Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Carlos Salazar - March 2025

BEST JAB
Marco Antonio Barrera: "It was a really powerful and well directed jab, preparing the distance to combine it with a cross or a blow from the other hand."

BEST DEFENSE
Alberto Jimenez: "Most of the first-class opponents I faced were really good attackers, so I was the one preparing the defense. Probably one of the best was Alberto Jimenez, he made a very good movement with the wrist that made it very difficult to for me to land clear blows. Moving the wrist from one side to the other and that made me try to change a little bit of the attack moving my own wrist from those fights onwards to improve a bit."

BEST HANDSPEED
Sung Kil Moon: "In the first rounds of the fight, I felt a sensation as if I couldn't breathe because of the amount of blows that Sung Kil Moon was sending, it was one after the other. It was with a lot of intensity; a lot of speed and he never lost the pace until the last rounds."

BEST FOOTWORK
Hiroshi Kawashima: "The one that surprised me was Hiroshi Kawashima. He had very neat footwork. This guy went to the short distance, moved out of it moved side-to-side always in a very neat way, very precise and well worked."

SMARTEST
Kawashima: "He was very intelligent, he read the fight well. Not only his footwork but also taking out the distance."

STRONGEST
Moon: "I landed many and continuous heavy blows, especially in the second part of the fight and no matter how many blows I landed Sung Kil Moon was always close to me. It was as if he enjoyed being hit because the more, I hit him the more he came close. I hit him with tons of heavy, clear blows and he was continually on me, as if he not only resisted them but as if he was enjoying it."

BEST PUNCHER
Barrera: "He threw punches to the solar plexus which if you receive the blow on the right side, you felt it on the right and left side. Those kind of dry, very explosive blows with the short distance which were spectacular and if you didn't go with it, you would definitely go down. Nobody has hit me as hard as Marco Antonio Barrera."

BEST CHIN
Undecided: "I wasn't a heavy puncher, so it is hard to say. I was more about combinations; I didn't have many knockouts. It is hard to say."

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Jimenez: "He was incredibly brave, his desire and heart of getting out of the ring was impressive. He was always in great shape, always prepared as a professional champion. He had a very good past as a fighter."

BEST OVERALL
Barrera: "Barrera was only 20 years old. I made a different fight because I knew Barrera was extremely explosive, extremely good. He was young and hungry. I had to avoid getting knocked out. I trusted my own skills to prevail but also not being hit. All in all, I think Barrera was the best fighter I ever faced."

[Chrismart]

Ruslan Provodnikov - July 2025

BEST JAB
Tim Bradley: "He had a very good technical jab."

BEST DEFENSE
Lucas Matthysse: "I couldn't land a clean punch on him. Matthysse's team set up a good game plan to neutralize my strong suits."

BEST HANDSPEED
Bradley: "Quick punches and the quality of the punches; he threw on average 100-punches a round."

BEST FOOTWORK
Bradley: "Tim Bradley and [Chris] Algieri. They both had really good footwork. I would pick Tim Bradley."

SMARTEST
Bradley: "There's two types of boxer, one boxes with their heart and the other their mind and Tim Bradley uses a lot of his mind. In my fight specifically, he also was able to use his heart because at some point he had to survive. In those parts of my fight with him he had to use his heart because his mind was off."

STRONGEST
Matthysse: "Matthysse was physically strong, Bradley was also physically strong, but I would say Matthysse."

BEST CHIN
Mike Alvarado: "He was taking clean punches from me at the beginning of the fight, but he was able to persevere and hold on."

BEST PUNCHER
Matthysse: "He seemed to have natural power, his punches were strong, something he was born with."

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Bradley: "He had the highest skills."

BEST OVERALL
Bradley: "He was more of a complete package."

[The Big Dunn]

Ruslan Provodnikov - July 2025

BEST JAB
Tim Bradley: "He had a very good technical jab."

BEST DEFENSE
Lucas Matthysse: "I couldn't land a clean punch on him. Matthysse's team set up a good game plan to neutralize my strong suits."

BEST HANDSPEED
Bradley: "Quick punches and the quality of the punches; he threw on average 100-punches a round."

BEST FOOTWORK
Bradley: "Tim Bradley and [Chris] Algieri. They both had really good footwork. I would pick Tim Bradley."

SMARTEST
Bradley: "There's two types of boxer, one boxes with their heart and the other their mind and Tim Bradley uses a lot of his mind. In my fight specifically, he also was able to use his heart because at some point he had to survive. In those parts of my fight with him he had to use his heart because his mind was off."

STRONGEST
Matthysse: "Matthysse was physically strong, Bradley was also physically strong, but I would say Matthysse."

BEST CHIN
Mike Alvarado: "He was taking clean punches from me at the beginning of the fight, but he was able to persevere and hold on."

BEST PUNCHER
Matthysse: "He seemed to have natural power, his punches were strong, something he was born with."

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Bradley: "He had the highest skills."

BEST OVERALL
Bradley: "He was more of a complete package."

Yo dude hope all is well with you.

[Chrismart]

Dwight Muhammad Qawi - March 2019

BEST JAB
Evander Holyfield: In a mediocre sense, Michael Spinks and Evander Holyfield – I didn't really get hit with that many jabs. It didn't do anything to me. Holyfield, he was real busy with the jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Eddie Davis: There was a guy I fought in Philadelphia; he was a journeyman [Al Bolden]. You couldn't hit him. I made a cardinal sin in boxing; I had sex the night before. That probably had something to do with it too. Eddie Davis was so awkward – his movement.
It took me a long time to figure out. We had a thing in boxing called 'putting them on the leash'; while he was in front of me, he was making me miss, but then I put him on the leash and made him follow me. That's when I got to him and knocked him out. Up until then, he had a helluva defense.

FASTEST HANDS
Holyfield: Both Michael Spinks and Evander's hand speed were equally fast but was not exceptional for me. I'd pick Evander.

BEST FOOTWORK
Holyfield: Piet Crous had good footwork; he moved pretty good, because he had me reaching a lot. He was taking three steps to my one. Holyfield and Michael Spinks did too. They moved a lot; they kept moving. Out of those three, Michael was so awkward I couldn't call that footwork. Crous was very consistent as a fighter, which gave him an advantage. Holyfield, he had perpetual motion; he kept moving, angles. I'd say Holyfield.

BEST CHIN
Holyfield: The best chin was Holyfield; he got a good chin. I hit him good in the first fight and the second fight. In the third round (of the rematch), I hit him with a right hand, he stopped and woke back up and got away. Between rounds, his team jumped all over him, 'You got to get him out of there.' I heard them. He took a heck of a shot.

SMARTEST
Michael Spinks: Who would be smart getting in the ring with me? (laughs) Even though Spinks ran like a dog, he was smart for doing so. He was running so hard he tripped over his own feet.

STRONGEST
Leon Spinks: He held his ground, was a big guy. Holyfield was strong, but he didn't do anything to me; he pushed me not around, but off him. I think we all know that 'Big' George Foreman was strong and still is, but Leon Spinks drew me into a brawl with him - he was very scrappy and tough.

BEST PUNCHER
Matthew Saad Muhammad: I think Holyfield was on some artificial enhancements that gave him an unfair advantage. So I'm not going to give him credit. Foreman didn't have the snap he used to have. He was thumping. He wasn't hurting me because he wasn't in his heyday. I was hurting him; he was hurt quite a few times when he fought me. He wasn't the best puncher, I just ran out of gas. Matthew Saad Muhammad was legitimately the best puncher. He could hurt you – and he hurt me. The whole arena turned upside-down when he hit me.

BOXING SKILLS
Saad Muhammad: Saad Muhammad was a very skillful fighter, it's just I shut him down. He was very polished. He did nine title defenses and fought a lot of good opponents. My trainer said, 'He wants to slug with you, trade punches.' But he showed some things in there. You always had to watch out for him. He would hit me with a left hook, uppercut – and had a nice right hand.

BEST OVERALL
Saad Muhammad: They all presented a challenge. Michael (Spinks), he would always be a challenge for me. I shared a ring with Foreman, but not in his heyday. My best overall fighter whom I faced was Matthew Saad Muhammad. He reminded me of Sugar Ray Robinson.
He'd take whatever you did, turn it around and put it on you – and be better. He could make adjustments; that's why he came back on so many people. I shut him down, overwhelmed him. I could think of another, but can't get around the asterisk that's in the way.

[Chrismart]

Oleg Maskaev - 2022

BEST JAB
Hasim Rahman: “He had a great jab. It was very heavy and fast. Sometimes you couldn’t see it.”

BEST DEFENSE
Sedreck Fields: “He had a good defense, it was really hard to hit him with a right hand or straight left. He was good at moving his head and body for a couple of rounds and then his stamina went out and he got tired. Danny Williams defense was good too.”

BEST HANDSPEED
Derrick Jefferson: “Jefferson he quick hands. He had great speed, especially his left hook, you have to watch out for his left-hook, it was very sharp. David Defiagbon he had great speed and was very clever in the fight. He was like a cruiserweight and had great speed.”

BEST FOOTWORK
Alex Stewart: “When I fought him, I was still a young, he was the experienced guy, it was a tough fight. He was good on his feet for his six or seven rounds until I stop him.”

SMARTEST
Sinan Samil Sam: “He was a smart guy, he put pressure on me and if I didn’t have such a great training camp I wouldn’t have won. Don’t forget he was a World amateur champion. He had great technique, was physically condition and mentally strong.”

STRONGEST
David Tua: “He was a very dangerous guy; he always followed you. You couldn’t push him back; he was very strong. His style of boxing was close to [Mike] Tyson.”

BEST PUNCHER
Tua: “I would say Tua, especially his left hook, very dangerous. The most dangerous punch is the one you do not see – fast and powerful.”

BEST CHIN
Tua: “Tua had a great chin. I think Hasim Rahman once knocked him down but they didn’t count it as a knockdown. I think Lennox Lewis fought him and he went all 12-rounds. [Lewis] didn’t hurt him. I don’t think I hurt him. [Marion] Wilson, I hit him very hard but he didn’t go down. Sinan Samil Sam was a tough guy, that guy could take a punch. I remember in the first round I hit him with a right hand and he told me in the press conference that I broke his jaw and he didn’t go down.”

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Rahman: “He was very technically good. Especially with the jab and followed up with the right hand and then left hook. He was very good when I fought him. That was his peak time.”

BEST OVERALL
Rahman: “He was in great shape then. He fought me two times, I don’t know he was probably cursed against me. I’m not going to say Tua was better, I still didn’t have much experience when I fought Tua.”

[Chrismart]

Just updated the thread with a few I came across on Rings website via google. I don't think there is a search function on Ring's website, or that they do the 'Best I Faced' feature anymore in the print magazine version. So these posts could be few and far between going forward.

[Chrismart]

Yo dude hope all is well with you.

Hey man, how's things? I'm good thanks, hope you're doing well.

I don't get on here as much these days, just drop in now and again to play the prediction game or to update this thread.

Is it still as wild on here as it used to be? Haha.

The big fight last night made me want to log on and see what everyone was saying about it.