Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Chris John - August 2019

BEST JAB
Juan Manuel Marquez: Marquez had the best jab; very powerful, like dynamite and accurate too.

BEST DEFENSE
Soleh Sundava: He let me punch and expected me to tire. He had a good plan, but it didn’t work because I was younger and I had more stamina. The best defense was Sundava, even compared to Marquez or Gainer. His defense was neat and tight; very hard to punch his chin or stomach, so I punched his shoulders and anything I could.

FASTEST HANDS
Derrick Gainer: He was tall, skinny had a long reach and was very quick. Maybe because he is skinny and tall, that’s why he’s very fast.

BEST FOOTWORK
Marquez: He was a good counter puncher with foot movement. For example, when I landed the jab, he moved his foot back quickly and at the same time landed a strong straight shot.

SMARTEST
Simpiwe Vetyeka: He could read my mind. When I threw the jab, he just punched back straight away, and with more combinations too.

STRONGEST
Hiroyuki Enoki: He was very strong; never gave up even though I punched him a lot. He just kept coming forward, even though his face was swollen. He seemed like he didn’t care. He knew he would lose, from the first round to the end I was ahead of him, but he would not surrender.

BEST CHIN
Thongchai Treeviset: I punched him right on his chin so many times but magically he still stood up. To be honest with you, if any other boxer got punched that much on the chin, they would get knocked out. Finally, the referee stopped the fight because I punched him so many times and he couldn’t punch me back.

BEST PUNCHER
Marquez: His punch was powerful and accurate.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Marquez: He was a smart boxer. He had good technique, skills and a powerful punch. No wonder he could beat good boxers such as Manny Pacquiao.

BEST OVERALL
Marquez: He had good footwork, good counterpunches. They were hard, strong punches and very accurate too. I am really proud that I could beat him.

[Chrismart]

John H Stracey - August 2019

BEST JAB
Hedgemon Lewis: He could shoot out a good jab, and I had to really keep away from him. His jab was in my face, but then I stepped it up a bit by catching him with a left hook and pushing him back.

BEST DEFENSE
Ernie Lopez: It was like an official eliminator for the world title and I beat him in seven. He was taller than me and made me fall short with the jab; he just moved back. Eventually I got him; I moved him with a left hook, pushing him back to the ropes. He had a cut eye, but I was just making a move to get him, and the referee had to stop the fight.

BEST HANDSPEED
Roger Menetrey: He was quite a tall fighter and when they’re a bit taller than you, they’re gonna have a bigger reach. The left hand was coming out and I was trying to get under it every time, but what you do is acclimatize.

BEST FOOTWORK
Lewis: You think you’ll throw the jab and all of a sudden he’s gone. Lewis used most of the ring.

SMARTEST
Jose Napoles: Palomino beat me of course. He could adapt. I was catching him in the first couple of rounds and doing quite well, then he came on later. He’d obviously trained very hard for it. Napoles was smart, there’s not much between them. I’d say Napoles.

STRONGEST
Carlos Palomino: Palomino was very strong. Sometimes when you push, they don’t give and you think, ‘Woah, he must be strong.’

BEST CHIN
Palomino: I stopped 37 [opponents] out of [my] 45 [wins]. The ones who went the distance all have good chins. Napoles took a good shot, but I think Palomino had the best chin. I was hitting him early on and didn’t really get any change out of him.

BEST PUNCHER
Napoles: When I boxed Napoles, he put me down in the first round. He switched, I thought he was going to throw a right hand and he came across with a left hook and I didn’t even see it coming. I went back on the ropes and he came through with a left hook that put me down. He was a hard puncher.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Lewis: He was a complete fighter; he was very unlucky not to be champion. Napoles was brilliant, he could disguise a punch.

BEST OVERALL
Napoles: Napoles was the best for what he achieved but Hedgmon Lewis was the hardest fight. Napoles because of his style; he could move that inch away from you and had power when you were exchanging.

[Chrismart]

Daniel Ponce De Leon - September 2019

BEST JAB
Celestino Caballero: He used his distance very well. It was difficult because he was very tall and always maintained his distance using his jab and movement.

BEST DEFENSE
Caballero: I had several opponents with good defense. Yuriorkis Gamboa had very good defense; good leg work and waist movement, but I never stopped throwing. The one that was difficult to connect on, because of his height and leg mobility, was Celestino Caballero. He knew how to use that to his advantage. He counter-punched, and when I wanted to go in, I couldn’t find him because he’d left me out of distance.

FASTEST HANDS
Yuriorkis Gamboa: His hands were very unpredictable, he was always out of my reach.

BEST FOOTWORK
Gamboa: Let me remember, I had 52 fights… Well, the fastest feet where Gamboa’s. He moved a lot; his feet were very quick.

STRONGEST
Juan Manuel Lopez: The strongest puncher had to be Juanma Lopez. He is the one that hurt me most. He was the strongest of them all. I lost to him by KO when I blocked his punches; I felt his strong punch in his fists.

SMARTEST
Adrien Broner: The one who fought an intelligent fight was Adrien Broner. He felt my punches and was able to assimilate them. He always moved back the more I pressed forward. He couldn’t fight toe-to-toe with me. He didn’t fall into fighting my fight. He fought an intelligent fight. Even though I felt I won the fight, he never exchanged punches with me, therefore he was an intelligent fighter.

BEST CHIN
Eduardo Lazcano: Well there were a few. Eduardo “Chucky” Lazcano is the one I believe had the best chin because I hit him a lot. He took a lot of powerful punches. I would hit him and he would not fall; he survived all my power punches.

BEST PUNCHER
Lopez: The one who I felt was a great puncher was Juanma Lopez. He was the one who punched more and gave me the hardest punches. His punches were powerful.

BEST OVERALL SKILLS
Gamboa: He was such an unpredictable fighter. He had lateral movement and I couldn’t find him. Even though he didn’t hit me or do any damage, he made it a difficult fight.

BEST OVERALL
Caballero: Well there were a few. I lost seven fights and those six opponents [he lost twice to Juanma Lopez] were very strong. The most difficult was Celestino Caballero; he was very tall and fast. It was one of the toughest fights of my career, that’s why he was the best that night.

[Chrismart]

Raul 'Jibaro' Perez - September 2019

BEST JAB
Genaro Hernandez: I could never get him to fight me. He always kept me busy with his jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Miguel “Happy” Lora: I was always throwing combinations and there were few that connected with him. That’s a fighter with good defense.

FASTEST HANDS
Greg Richardson: He was the one who took away my WBC bantamweight world championship. I could never see his hands; they were so fast.

BEST FOOTWORK
Lora: He was very quick with his legs.

STRONGEST
Lucio Lopez: A very strong man physically. He was ripped.

SMARTEST
Lora: I could never connect with him solidly because he had very fast movement with his hands and feet.

BEST PUNCHER
Hernandez: He hit very hard. This is a very strong fighter but I came from a small boy raised from junior featherweight to junior lightweight and I felt the difference of punching power but that does not take away the great merit to Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, the great champion. His liver punches always hurt me.

BEST CHIN
Hernandez: I hit him and hit him and he did not move.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Lora: A very intelligent boxer in the ring. It was very difficult to hit him. He had very good leg movement that prevented me from hitting him.

BEST OVERALL
Hernandez: He was a boxer with whom I had to used everything I learned and could not beat him.

[Chrismart]

Takashi Uchiyama - October 2019

BEST JAB
Jomthong Chuwatana: None of my opponents could hit me with a lot of jabs. However, there is no doubt that Jomthong threw the best jab of all. Juan Carlos Salgado was also a good jabber. Jaider Parra’s jab was lighter, but effective with a unique rhythm.

BEST DEFENSE
Bryan Vazquez: His defensive skills were very good. It took me more time to hit him than I had expected. I needed to make a lot of technical effort to land my punch on him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Jezreel Corrales: His hand speed was very fast. Although speed is his valuable asset, he sometimes relies too much on it. (Corrales) easily let his opponent land a counterpunch at a time when he steps into a dangerous area.

BEST FOOTWORK
Corrales: His footwork was also excellent. He has very high physical abilities, such as the speed of stepping in and out, and the body reactions.

STRONGEST
Daiki Kaneko: He was physically the strongest, he never quit attacking me no matter how hard I punched him. Even when I thought that my punch hurt him, he quickly hit me back. He was really determined to win with his amazing toughness.

SMARTEST
Jorge Solis: I kept throwing punches to beat him, but I was unable to finish him easily due to his precise positioning. He knew how to create necessary distance to get out of any risk. He was a boxer with world-class experience.

BEST CHIN
Vazquez: His chin was great enough to endure many of my best punches. He had a strong body, as well as a stronger punch than I had expected.

BEST PUNCHER
Takashi Miura: His punching power was just like a bomb.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Corrales: I am sure that Corrales’ boxing skills are at the highest level of all my opponents. Through two intense fights with him, I realized that he was tactically very good, in addition to his hand speed and footwork. He switched frequently and effectively. I am usually very good at fighting switchers because when a boxer switches, his speed drops accordingly. However, Corrales successfully maintained his speed even when he switched.

BEST OVERALL
Chuwatana: This is a tough question for me. I would say Jomthong Chuwatana is the best. Before the bout against him, my elbow was bad enough to require a surgery, and sometimes I could not even bend and stretch my arm due to the pain. As I could not guard and block the punch with my arm, I could hardly spar to prepare for the match. I seriously thought that I might lose to him. Also, I hurt my back during my physical training, and I could not walk for about 10 days. To hide my condition, I did not show any of my training to the media. I had a surgery shortly after the bout as my elbow bone was broken into pieces and entered my joints. When I fought him, my instinct immediately told me, “This guy is really dangerous.” I felt an extraordinary atmosphere from him as a fighter. My mission was to finish him as early as possible. When the match started, I quickly realized that my one-two punch was frustrating the legendary Thai kickboxer. Jomthong’s jab, distance and measuring ability amazed me. Fortunately, I was able to knock him out in Round 2, but it was only thanks to the fact that his style suited mine.

[asgarth]

Takashi Uchiyama - October 2019

BEST JAB
Jomthong Chuwatana: None of my opponents could hit me with a lot of jabs. However, there is no doubt that Jomthong threw the best jab of all. Juan Carlos Salgado was also a good jabber. Jaider Parra’s jab was lighter, but effective with a unique rhythm.

BEST DEFENSE
Bryan Vazquez: His defensive skills were very good. It took me more time to hit him than I had expected. I needed to make a lot of technical effort to land my punch on him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Jezreel Corrales: His hand speed was very fast. Although speed is his valuable asset, he sometimes relies too much on it. (Corrales) easily let his opponent land a counterpunch at a time when he steps into a dangerous area.

BEST FOOTWORK
Corrales: His footwork was also excellent. He has very high physical abilities, such as the speed of stepping in and out, and the body reactions.

STRONGEST
Daiki Kaneko: He was physically the strongest, he never quit attacking me no matter how hard I punched him. Even when I thought that my punch hurt him, he quickly hit me back. He was really determined to win with his amazing toughness.

SMARTEST
Jorge Solis: I kept throwing punches to beat him, but I was unable to finish him easily due to his precise positioning. He knew how to create necessary distance to get out of any risk. He was a boxer with world-class experience.

BEST CHIN
Vazquez: His chin was great enough to endure many of my best punches. He had a strong body, as well as a stronger punch than I had expected.

BEST PUNCHER
Takashi Miura: His punching power was just like a bomb.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Corrales: I am sure that Corrales’ boxing skills are at the highest level of all my opponents. Through two intense fights with him, I realized that he was tactically very good, in addition to his hand speed and footwork. He switched frequently and effectively. I am usually very good at fighting switchers because when a boxer switches, his speed drops accordingly. However, Corrales successfully maintained his speed even when he switched.

BEST OVERALL
Chuwatana: This is a tough question for me. I would say Jomthong Chuwatana is the best. Before the bout against him, my elbow was bad enough to require a surgery, and sometimes I could not even bend and stretch my arm due to the pain. As I could not guard and block the punch with my arm, I could hardly spar to prepare for the match. I seriously thought that I might lose to him. Also, I hurt my back during my physical training, and I could not walk for about 10 days. To hide my condition, I did not show any of my training to the media. I had a surgery shortly after the bout as my elbow bone was broken into pieces and entered my joints. When I fought him, my instinct immediately told me, “This guy is really dangerous.” I felt an extraordinary atmosphere from him as a fighter. My mission was to finish him as early as possible. When the match started, I quickly realized that my one-two punch was frustrating the legendary Thai kickboxer. Jomthong’s jab, distance and measuring ability amazed me. Fortunately, I was able to knock him out in Round 2, but it was only thanks to the fact that his style suited mine.

he gave his reasoning, but i still dont get why he considers chuwatana his best opponent overall.

[anonymous2.0]

SMARTEST
Adrien Broner: The one who fought an intelligent fight was Adrien Broner.

Honestly this is the first time I've ever seen the word 'intelligent' and Broner in the same sentence .

[anonymous2.0]

he gave his reasoning, but i still dont get why he considers chuwatana his best opponent overall.

Probably something was mistranslated

[Nash out]

Charlie Zelenoff - October 2019

BEST JAB
Derek the Giant: Derek was a massive dude. He outweighed me by 150 pounds. He had the best jab I've ever faced, but after 1 minute, I realised that my jab is so good, I can even out-jab the giant. Once he felt my power, I just kept pushing him back. My skills, power and speed were too much for him. He was an undefeated pro boxer who sparred Mike Tyson. It was one of my best wins.

BEST DEFENSE
Anthony Thompson: Anthony is a slick awkward, multi-skilled southpaw who at the time was 14-0. He is like a younger and superior Luis Ortiz. I still get fan mail to this day about my win over him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Floyd Mayweather SR: Floyd was still very fast when I fought him. Yeah, he had been retired for a long time and in his sixties, but I could tell by the way he moved and punched that he was still near his prime. I had to dig deep and show my unreal power and handspeed to get him out of there. Watch the finishing blow I landed. Nobody recovers from that.

BEST FOOTWORK
Crazy Tempo: The man just can't stop running from me.

SMARTEST
U.S. Marine #6: He was a great fighter. Used his wits against me to survive and only lose a UD. I scored the fight.

STRONGEST
Sambo Russian: A beast of a man. A strong and athletic warrior. Everyone said that I couldn't beat him, so I had to make this fight happen, not to prove it to myself, I mean, c'mon, I knew I'd win, but to prove it to the haters out there.

BEST PUNCHER
Deontay Wilder: The clown couldn't box his way out of a wet paper bag, but the dude can punch. Second hardest puncher in the world after me, but we all saw it, I scored a TKO when we were in the ring together. I told my girlfriend about this and she didn't believe me, so I showed her the video and there I was. Right up Wilder's ring going hard at it. I came and conquered the WBC Champ.

BEST CHIN
Anthony Thompson: He was very hard to hit clean, so just based on that, he is the hardest to knockout.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Anthony Thompson: Again! It's that slick Cuban style, man. Nobody wants to face that, as even if you win, you don't look good doing it, I mean, I still looked great, but most fighters, nah!

BEST OVERALL
Deontay Wilder: Based on WBC title, power and worldwide reputation.

[Chrismart]

Best I've Trained

Teddy Atlas - October 2019

BEST JAB
MICHAEL MOORER: First of all, he was coming from the wrong direction, the southpaw direction, which has less people prepared to deal with that direction, especially heavyweights, back then, 25 years ago. It was coming from the lefty position and it was very accurate and was hard. He didn’t always use it enough but it won him a title from (Evander) Holyfield, so that’s enough from me. You win a title against Holyfield, primarily because of your jab, guess what? I’m gonna say you have a pretty good jab.

BEST DEFENSE
WILFRED BENITEZ: He was definitely the best defensive fighter. This was a guy who slipped punches in his sleep. That was his thing; that was his identity. That was his strength; he was a great counterpuncher and his defense created his offense and it allowed him to be a three-division champion. He was a great defensive fighter and the best I worked with.

BEST FOOTWORK
OLEKSANDR GVOZDYK: His legs allowed him to basically keep a tremendous puncher like (Adonis) Stevenson off balance all night long, allowed him to win the light heavyweight title in the first fight we were (in) together. His ability to keep out of danger, Stevenson, a southpaw, is one of the greatest punchers I’ve ever seen. To be able to follow that very definitive fight plan, mentally shows you where (Gvozdyk) was, to keep that type of concentration, in that kind of environment, that should be applauded. He had to keep angles and never stay in one place too long and he was able to execute that and his legs were a big part of him becoming the light heavyweight champion of the world.

BEST HAND SPEED
TIM BRADLEY: I’m going to say Timothy Bradley. I don’t know if people realized how fast his hands were; they were very fast. Benitez had fast hands but his greatest strength but his ability to land clean and accurately because his defense put him in that position. He may have given you the perception that his hands were faster because he was so clever and ghost-like. When it came down to really calculating speed, you have to have something to gauge it against, so if you gauge it against one of the fastest hands maybe in the history of the sport, a guy named Manny Pacquiao, and you had an opportunity to gauge Bradley’s handspeed against somebody of that level of speed then you can get a better feel and he was very close and that’s pretty damn good if you can be close in that company with the speed of a Pacquiao. For me I have to have something grounded to base things on, something that’s relative and that’s pretty real to see that his hands matched up close to Pacquiao’s.

SMARTEST
GVOZDYK: I’m gonna say Gvozdyk is maybe the smartest fighter I’ve worked with in such a short period of time to make such an immense statement. I understand some people may say it’s ’cause I’m with him now but trust me; I try to care about the accuracy of things I say. Gvozdyk in that way but if you’re talking an in-ring I.Q. and an innate intelligence, I have to say Benitez. That guy started when he was six years old. God-given talent but also what allows that God-given talent to be used to the level it’s used and the way it’s used. That’s developed by great instincts, great experience, teaching and also an innate instinct.

STRONGEST
KALLIE KNOETZE: He was a South African cop; he was like a rugby player. He had that physique, natural strength, not from weights, just big-boned. You can feel his bulk. He’s grounded into the floor when you push against him. He was a strong mass because of where he came from and his genetics. Knoetze was a man. Tyson was 12. Tyson was extremely strong. (Knoetze) had man strength, like a piece of concrete sitting on the floor that was hard to move.

BEST CHIN
TYSON: Tyson had a tremendous chin and he had a helluva neck for shock absorbers. His neck was close to 20 inches. If you trace his career, he didn’t disappear straight away. He took those shots. What wasn’t strong was his will; that’s what cracked. His will cracked before his chin. He absorbed those punches and he took big punches before he got knocked out. He showed a chin to handle those punches at a very high level. His will wasn’t nearly as strong as his chin.

BEST PUNCHER
TYSON: That’s pretty easy. Anyone who could be knocking out men when he’s 12, 13 years old is a pretty damn good puncher. He learned the technique to make you miss and catch you clean but power’s power and punchers are born not made. Tyson’s maybe one of the best punchers in history. When you’re developing a guy who’s 12 years old and you can’t put him in with kids to spar because there are none and so you’re hiring sparring partners and they’re men and he’s hurting them and knocking them out.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
BENITEZ: It’s got to be Benitez. Boxing is about hitting and not getting hit, Benitez was doing it at the highest level since he was 17 and when beat Cervantes. Benitez was the guy.

BEST OVERALL
BENITEZ: Sometimes you go to the Academy Awards and one movie wins all the awards. What are you gonna do? That would be Benitez. Anyone who could beat Roberto Duran, amongst many other great fighters, that’s a pretty good resume. I would say Benitez overall was the package. He was a special fighter.