Is there really such thing as having an 'iron chin' in boxing?

Question

Guys who widely considered to have great chins have been knocked down repeatedly or even knocked out... Ali has been knocked down numerous times by guys who didn't even have a big punch but is considered to have one of the best chins ever, same with Holyfield who has been knocked out before.

In current boxing we have someone like Chavez Jr who is considered to have a unbreakable chin but in reality how good is it? he goes into all of his fights with a crazy weight advantage so of course he can absorb the punches of guys who are a stone (14 lbs) lighter than him. What would happen if people his own size like Dr Kovalev or Stevenson operated on his chin?

The only guy I have genuinely seen with great punch resistance is Mariusz Wach who took so many right hands from Wladimir who is one of the best punchers in history, he has an abnormally shaped chin and was proved guilty for being on steroids.

How do you define a 'iron chin', purely on punch resistance or the ability to take shots and get back up? to be honest it just seems like people assume anyone with great heart like Ali and Holyfield have great chins or is that actually how you are meant to measure someone's chin?

? · Accepted Answer

i think any fighter can be KO'd if caught perfectly while not expecting it take duran always had a great chin till hearns layed him out james toney was lucky to get past reggie johnson who decked toney hard in the 2nd i think . hagler took big shots from mugabi and hearns but who knows what would of happened if julien jackson landed clean on hagler .froch looked granite chinned till groves landed .

? · Answer

Jake La Motta

Anonymous · Answer

It's just a saying. Any fighter can get ko'd, but there are guys with unbelievable lunch resistance.

Anonymous · Answer

Ray Mercer = iron chin
i dont think he ever been down.....the only time i think he been stopped was by TKO

Jose Luis Castillo before his decline = iron chin
never seen him floored except once (after he was washed up) by a Ricky Hatton body shot...he been stopped a bunch of times, but all on cuts and that one TKO by Corrales

Antonio Margaito = iron chin
Nazzem Richardson once said he "ate punches like skittles".  he did get KOd by Moseley, but i almost throw that out because he has proven his chin so many times before.....and Margarito couldn't have been in the right mindest that night after getting busted for wraps

? · Answer

no chin is durable when hit at the right point w/the right force...

an iron chin is a tested chin... the title depends on the punishment and the quality of opponents that gave it....

? · Answer

Yeah and it has a name too, Jake La Motta

lestermount · Answer

Marvin Hagler comes to mind when you ask about someone who was never knocked down.

Morgan Wesley · Answer

yes. some fighters are just so hard to k.o.

Is there really such thing as having an 'iron chin' in boxing?

8 Answers