather had a devastating right hand. Bruce was also a vicious puncher; he could knock a building down, he was a wild puncher. I’d say Lamon, he was a devastating puncher.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Reggie Johnson: He could box his arse off. Reggie went from middleweight to light heavyweight champion. I have a lot of respect for his boxing ability.

BEST OVERALL
Canizales: He was a trainer’s dream. I had him from when he was 14 years-old. He did so many things, he was a great fighter. There’s a lot of great fighters I had, but he was champion six-and-a-half years. He has to be the best.

[ShoulderRoll]

Thanks for keeping this thread updated, Chrismart.

Good stuff from Jesse Reid. It's a shame Spadafora didn't stay clean.

[Chrismart]

Derrick Gainer - Jan 2020

BEST JAB
Kevin Kelley: It was kind of hard to tell when his jab was coming all the way out. A lot of times he did a feint jab so when he would throw his real jab, it would land on me.

BEST DEFENSE
Juan Manuel Marquez: A lot of the Mexican fighters appear to be aggressive fighters who come forward. Marquez was completely different; he had a posture like he was coming forward, but he would never commit to his punches. I couldn’t really land on him because he wasn’t showing me anything, so all of my shots missed him by a wider margin than most of the other guys I faced.

BEST HANDSPEED
Kelley: I remember the first time he dropped me; it was just a matter of him throwing a quick left hand down the middle. His hand speed was by far the fastest of any guy I fought.

BEST FOOTWORK
Kelley: He was able to capitalize on a lot of errors that I made. He was able to get in and get out. He was able to time me as I was coming in with big shots; he was able to step back. He was planted but he was always ready to move back. He had quick feet and quick hands.

SMARTEST
Kelley: Kevin Kelly was smart…damn yeah Marquez was smart too. It’s a toss-up on that one. It appeared Marquez did not want to get hit by my left hand and he did things to [avoid and counteract]. Kevin wanted me to throw my left hand so he could counter my left hand, Marquez wanted to counter it but most definitely not get hit by it. I think Kevin, he had a really good I.Q and was the smartest guy I faced.

STRONGEST
Diego Corrales: Chico was so strong, he dropped me with a shot that wasn’t really that solid. There was a difference in body mass. He was so much bigger and so strong. He was massive. It was like man versus child. By far Chico Corrales was the strongest guy.

BEST CHIN
Corrales: When I hit him with an overhand left, I think in the first round, that I normally would put guys down with, he just shook his head and came back. I knew there was problems. He was not going to back away regardless what you hit him with. Harold Warren had a strong chin. I hit him with an overhand left and he said, ‘You hit like a bird.’ he kept coming forward.

BEST PUNCHER
Corrales: He was devastating to me. When he hit me with something on my arm, it hurt like hell. Chico is the only person who I was hit by and I was like, ‘Damn, I got hit.’

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Marquez: He could fight inside and outside; he was the complete package.

BEST OVERALL
Marquez: Marquez was the best fighter I faced. He most definitely was the real deal.

[PeepeePoopooMan]

Derrick Gainer - Jan 2020

BEST JAB
Kevin Kelley: It was kind of hard to tell when his jab was coming all the way out. A lot of times he did a feint jab so when he would throw his real jab, it would land on me.

BEST DEFENSE
Juan Manuel Marquez: A lot of the Mexican fighters appear to be aggressive fighters who come forward. Marquez was completely different; he had a posture like he was coming forward, but he would never commit to his punches. I couldn’t really land on him because he wasn’t showing me anything, so all of my shots missed him by a wider margin than most of the other guys I faced.

BEST HANDSPEED
Kelley: I remember the first time he dropped me; it was just a matter of him throwing a quick left hand down the middle. His hand speed was by far the fastest of any guy I fought.

BEST FOOTWORK
Kelley: He was able to capitalize on a lot of errors that I made. He was able to get in and get out. He was able to time me as I was coming in with big shots; he was able to step back. He was planted but he was always ready to move back. He had quick feet and quick hands.

SMARTEST
Kelley: Kevin Kelly was smart…damn yeah Marquez was smart too. It’s a toss-up on that one. It appeared Marquez did not want to get hit by my left hand and he did things to [avoid and counteract]. Kevin wanted me to throw my left hand so he could counter my left hand, Marquez wanted to counter it but most definitely not get hit by it. I think Kevin, he had a really good I.Q and was the smartest guy I faced.

STRONGEST
Diego Corrales: Chico was so strong, he dropped me with a shot that wasn’t really that solid. There was a difference in body mass. He was so much bigger and so strong. He was massive. It was like man versus child. By far Chico Corrales was the strongest guy.

BEST CHIN
Corrales: When I hit him with an overhand left, I think in the first round, that I normally would put guys down with, he just shook his head and came back. I knew there was problems. He was not going to back away regardless what you hit him with. Harold Warren had a strong chin. I hit him with an overhand left and he said, ‘You hit like a bird.’ he kept coming forward.

BEST PUNCHER
Corrales: He was devastating to me. When he hit me with something on my arm, it hurt like hell. Chico is the only person who I was hit by and I was like, ‘Damn, I got hit.’

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Marquez: He could fight inside and outside; he was the complete package.

BEST OVERALL
Marquez: Marquez was the best fighter I faced. He most definitely was the real deal.

I definitely thought he would of picked Kelley as the best overall. Definitely a good fighter

[mrpain81]

Love this thread, always come in when I see it pop up.

It's honestly the best thread on Boxingscene.

[Chrismart]

Arthur Abraham - Feb 2022

BEST JAB
Jermain Taylor: It was the best jab that I faced. It very hard, very fast and very powerful. I felt pain on my right side after the fight because of the jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Andre Ward: It was tough to land clean shots on him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Ward: His handspeed was very quick.

BEST FOOTWORK
Andre Dirrell: It was not just one; there were a couple: Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell. Dirrell had good footwork; he was running very fast. His footwork was very intelligent.

SMARTEST
Ward: Ward was very smart, he beat everybody.

STRONGEST
Edison Miranda: He was born strong, he was physically very strong. When he hit me, I felt pain in all my body. But I was smarter than him.

BEST CHIN
Kofi Jantuah: Carl Froch and Kofi Jantuah had a good chins. I would say Jantuah, he took all my punches and never went down. I hit Jantuah more than Froch. When Taylor hit Froch, he went down. Jantuah just kept coming.

BEST PUNCHER
Taylor: He’s a very, very hard puncher. His left is very hard. He hurt me too much in our fight. I eliminated all the pain at the end to win. I took many punches and survived.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Ward: Andre Ward was a big talent. He had the best technique, best speed, best distance [control]. Everything, for me, is Ward.

BEST OVERALL
Ward: He was born for boxing. After you have this in your system, you can train all you like but you cannot be like he is naturally. God gave him a little bit; his father gave him a little bit; and he gave some. Altogether he is the best. He won Olympic gold, naturally a very good talent. He had speed, he’s very smart, and professionally he was very good. To me, he is the best.

[buge]

This is the only thread I've subscribed to, thanks for the updates!

[Chrismart]

Sharmba Mitchell - Feb 2022

BEST JAB
Paul Williams: He used it, a lot of guys don’t use their jab, he actually used his jab. It was always a range finder and he was bigger than me.

BEST DEFENSE
Floyd Mayweather: He always had good defense. I caught him with shots but I couldn’t get him with real good clean shots. A lot of head movement and just his style.

BEST HANDSPEED
Kevin Marston: I’d have to go back to when I first started out. Floyd had handspeed but I fought some bad guys in my weight class. I fought a guy, Kevin Marston, that still today, I think I lost. His handspeed was pretty fast. Floyd had nice hand speed but you’ve got other people who were faster than Floyd but don’t have the skills that Floyd had. [Marston] didn’t have the skills, just the handspeed.

BEST FOOTWORK
Leavander Johnson: He can move around the ring. I had him hurt a couple of times and he could get around and slip around. His footwork was pretty good. He was able to move side-to-side.

SMARTEST
Mayweather: If he couldn’t figure one way, he’ll change up in a minute to figure out another way. He was born to be just what he was, nothing else.

STRONGEST
Reggie Green: He was bigger than me and he could hit. You see what he did with Micky Ward. Paul Williams was tall and lanky, he wasn’t the strongest, he wasn’t going to push me around.

BEST CHIN
Ben Tackie: I was the only one to ever knock him down. I couldn’t believe it. When I knocked him down, he got back up and I was like, ‘He aint hurt, there’s no way he’s hurt.’ [Laughs] His chin was unreal. I just caught him with one he didn’t see.

BEST PUNCHER
Rocky Lockridge: We’re at Meadowlands, I’m on the ropes and boom. The whole room goes black, I sat on the rope for a minute and then I hear the bell go, ‘ding’. I stand there for a minute and walked back to my corner. My corner looked at my eyes and threw some ice on my head. They asked me if I was alright and I said, ‘Where am I?’ He could punch like ****!

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Mayweather: Floyd’s a counter-puncher. He has great skills; he sets out his game plan to where it has to be. He’s accurate, he doesn’t waste a shot.

BEST OVERALL
Mayweather: There’s nobody in his era like him. He was special. He was one of those people who could switch up in the middle of a fight. He always had great game plans and he executed them. He’s a natural

[Chrismart]

Mario Martinez - April 2022

BEST JAB
Roger Mayweather: He really knew how to command the jab and keep the distance with the jab. It was a strong jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Mayweather: I’d get him against the ropes and like his nephew, Floyd, they know how to manage a fight well. I just couldn’t hit him like I wanted to hit him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Mayweather: He was a long, rangy fighter, he’d throw a punch and move. Overall quick, not just hand speed.

BEST FOOTWORK
Mayweather: Speed wise he was a complete fighter. He was in and out.

SMARTEST
Julio Cesar Chavez: I really admire him because in his career, not just in our fight, Chavez did what he needed to do and knew what he was doing. Everybody sees him as a come forward fighter, which he was but very smart fighter. Chavez was the smartest fighter I faced.

STRONGEST
Azumah Nelson: I think the strongest fighter overall would have to be Azumah Nelson. He kept coming forward. Chavez keeps coming forward, it’s a close one, but I’d have to say Azumah Nelson. You hit that guy with the kitchen sink and he gets stronger and kept coming forward. I have to give him credit because he kept coming but it’s a close one.

BEST CHIN
Nelson: I would have to be between Chavez and Nelson. I think Nelson, I got better shots on him and the guy wouldn’t go down. Chavez was very strong and takes a great shot too.

BEST PUNCHER
Nelson: Nelson without a doubt. I felt Nelson’s punch a little more [than Chavez]. Nelson hurt me, he stopped me in the 12th round, it wasn’t a knockout, in the sense I was out, it was a TKO. You feel his punches.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Chavez: It’s a tough one to answer. Fenech was a cagey fighter, I can’t put him at the top. It has to be between the three guys, Chavez, Mayweather and Nelson. They each had their different skill sets but they’re so unbelievably talented. I would say Chavez.

BEST OVERALL
Chavez: The best overall, most complete fighter would be Chavez because of everything he did. Looking back on that fight. he was in a different class.

[Chrismart]

Razor Ruddock - April 2022

BEST JAB
Lennox Lewis: Lewis’ variation of the jab was disruptive because it was forceful and maintained distance. Usually a jab doesn’t have much force. However, with Lewis, his jab was very fast and powerful.

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.

FASTEST HANDS
Dokes: His hands were quick and he was exceedingly experienced. He had lightning speed that you would not see coming. At the end of Round 2 he stunned me with his sharp left hook and I knew I had to keep my cool because he was going to keep coming at me. There is a reason his nickname was “Dynamite”.

BEST FOOTWORK
Greg Page: He sprouted from Muhammad Ali’s backyard (Louisville, Kentucky) and sparred with the icon on a regular basis. Imagine fighting a younger Ali. He was exceptionally light on his feet and knew how to work the ring. Page would be moving constantly but instead of jumping around like Dokes, Page would glide. He did a great job at controlling the space.

SMARTEST
Mike Weaver: He has explosive brute force with his punches but he doesn’t neglect his defense. I remember he was labeled a slow starter, but I think he was just studying his opponent. When we fought, I could feel him studying my movement and adjusting for the following round. He was always thinking three-four moves ahead. After he deceived me with that deceptive shoulder drop, I was not going to allow him to bait me. Instead of brawling and looking for a knockout, I decided to maintain distance by being quick on my feet and outpointing him.

STRONGEST
James “Bonecrusher” Smith: At the weigh in, I tried to feel his strength. I leaned on him and it was like leaning on a wall. He was ****ing unbelievably strong. He was terrifying and embodied what it meant to be a slugger. Bonecrusher would punch through you. I tell you, when he punched me it felt like an earthquake. Every inch of your body felt that power.

BEST CHIN
Mike Tyson: I consider myself a hard puncher. I hit this man with some haymakers and he shook it off, like, ‘Is that all you got?’ They called him “Iron” Mike Tyson, and that was not a joke. He was iron-chinned. I ruptured his ear-drum and he still came back.

BEST PUNCHER
Tyson: Tommy Morrison had a very good left hook; he caught me and dropped me. Lennox is a strong puncher. Weaver’s punch was a single-punch that would be a devastating knockout. Tyson’s punch was a series of powerful punches, like a submachine gun looking to annihilate you. Tyson has a punch to remember.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Page: He was so crafty because he came from the Muhammad Ali camp. He was very slippery. He had good skills; he was champion of the world. I would have him on the ropes and his hand and footspeed would work in tandem to comfortably dodge a wave of punches and dance away. He would then continue to dance around the ring. Page was a superior fighter with a remarkable uppercut that tagged me several times. It was an all-out war between us from beginning to end. When I landed, he would absorb the blow and just continued to move his head despite the punishment. He just kept bouncing around exhausting my energy as I threw power punches. He had great stamina with a lot of heart. It was remarkable.

BEST OVERALL
Tyson: I’d have to go with Tyson. He’s very good at his job. There’s different levels to boxing and Mike Tyson fluctuated in levels. When he’s training and [switched] on, it’s hard to beat him. I shared a ring with him for 19 rounds. Tyson had good defense – he was always slipping punches and had great head movement. He made it difficult to land power shots as he was maneuvering inside. At the same time, he applying constant pressure, not giving you any time to recover or breathe. Tyson was also quick but had unbelievable power for his size. He also had good timing and coordination, where he was throwing punches from all angles. You never knew what to expect and when he connected you felt the damage. He broke my jaw in the second round [of the second fight]. He had that killer instinct. When he went in the ring, you knew he had the desire to try to kill you and not hurt you. When he said, “If Razor Ruddock doesn’t die, it doesn’t count,” he meant that.