Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Evander Holyfield - April 2017

BEST JAB
Rid**** Bowe: I would say Rid**** Bowe and Lennox Lewis, they are the only two guys who could keep me off with the jab. I would say Bowe; he was consistent with it. Lennox kind of had it but Bowe used it for offense and defense, and at any given time he’d use the left hand. Oh yeah, it was powerful. Larry (Holmes) had one of the best jabs in the world but he didn’t use it on me.

BEST DEFENSE
Dwight Muhammad Qawi: He had a good defense. He’d get you before you get back home. He was short and had long arms. He had the wrong arms ?he had monkey arms! Very good defense.

FASTEST HANDS
Michael Dokes: I can tell you the people who had good hand speed ?Michael Dokes would be the first one. I hit him with six and he’d hit me with six. (Laughs.) He could have his hands down and throw punches from different directions and get you before you were able to get your hands up. He was quick and he had punching power as well. I would say Bowe, too; he would reach out and get you.

FASTEST FEET
Chris Byrd: The people that I fought.. nobody ran because I was a smaller guy. Let’s give it to Chris Byrd; he got around and that’s how he won.

BEST CHIN
George Foreman: I would say George Foreman. I hit him and I hit him a lot of times, a lot of times (Laughs.) ?17 punches one time! Lennox Lewis had a great chin. I went back and watched the fights and the people who knocked him out [did so] because he had a different mindset for them. He didn’t fight smart with them ‘cause he felt he could beat them. Everybody he pursued and thought that he could beat, they ended up knocking him out ?that’s Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman. I came to respect him ‘cause I know in the last fight I buckled him a few times but he didn’t go. Mike Tyson had a good one, too; he didn’t fall when I hit him.

SMARTEST
Lennox Lewis: Lennox Lewis was that guy; he fought like a big man, he fought his style regardless. Whether people boo or not, he was gonna fight his way. I realized he was going to fight the perfect fight. He was a smart fighter, he stuck to the game plan.

STRONGEST
Foreman: Out of all the people, I would say George Foreman was the strongest. And behind him Lennox Lewis and Rid**** Bowe. I could push anybody back, it wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t push George back. (Laughs.) You had to go around him.

BEST PUNCHER
Foreman: George Foreman hit the hardest.

BOXING SKILLS
Michael Moorer: I think at the time I fought them, Michael Moorer and Rid**** Bowe. What separated them was Bowe was aggressive, very aggressive. Michael Moorer, he was smart. He was going to hit you a lot because he didn’t punch as hard as Bowe, but he was precise. He had that snap; he’d knock a lot of people out because he had that snap. Sometimes if Bowe missed, he’d be off balance. Michael was still there.

BEST OVERALL
Bowe: I would say Bowe. I had three fights with Bowe. He was very competitive, he was always going to be in shape when he fought me. Then?I would say Qawi.

[yngwie]

Evander Holyfield - April 2017

BEST JAB
Rid**** Bowe: I would say Rid**** Bowe and Lennox Lewis, they are the only two guys who could keep me off with the jab. I would say Bowe; he was consistent with it. Lennox kind of had it but Bowe used it for offense and defense, and at any given time he’d use the left hand. Oh yeah, it was powerful. Larry (Holmes) had one of the best jabs in the world but he didn’t use it on me.

BEST DEFENSE
Dwight Muhammad Qawi: He had a good defense. He’d get you before you get back home. He was short and had long arms. He had the wrong arms ?he had monkey arms! Very good defense.

FASTEST HANDS
Michael Dokes: I can tell you the people who had good hand speed ?Michael Dokes would be the first one. I hit him with six and he’d hit me with six. (Laughs.) He could have his hands down and throw punches from different directions and get you before you were able to get your hands up. He was quick and he had punching power as well. I would say Bowe, too; he would reach out and get you.

FASTEST FEET
Chris Byrd: The people that I fought.. nobody ran because I was a smaller guy. Let’s give it to Chris Byrd; he got around and that’s how he won.

BEST CHIN
George Foreman: I would say George Foreman. I hit him and I hit him a lot of times, a lot of times (Laughs.) ?17 punches one time! Lennox Lewis had a great chin. I went back and watched the fights and the people who knocked him out [did so] because he had a different mindset for them. He didn’t fight smart with them ‘cause he felt he could beat them. Everybody he pursued and thought that he could beat, they ended up knocking him out ?that’s Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman. I came to respect him ‘cause I know in the last fight I buckled him a few times but he didn’t go. Mike Tyson had a good one, too; he didn’t fall when I hit him.

SMARTEST
Lennox Lewis: Lennox Lewis was that guy; he fought like a big man, he fought his style regardless. Whether people boo or not, he was gonna fight his way. I realized he was going to fight the perfect fight. He was a smart fighter, he stuck to the game plan.

STRONGEST
Foreman: Out of all the people, I would say George Foreman was the strongest. And behind him Lennox Lewis and Rid**** Bowe. I could push anybody back, it wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t push George back. (Laughs.) You had to go around him.

BEST PUNCHER
Foreman: George Foreman hit the hardest.

BOXING SKILLS
Michael Moorer: I think at the time I fought them, Michael Moorer and Rid**** Bowe. What separated them was Bowe was aggressive, very aggressive. Michael Moorer, he was smart. He was going to hit you a lot because he didn’t punch as hard as Bowe, but he was precise. He had that snap; he’d knock a lot of people out because he had that snap. Sometimes if Bowe missed, he’d be off balance. Michael was still there.

BEST OVERALL
Bowe: I would say Bowe. I had three fights with Bowe. He was very competitive, he was always going to be in shape when he fought me. Then?I would say Qawi.

When you look at Evander's resume you can pick many boxers for almost every category, he faced them all.

[anonymous2.0]

James Toney Sep 2009

Strongest: Samuel Peter: He was just a big-ass African with brute African strength.

I laughed, then I reread it, and I laughed again

[SkillspayBills]

One of my all time favorite threads. It's always funny to see how some fighters still hold grudges against some of their old foes lmao. Bute still hates Froch.

[PrBoxing88]

I love this thread, i read all the pages.. keep it going. ��

[Redd Foxx]

I could push anybody back, it wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t push George back. (Laughs.) You had to go around him.

That might be my favorite line so far, out of all of these.

[Chrismart]

Dariusz Michalczewski - May 2017

BEST JAB
Virgil Hill: For me it is straight forward. His jab was very precise and it was very hard.

BEST DEFENSE
Hill: Leeonzer Barber and Virgil Hill. Barber was physically very strong (with) long arms and had good feeling for distance and timing. Virgil Hill was quite fluid; it was hard to get him in the right spot. I would give hands down to Virgil Hill. He was a more complete package and smarter.

BEST CHIN
Hill: I think Virgil Hill took the most hits from me. I didn’t knock him out but he really took a lot in that fight. He was one of the most world class boxers I fought. Up to that day, when we fought, he had only lost to Thomas Hearns.

FASTEST HANDS
Montell Griffin: He was probably the fastest. One of the things about Griffin was he fought at different heights. He was able to move his body up and down and threw punches from different positions.

FASTEST FEET
Hill: Again, Virgil Hill which, I guess, comes down to defense.

SMARTEST
Nestor Giovannini: It’ll come back to the main guys like Barber and Hill but I thought Giovannini was, in a sense, the smartest guy. He was a little bit dirty (and) made the fight uncomfortable. In reasonable terms, (within) the boundaries of the sport, but he was, in a sense, dirty. He was street smart.

STRONGEST
Graciano Rocchigiani: I never allowed somebody to push back. One of the toughest guys to push around was Rocchigiani, especially in the second fight. That fight happened mainly in the middle of the ring, so I couldn’t move him around. He also attacked. I out powered him with punches to the stomach.

BEST PUNCHER
Richard Hall: Mark Prince, threw all his punches as hard as he could. Richard Hall was very dynamic and precise from distance.

BEST SKILLS
Hill: Montell Griffin and Virgil Hill. Ultimately, it comes down to I fought Virgil Hill for 12 rounds and I knocked out Montell Griffin early (Round 4). Plus, it was a fight for three titles. I went toe-to-toe with Virgil Hill at the highest level.

BEST OVERALL
Hill: It is between Barber and Hill. Hill had good footwork. He was a mature fighter, so he was smart (and) was able to provoke and control. I think Virgil had a really good feeling for distance. It was a chess match.

[Chrismart]

Rafael Marquez - May 2017

BEST JAB
Mark Johnson: In our first bout in Corpus Christi in 2001, he was very explosive and I was not able to see his jab. I managed to defeat him by split decision.

BEST DEFENSE
Israel Vazquez: I didn’t fight many boxers with good defensive skills. Maybe the best one was Israel Vazquez but I smashed it with my jab.

BEST CHIN
Vazquez: In four fights, I was able to send him to the canvas two times.

FASTEST HANDS
Johnson: I was not able the see his combinations, even the six-punch combinations. It was a surprise. He was announced as the winner and I immediately walked to his corner to request a rematch. He instantly said, ‘No.?On my way to the locker room, I was told that there was a mistake, that someone read the cards wrong and that I was the winner. Then, (Johnson) came to me and asked me for the rematch. I replied ‘Yes?and defeated him in eight rounds.

FASTEST FEET
Johnson: He was the fastest fighter I faced in all senses. I was not able to reach him.

SMARTEST
Heriberto Ruiz: I beat him in the third round, but “El Cuate?has an outstanding counter attack. He looked for my hands, he made feints, he was studying me to get some space to get me.

STRONGEST
Mauricio Pastrana: Pastrana from Colombia. I did everything to knock him out. I even dislocated his shoulder with punches, but I defeated him by decision.

BEST PUNCHER
Vazquez: He punched harder than everyone I ever faced. Mark Johnson was powerful too.

BEST SKILLS
Tim Austin: He won the bronze medal in Barcelona 1992. He was IBF champion also. He was fast, southpaw and he hit hard. I fought with him in 2003 at Caesars Palace. I defeated him in eight rounds.

BEST OVERALL
Vazquez: A smart fighter. He had a lot of power, he gave everything he had inside the ring. If you took him down, he would get up. Very strong physically and emotionally. He always went forwards. He never gave a backwards step. Strength, power, intelligence, he had it all.

[Chrismart]

Orlando Salido - May 2017

BEST JAB
Juan Manuel Marquez: He used it in so many ways, as a counter, to keep his rhythm and to start his offense. When I fought Juan Manuel Marquez I did not have the experience at the elite level. I would have liked to face him later in my career and see how I would have done against him as a world champion after facing some of the great boxers I did after I fought him.

BEST DEFENSE
Marquez: He was always one step ahead, he saw everything that was coming and kept me off balance.

BEST CHIN
Rocky Martinez: I landed some great shots in the second fight and he took them very well.

FASTEST HANDS
Vasyl Lomancheko: Just very quick with his punches.

FASTEST FEET
Lomachenko: He moved very well in the ring.

SMARTEST
Marquez: He knew what he wanted to do in the ring and executed it to perfection, (he was) just very smart in there.

STRONGEST
Regilio Turr: He was just very strong physically in the ring, one of the few times I did not feel that I was the bigger and stronger man in the ring.

BEST PUNCHER
Mikey Garcia: He has very heavy hands, much stronger than I expected and he was very accurate

BEST SKILLS
Marquez: He was just on top of his game when I fought him, great boxing, sound defense, smart and a great counter puncher.

BEST OVERALL
Marquez: Marquez is the best fighter I have ever faced, a complete fighter with great boxing skills, sound aggressive offense, always ahead of me. He was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers.

[Redd Foxx]

Orlando Salido - May 2017

BEST JAB
Juan Manuel Marquez: He used it in so many ways, as a counter, to keep his rhythm and to start his offense. When I fought Juan Manuel Marquez I did not have the experience at the elite level. I would have liked to face him later in my career and see how I would have done against him as a world champion after facing some of the great boxers I did after I fought him.

BEST DEFENSE
Marquez: He was always one step ahead, he saw everything that was coming and kept me off balance.

BEST CHIN
Rocky Martinez: I landed some great shots in the second fight and he took them very well.

FASTEST HANDS
Vasyl Lomancheko: Just very quick with his punches.

FASTEST FEET
Lomachenko: He moved very well in the ring.

SMARTEST
Marquez: He knew what he wanted to do in the ring and executed it to perfection, (he was) just very smart in there.

STRONGEST
Regilio Turr: He was just very strong physically in the ring, one of the few times I did not feel that I was the bigger and stronger man in the ring.

BEST PUNCHER
Mikey Garcia: He has very heavy hands, much stronger than I expected and he was very accurate

BEST SKILLS
Marquez: He was just on top of his game when I fought him, great boxing, sound defense, smart and a great counter puncher.

BEST OVERALL
Marquez: Marquez is the best fighter I have ever faced, a complete fighter with great boxing skills, sound aggressive offense, always ahead of me. He was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers.

Really cool how Salido doesn't seem to hold a grudge against anyone. Gave everyone their fair credit.

Thx again, Chris.