Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Yaqui Lopez - Nov 2018

BEST JAB
Jesse Burnett: He was very clever, he had the same style as [Floyd] Mayweather. He made me work hard because of his sneaky jab. To beat him, I had to put a lot of pressure on him. I think Jesse Burnett had the best jab – him and John Conteh. There were so many good light heavyweights in my era.

BEST DEFENSE
Victor Galindez: He bobbed and weaved. He was a pretty good fighter. A lot of people didn’t give him credit, but he was very smooth. Galindez was very good defensively; it was hard to catch him.

FASTEST HANDS
Matthew Saad Muhammad: He had pretty good speed. I countered, and he countered right back. He put a lot of pressure on me. I consider myself a good boxer, but he put so much pressure on and I stopped to mix it up with him.

BEST FOOTWORK
John Conteh: He was very sharp, good boxer, he moved good. He had everything. He had good moves, he had the best footwork, bottom line.

BEST CHIN
Saad Muhammad: I hit him hard, I caught him with terrific punches, right uppercuts, left hooks, he was hurt. We fought very hard in the ring.

SMARTEST
Michael Spinks: He was awkward, tricky, sharp. I expected the right hand and he came with the left hook. I expect the left hook, he came with the right, he tricked me.

STRONGEST
Galindez: I spent 30 rounds with him, he was a strong guy. I tried to push him, and he didn’t move.

BEST PUNCHER
Spinks: He’s an awkward puncher, he hit me on the temple and I went down. The referee counted, I didn’t hear, one, or two, or three, or four, you hear five and it felt very far away, six, seven. I thought time to get up, I looked at my corner and they tell me ‘eight, get up’. He knocked me down three times, he’s a puncher.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Burnett: More than Spinks, nobody wanted to fight him. Burnett can fight, that’s why a lot of tough guys didn’t want to fight him.

BEST OVERALL
Spinks: In my time, they were all great in my era. They were all great light heavyweights, and it’s very hard for me to decide. I think, overall, the light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. He deserves that from me. When I fought, I fought to the end.

[Chrismart]

A little reminder of Lopez/Muhammad

...

[Chrismart]

Tony Lopez - Dec 2018

BEST JAB
John John Molina: His jab was fast and he could move really well. He had a really good stiff jab and his lateral movement was off the hook.

BEST DEFENSE
Jorge Paez: Without a doubt it would be “Maromero” Paez. He moved so much he was really hard to hit, he moved in weird angles. You’d swing and he’s gone.

FASTEST HANDS
Joey Gamache: I would say Joey Gamache. Around the seventh or eighth round we’re in a neutral corner and I’m five feet away. I put my hands down and took a deep breath and by the time I’d finished picking up my guard he hits me with a one-two and he’s gone. He was fast. Rocky Lockridge and Charles Murray were fast but not even close to how fast Joey was.

BEST FOOTWORK
Molina: The boy danced circles around me. He was the type of fighter that when that bell rang he used so much of ring and gave you angles. It was hard to keep up with him.

BEST CHIN
Julio Cesar Chavez: I would say Chavez. He took quite a good shot, he stood right there in front of you. He could take it, all power to him.

SMARTEST
Brian Mitchell: He was a smart one. I never thought Mitchell was a great fighter, I never thought much of him, but he was always in shape. He wasn’t fantastic at anything but he was good at everything. I just couldn’t get him, something about his style just threw me off.

STRONGEST
Rocky Lockridge: I’d give it to Rocky Lockridge – the first fight – because there was a lot of pushing and fooling around in the ring that day. He was a pretty strong fighter.

BEST PUNCHER
Tim Brooks: I don’t think Chavez hit that hard, I’ve been hit harder. Freddie Pendleton dropped me with a short right hand and I never saw it. A fighter from Sacramento, I fought him twice, his shots hurt. He hit me on the shoulder and I thought to myself, ‘Ow, that hurt.’ He’s the only one to make me say, ‘Ow’. I immediately thought, ‘I need to get rid of this guy ‘cause he could get lucky’ so I attacked. That guy hit like he had sledgehammers for fists. Everything he hit me with hurt.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Molina: Molina was an A or B+ on a lot of the categories. Molina had the skills to pay the bills. Boxing skills had to be Molina. I don’t remember anyone coming close to him skill wise.

BEST OVERALL
Molina: My wife! She KO’d me! It’s so tough because I fought so many. According to the people it’s Chavez, but they’re not in there. You’re talking Chavez, Paez, Molina, Lockridge, Pendleton, Murray. I fought a lot of people, that’s a good question. That would be hard, that’s probably the hardest question I’ve ever been asked in my life. If I had to pick one, I’d say Molina.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Tony Lopez - Dec 2018

BEST JAB
John John Molina: His jab was fast and he could move really well. He had a really good stiff jab and his lateral movement was off the hook.

BEST DEFENSE
Jorge Paez: Without a doubt it would be “Maromero” Paez. He moved so much he was really hard to hit, he moved in weird angles. You’d swing and he’s gone.

FASTEST HANDS
Joey Gamache: I would say Joey Gamache. Around the seventh or eighth round we’re in a neutral corner and I’m five feet away. I put my hands down and took a deep breath and by the time I’d finished picking up my guard he hits me with a one-two and he’s gone. He was fast. Rocky Lockridge and Charles Murray were fast but not even close to how fast Joey was.

BEST FOOTWORK
Molina: The boy danced circles around me. He was the type of fighter that when that bell rang he used so much of ring and gave you angles. It was hard to keep up with him.

BEST CHIN
Julio Cesar Chavez: I would say Chavez. He took quite a good shot, he stood right there in front of you. He could take it, all power to him.

SMARTEST
Brian Mitchell: He was a smart one. I never thought Mitchell was a great fighter, I never thought much of him, but he was always in shape. He wasn’t fantastic at anything but he was good at everything. I just couldn’t get him, something about his style just threw me off.

STRONGEST
Rocky Lockridge: I’d give it to Rocky Lockridge – the first fight – because there was a lot of pushing and fooling around in the ring that day. He was a pretty strong fighter.

BEST PUNCHER
Tim Brooks: I don’t think Chavez hit that hard, I’ve been hit harder. Freddie Pendleton dropped me with a short right hand and I never saw it. A fighter from Sacramento, I fought him twice, his shots hurt. He hit me on the shoulder and I thought to myself, ‘Ow, that hurt.’ He’s the only one to make me say, ‘Ow’. I immediately thought, ‘I need to get rid of this guy ‘cause he could get lucky’ so I attacked. That guy hit like he had sledgehammers for fists. Everything he hit me with hurt.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Molina: Molina was an A or B+ on a lot of the categories. Molina had the skills to pay the bills. Boxing skills had to be Molina. I don’t remember anyone coming close to him skill wise.

BEST OVERALL
Molina: My wife! She KO’d me! It’s so tough because I fought so many. According to the people it’s Chavez, but they’re not in there. You’re talking Chavez, Paez, Molina, Lockridge, Pendleton, Murray. I fought a lot of people, that’s a good question. That would be hard, that’s probably the hardest question I’ve ever been asked in my life. If I had to pick one, I’d say Molina.

Great read, man!

I always liked watching Tony Lopez. He brought a lot of heart into the ring. I thought he might beat Chavez back in the day but he really couldn't do anything with Julio but no shame in that.

[yankees7448]

I love reading these

Its easily my favorite thing Ring Magazine ever did.

[Chrismart]

Acelino Freitas - Dec 2018

BEST JAB
Juan Diaz: Diaz’s jab was faster, my timing was out.

BEST DEFENSE
Peter Buckley: He defended well with his hands and stopped my shots landing directly all the time. That made it difficult.

FASTEST HANDS
Diego Corrales: He was the one who knocked me down with powerful and fast punches.

BEST FOOTWORK
Corrales: He was very strong and knew how to move very well. He gave me a technical knockout loss. He had good movement and fast punches.

BEST CHIN
Alfred Kotey: He broke my knockout streak. I’ve never seen a fighter who could take so many punches in my life.

SMARTEST
Joel Casamayor: Smart and dirty. He was a very strong and intelligent southpaw.

STRONGEST
Kotey: Took a lot of punishment. The physical preparation helped him a lot in the 10 rounds. I say he’s the toughest, he took a lot of punches. He endured what many of my 34 opponents [up to that point] could not stand.

BEST PUNCHER
Corrales: He had heavy hands. He was a super fighter; fast, good moves, his punches were painful and his speed made him very difficult. I classified him the best puncher because he was the only one who gave me a TKO loss.

BEST SKILLS
Casamayor: He was smart, strong and very intelligent. He knew how to use his skills against me and had great leg movement. A fight that I will remember forever.

BEST OVERALL
Casamayor: Best agility, fast southpaw and very intelligent. The fight with Casamayor was a very tough fight and very important for me; the unification of the WBA and WBO titles. Casamayor was a super fighter, he was very fast, but I showed that I was well-prepared.

[Santa_]

^good one

prime Casamayor was a great fighter

[Chrismart]

John John Molina - Jan 2019

BEST JAB
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I was impressed with his jab and quickness, at that time, but still I put on a great performance.

BEST DEFENSE
MANUEL MEDINA: Mosley, Oscar and “Mantecas” Medina. Medina was very very hard to hit. I was throwing all types of punches and he has dodging them very good. He was not as fast as the others but accurate, intelligent, wise. Adapting to the rhythm, (I was) really impressed with him

FASTEST HANDS
SHANE MOSLEY: I learnt that Mosley was a complete fighter and his hand speed was phenomenal, on another level.

BEST FOOTWORK
MOSLEY: Wilson Rodriguez and Mosley are the ones I can remember. No matter how hard you train, someone may be faster than you, so you need to use other attributes you have and perfect timing is key. I’d say Mosley.

BEST CHIN
JUAN LAPORTE: Oh my God; I hit him very hard and he was OK. Also in his previous fights, you can see that he has a iron chin.

SMARTEST
DE LA HOYA: Mosley and De La Hoya had great speed and combinations. They always look for your weakness. Smart – to choose one, I choose De La Hoya.

STRONGEST
LAPORTE: Juan Laporte by far. You just cannot blink an eye when facing him. Laporte was like a tractor, always coming forward, no matter what, and throwing hard punches all the time. In our fight, I decided to attack but to do so, (you have to be) smart in the first half to gain respect, to surprise him, moving in and out. The other half of the fight, my team told me to box more, to move to the left, and that’s what I did. He connected with a couple shots but I just kept moving and using the ring to my advantage.

BEST PUNCHER
EMANUEL AUGUSTUS: Emanuel Augustus hit me very hard but he didn’t notice (laughs). I was poker-faced when that happened. It was a body shot. Thank God I didn’t scream because if he noticed that and started a rally, I may be in trouble but my condition was great. I was physically and mentally ready so I just kept fighting.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
DE LA HOYA: De La Hoya is the first that comes to my mind. Very technical boxer.

BEST OVERALL
MOSLEY: Mosley knew very well my style and has lots of tools in the pocket and didn’t mind going to war.

[Chrismart]

Johnny Famechon - Jan 2018

BEST JAB
Jose Legra: Legra’s jab wasn’t bad. I would say his jab was the best.

BEST DEFENSE
Legra: I had the best defense, that is what Ambrose Palmer taught me. From 67 fights, it’s very difficult to pick anyone. Jose Legra had long arms, you had to get through those. But his defense couldn’t have been that good if I beat him [laughs].

FASTEST HANDS
Legra: Me would be right, if you pardon the answer. But of my opponents it would be in the later fights, I’d say Legra.

BEST FOOTWORK
Legra: Me, that’s why they called me ‘Poetry in Motion’. I respected Legra’s footwork.

BEST CHIN
Domenico Chiloiro: He was a tough fighter. His chin was alright. I won two of our fights and we had two draws, they all went the distance. Fighting Harada had a good chin, he was always coming in onto the straight left which was my baby.

SMARTEST
Chiloiro: His upper-body kept moving, his punches kept coming.

STRONGEST
Fighting Harada: Fighting Harada was the strongest, he just kept coming, so powerful.

BEST PUNCHER
Harada: His left hook was his best punch, it was powerful but not powerful enough to stop me [laughs.]

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Legra: Had good boxing skills, he was very good at most things.

BEST OVERALL
Vicente Saldivar: The best fighter I fought was the one who beat me in my last fight, Vicente Saldivar. He had a good straight left, fairly good right cross and was aggressive. He had to be good to be beat me [laughs].

[chrisJS]

Famechon was a very good boxer, could move and jab really well. I'd have liked he and Winstone to have met. I think that would have been a great stylistic match of pure skill. I think Legra was robbed against Famechon though. That was a very bad decision. He got a very lucky win over Harada in fight I but credit to him he beat the hell out of Harada in the return. He was very, very competitive too vs. Saldivar and never got KO'd. Excellent fighter.