There have been times where a fighter can be unfairly labeled as "chinny", as the Brits would say. Wladimir Klitschko comes to mind as a fighter who seems to have a better chin than his reputation. This is equally true of durability. Mike Tyson was solid chinned, yet all of his losses were by KO, so power eventually affected him. There are also fighters whose chins get worse as their careers progressed.
This was true of 80's fighters: Doug DeWitt and Gerrie Coetzee, who had the reputation span from iron to glass, within only a few years. However, the oddest of phemonena, seems to be fighters who handled punches better from bigger fighters, as they moved up in weight. This is counter to all we are led to believe about human physiology, yet there have been a few big-name modern examples:
Thomas Hearns - the Hitman's chin was never labeled as iron, nor the weakest, however his brutal KO losses occurred from 147-160 lbs. His high level of opposition could be blamed for his Leonard and Hagler defeats, however, this does not explain Barkley. It also does not account for the fact that Hearns seemed to be able to absorb punches better from 168 to 190lbs. This was even true of the same opponents. Leonard and Barkley hurt Hearns at 147 and 160lbs, respectively, yet could not come close to stopping him at 168 and 175. In fact, even past his prime, against a big puncher like Uriah Grant, his only stoppage loss came due to a twisted ankle.
Amir Khan - Time will tell if this phemonenon applies fully to the former 140lb kingpin, but there has definitely been an improvement as he has gained weight. Khan was knocked near cold by a journeyman at 135. He was bothered by pressure and hurt against Maidana and Peterson, but still managed to win more rounds than his opponent. Then he was stopped on his feet by Garcia. At 147lbs, he has not even been dropped (Diaz fight was between weights). True, Collazo and Alexander are not known as KO artists, but they have both scored one-punch KOs in their careers over high-level opposition, and yet, they could not even hurt Khan. Not that I would expect him to stand-up to Pacquiao's bombs, but people who think Mayweather would so easily stop Khan, are probably in for a rude awakening.
Manny Pacquiao - I know. I know. His brutal KO loss to average punching Marquez does not look good, but other than that one night, this is a man who was stopped twice as a flyweight, and then completely changed. He managed to stand-up to the bombs of Morales and Barrera at Feather, and was not badly affected the rare times he was caught by men like Mosley, Margarito, and Clottey, as high as 154lbs. His punch receptivity to the body has even gotten better since he has packed on the pounds. Bizarre.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
