Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Marvin Johnson - Nov 2019

BEST JAB
Prince Charles Williams: He had a very destructive and damaging jab that he used quite often. Even though I was able to adapt, I had difficulty maneuvering around it.

BEST DEFENSE
Victor Galindez: He was the master of the counterpunch. He was a very sneaky fighter. I was not used to such tactics. He was one of the best to implore his defensive capabilities, cleverness, and skillful techniques altogether. Spinks ranks as one of my fiercest competitors because he was a brilliant and defensive opponent. Spinks was continually blocking, moving and utilizing nice combinations.

FASTEST HANDS
Michael Spinks: Michael Spinks was quicker than most fighters. He would throw a variety of combinations, sometimes three or four power punches at a time.

BEST FOOTWORK
Williams: He had the dexterity to fight both pressing forward as the aggressor and shuffling backward as the defender. He mastered the art of excellent technical skills and was an intelligent, well-rounded boxer.

BEST CHIN
Matthew Saad Muhammad: He was powerful and able to take a lot. It was like he had an iron chin. I landed punches that usually guaranteed a knockout, but somehow Muhammad just took them and came back with more.

SMARTEST
Spinks: Spinks excelled in the combination punch. Combinations can be very confusing to the opponent. I considered them to be one of the key elements in boxing. Combinations win the fight.

STRONGEST
Spinks: His physical strength was not necessarily superior to any other fighter I had come across, but his ability to use his strength to his advantage when fighting made him more dominant.

BEST PUNCHER
Spinks: He was the only fighter to knock me out with one punch. That is the main thing that separates his punching abilities from everyone else in my book because that had never happened. It was not an easy thing to accomplish, not with me anyway.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Galindez: I feel that experience is any boxer’s greatest skill. At the time of our fight, Victor had around eight more years?experience in the sport, and he demonstrated that. His counterpunches, expertise and aggressiveness made him a triple threat.

BEST OVERALL
Saad Muhammad: Matthew Saad Muhammad is definitely my most challenging opponent overall, simply because he was the only adversary to beat me twice. I must give credit where credit is due.

[Chrismart]

Shinsuke Yamanaka - Nov 2019

BEST JAB
Anselmo Moreno: All of my opponents failed to land effective jabs on me. However, there is no doubt that Moreno threw the best jab. His jab was not quick, but very unpredictable due to unique timing. He delivered compact jabs without wasted motion. In our first showdown, his jab really untuned my sense of distance.

BEST DEFENSE
Moreno: Moreno’s defense was remarkable, especially in the first bout. He was great at measuring the distance and I could not find my distance. It was hard to get a real flush shot on him. He was not fast, but he was awkward. I had to make a lot of technical effort to catch him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Malcolm Tunacao: Speaking of handspeed alone, I would say Tunacao was the best. Ryosuke Iwas was very fast, too. I did not have a problem dealing with them because handspeed was not everything and their punches were predictable. None of my opponents actually surprised me with their handspeed.

BEST FOOTWORK
Alberto Guevara: He had good footwork and moved well. He was too defensive to be a titlist. He stayed on the outside and did not engage much. Tunacao also had good foot movement. However, I never fought anyone who was better than me. My footwork against (Vic) Darchinyan was the best of all (laughs). I was really satisfied with my precise footwork in accordance with our game plan.

STRONGEST
Suriyan Sor Rungvisai: I would say Suriyan, Darchinyan or Nery. Among the three, I would go for Suriyan. He made a stronger physical impression than others.

SMARTEST
Moreno: He had a great boxing career that had given him a wealth of experience. He knew how to utilize everything he had learned in his 12 title defenses over the years, fighting a lot of good fighters. He was not only tricky but very intelligent. He was the only fighter who did not give me my distance from the beginning of the bout.

BEST CHIN
Vic Darchinyan: I chose Darchinyan only by process of elimination. In my title defense, he was the only fighter who did not get knocked down and survived until the last bell. I dropped all my challengers to the canvas and/or finished them. He did not go down despite getting (hit by) my hard punches. Ryosuke Iwasa also took a lot of serious shots, but kept on coming until the referee saved him.

BEST PUNCHER
Darchinyan: This is a tough question for me. I did not face a real big puncher in my career. If I had to pick at least one, I would go with Darchinyan again. Although Moreno floored me once in the second bout, I did not feel his punching power.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Moreno: He was the most rounded and skilled fighter. He was quite technical and difficult to catch with a clean punch in our first bout. It was the first time that I was not able to take the lead with my jab. He was very good at bobbing and weaving. I barely won the first fight by taking points in the later rounds. After the first fight with him, I knew him better.

BEST OVERALL
Moreno: Moreno was the best fighter of all the boxers I fought. His jab and distance were something I had not seen, which made me think a lot. He was a great match for me. In our first bout, he fought at a unique distance that forced me to work hard throughout the bout. I could neither find my distance nor reach him due to his awkward and unpredictable timing. He was not a fast puncher or foot-worker. However, he was very sneaky especially with his jabs, which prevented me from stepping in further. He was ahead until the eighth round on the open-scoring system. I barely overcame him in the last three rounds to secure a close split-decision.

[Chrismart]

Pierre Coetzer - Nov 2019

BEST JAB
RID**** BOWE: He had a great jab. Not as much the speed, it was very, very powerful and consistent. He was a big guy and he had a very good range. He had an excellent left jab.

BEST DEFENSE
GEORGE FOREMAN: There was two guys, firstly Ossie Ocasio. He was a very awkward fighter, very difficult to hit, the way he’d hold you, make it difficult for you, spoiler. The other guy was George Foreman; he had an unbelievable defense. I think he was the only guy I saw that had that kind of defense with both his arms in front of his body, the crossbow. I think George Foreman was much better.

BEST HANDSPEED
JOSE RIBALTA: Their was a guy by the name of Jose Ribalta. I fought him in Biloxi [Mississippi] and he had great, great hands, very good handspeed.

BEST FOOTWORK
OSSIE OCASIO: There was a few. Ossie Ocasio had good footwork. The way he moved, he’d call you in and sidestep you and hold you, very good spoiler.

SMARTEST
BOWE: I think Rid**** Bowe. Bowe was a complete fighter. He had everything. He was tall; he was a big guy, fairly good handspeed, brilliant puncher. The way he would attack you, the normal guys come forward and hit you, the way he wears you down, a very clever fighter. Another clever fighter I fought was Bernard Benton. In the first fight, he beat me on points.

STRONGEST
FRANK BRUNO: He was physically very strong, not the greatest fighter but very strong. One thing I’m very grateful is I never fought George Foreman in his heyday. [Foreman] was strong but not that strong.

BEST CHIN
MANOEL DE ALMEIDA: It was a Brazilian guy. I hit him all over; the skin came off on his forehead and he just stood there. I knocked him out to the body. He could take a punch. I hit him with everything for four rounds. He didn’t even blink his eye.

BEST PUNCHER
BOWE: Definitely the hardest puncher of all the guys was Rid**** Bowe. Bruno wasn’t a big puncher; Rid**** Bowe was unbelievable. He burst my eardrum. All through the fight up until the seventh round, all the punches, you could feel each one.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
ALFREDO EVANGELISTA: He had a fairly big body. How he moved was unbelievable. He was a very clever fighter. He had a fairly good punch, very difficult to hit the guy. He was very ring-wise. He knew all the tricks in the book.

BEST OVERALL
BOWE: I think he could have been world champion today, if he had just looked after himself. The discipline went. After me, he fought Evander Holyfield. He beat Holyfield and, after that, went one way. He was definitely the best I fought.

[Chrismart]

Jorge Castro - Dec 2019

BEST JAB
Juan Carlos Gomez. And obviously, Roy Jones Jr. He was accurate and landed hard jabs too.

BEST DEFENSE
Roy Jones: I didn’t give him any respect. I threw everything I had at him, but he covered up very well, especially upstairs. He opened up his body only, but you couldn’t land one punch in the head against him. Roy Jones had won every fight by knockout, and I was the first one to go the 10-round distance with him. I connected my punches too, but I was fighting in Pensacola, his hometown. He thought he could stop me, but he couldn’t. he could punch real hard.

BEST HANDSPEED
John David Jackson: He was fast and landed everything. His jab was fast. It was continuous and accurate. He always landed his punches, all of them.

BEST FOOTWORK
Jackson: He was hard to catch. Whenever you attacked him, he moved sideways; you never had him in front of you. He walked the ring very well. Also, in my earlier days, Jorge Pino, from Panama, he walked the ring very well. And Roy Jones, of course. I thought I would have a rematch against him, and it never happened.

SMARTEST
Roy Jones. He was very slippery, but when he fought me he was different. I threw a lot of punches and he covered himself very well, but against other fighters he would take the lead. Against me, he had to be on the defensive all the time, and he adapted very well to that.

STRONGEST
Juan Carlos Gomez: He was the biggest fighter I faced, and I was just a chubby old guy. We fought at cruiserweight, the heaviest I ever fought. We had an 18-pound difference, and it was too much.

BEST CHIN
Francisco Bobadilla: I got tired from punching him so much, and he didn’t move an inch. I fought him four times, and I always beat him on points. I threw everything I had at him. (Hector Abel “Perro? Lescano was tough too. I knocked him out, but he was tough. And (Juan) Italo Meza as well. I punched him with all my strength, and he kept coming.

BEST PUNCHER
Juan Carlos Gomez. I think I fought in Australia with him (Note: They fought in Essen, Germany), and he knocked me down. And also the (guy against whom) I lost here by knockout (Panama’s Jos?Luis Herrera). What happened in that fight is after my (car) accident, I thought my body was fine, but I was hurt inside. As soon as he hit me on the chin, he knocked me out. But in my best moment I would have knocked him out. But Gomez hit so hard I had to take a knee. And in the body, I’d say (Shinji) Takehara, he hit me hard to the body. But with Gomez I felt every hand, whenever he landed I saw little stars shining all over the place. He was much bigger than me and I was just a chubby little bastard.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Terry Norris: I fought him at his absolute prime. He was very fast, way too fast for me. He was a complete fighter. You couldn’t catch him in the ring. He was a good boxer, he didn’t just go toe-to-toe with you. He fought at a distance, a smart fighter. He had defeated Sugar Ray Leonard. I thought I was going to fight Leonard too, but I ended up fighting Duran later.

BEST OVERALL
Roy Jones: Hands down. He had it all: he could punch, he could fight going forward and backwards, he was a complete fighter. Jackson was different, he was fast but didn’t have it all. Jones was one of the best pound-for-pound, but I managed to take the lead in that fight and put him on the spot. They never thought I would be crazy enough to take the fight to him, but I did.

[Chrismart]

Best I've Trained

Al Mitchell - 2019

BEST JAB
Vernon Forrest: Vernon Forrest and Andre Ward. I’d probably pick Vernon. He could use it going to the right, to the left, he could use it going to the body and the head. Very rarely you see someone who can do that. Also, off that jab he had a good hook. He used the jab as a range-finder for that right hand and he’d throw the hook or uppercut, so he used it for distance. He used it to measure for that right hand.

DEFENSE
Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Andre Ward looked like nothing when you watched him on the outside; he didn’t look like he had anything but that intuition, that boxing I.Q. where he saw things before they happened. He wasn’t outstanding in his jab or punch, but he had that good smart defense. The other one who I had in the 1996 Olympics, but he didn’t show me until he was professional, was Mayweather. But Andre Ward was slick, look at the tournaments he won, he did it with good smart defense and he knew when to punch. He saw things before they happened. Probably Floyd. All round skills. In action fights, I’d probably take Andre Ward. Too much defense and it gets boring. But Andre Ward makes things happen to expose you. They’re two exceptional, different style boxers: good offense, good defense, smart in the ring. I’m just glad I got to see them both.

HANDSPEED
Meldrick Taylor: Meldrick Taylor was on the Philadelphia team in 1980 that I took him to the nationals. He had the fastest hands I’d ever seen. He ended up getting gold at the (1984 Los Angeles) Olympic games. His handspeed was crazy fast. So many good guys I’ve dealt with. Teaunce Shepherd; he only had four fights as a pro and won them all. He quit because his face would swell up, but he won the Goodwill games. His handspeed was unbelievable.

FOOTWORK
Brian Viloria: One of the guys I saw was Pernell Whitaker, but he wasn’t on any of my teams. David Reid had some unbelievable footwork. Brian Viloria was always there to punch, his footwork was so good. We had the 2000 team hit a bag to judge power and he was the littlest guy but, pound-for-pound, he hit the bag harder than anyone. That was because of the way he sat with his feet.

SMARTEST
Ward: Two guys I worked with, Andre Ward and Vernon Forrest. Again, Andre didn’t look like nothing, but he had that ring I.Q. And Vernon, if he didn’t have them injuries on his shoulder, there’s no telling how good he could have become. He had good ring intelligence. It’s tough to pick, but I’d probably go with Andre Ward.

STRONGEST
DaVarryl Williamson: Williamson played football for college, and Jermain Taylor made the Olympic team and got a bronze. DaVarryl was older; he was 27 when I got him, he had that man strength ?very strong. I had to make him only use the jab hand in sparring. Jermain Taylor for a junior middleweight (156-pound division in the amateurs) was a very strong guy.

BEST PUNCHER
Williamson: Again, DaVarryl Williams, Brian Viloria and Jermain Taylor. DaVarryl was a hard puncher. He wasn’t technically sound, but if he cracked you, you were gone. I trained him for about five years, and I wouldn’t let him throw the right hand.

BEST CHIN
David Reid: He had a good chin. He fought (Felix) Trinidad, who hit him with some good shots. He never got stopped as an amateur or a professional, until his last fight. The (drooping) eyelid hurt him; it would come down and cover his eye. We got it stitched up a couple times and it still came down. He won the title in his 12th fight and, in his 15th fight, he fought Trinidad. He was winning the first seven rounds until he decided he wanted to knock Trinidad out and went toe-to-toe.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Mayweather Jr.: Vernon Forrest had some good boxing skills and Teaunce Shepherd had unbelievable boxing skills. Floyd was an unbelievable fighter; he was one of the best defensive fighters I remember. I’d probably put Floyd first, I’d put Andre Ward second and Teaunce Shepherd third.

BEST OVERALL
Mayweather and Ward: I’d probably pick Floyd and Andre Ward. The reason why, the best defense is Mayweather. The best offense off of defense is Andre Ward. Both of them find a way to win. Ward had some hard fights and made them look easy. Those two are exceptional. Once every 20 years you get a fighter you put on a pedestal and say: What would happen if both were the same weight? I’ve got them both neck and neck. I’d have both even.

[Chrismart]

Tom Johnson - Jan 2020

BEST JAB
Manuel Medina: It was long and awkward.

BEST DEFENSE
Naseem Hamed: His lateral movement, his upper-body movement and he’s a southpaw. I’ve always had trouble with southpaws.

FASTEST HANDS
Hamed: They were coming from different angles, odd angles.

FASTEST FEET
Medina: I had to make multiple adjustments. You really couldn’t find a way to get to him because he was switching up, doing different things.

SMARTEST
Hamed: He caught me at a good time. He was good at playing tricks on you, he was good at getting in your mind, putting things in front of you and taking it away from you at the same time.

STRONGEST
Ever Beleno: He was tall, lanky and had good upper-body strength. Troy Dorsey was physically strong but Ever Beleno was the strongest.

BEST CHIN
Troy Dorsey: I’ve never perceived myself to be a devastating puncher. Most of the time I didn’t throw punches to knock you out, I threw punches to whoop your ass. Once I learned how to put you behind that jab and I could hit you at will, that’s what I would do. I was never the kind of guy who was always looking for knockouts. Knockouts were only good for me when you hit a guy with a punch he don’t see. Dorsey had a helluva chin, he was a rough guy to fight. He had the best chin that I hit on a regular basis.

BEST PUNCHER
Beleno: He had good power and once again he was a southpaw. Going in a different direction and getting hit with shots from a different direction is what made it made [his power] so much more effective. He was more powerful than Naseem Hamed.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Medina: He could switch up on you. He could do multiple different things right behind each other and give you different looks.

BEST OVERALL
Medina: Once again, Manuel Medina. Yes, Naseem beat him like he beat a lot of guys at a different time in their careers. Naseem was a good fighter, he was an excellent champion because his style was totally different from what you’re used to. I fought Medina three times and three times it took me everything I had to figure out how to win.

[Chrismart]

Thulani Malinga - Feb 2020

BEST JAB
Nicky Walker: Most of my opponents couldn’t hit me, but Nicky Walker used to catch me with the jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Roy Jones Jr.: It was not easy to catch him; he was a mover, he threw punches while he was still moving.

BEST HANDSPEED
Jones Jr.: His hands were so fast that sometimes you could not see his punches.

BEST FOOTWORK
Woodhall: He had good footwork, and he was awkward.

STRONGEST
Lindell Holmes: When you hit him with punches he could take them and come back and hit you.

SMARTEST
Chris Eubank: He wanted you to make mistakes and during that mistake he would counter punch. He was clever.

BEST PUNCHER
Eubank: He had a bigger punch than the others. I remember he caught me with a big punch, an overhand right and I was off-balance. When he came back to finish me he couldn’t because I had a good defense. Jones is not a hard puncher, but he’s fast.

BEST CHIN
Nigel Benn: Nigel Benn had a good chin because I thought I was going to drop him with the punches I caught him with but I didn’t. He took them and came back.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Jones Jr.: Roy Jones had good skills. He was clever. He does not allow you to hit, but he hit you in his own time. He could do everything; jab, move, punch.

BEST OVERALL
Jones Jr.: He was the best because he was so fast. I couldn’t catch him because of his hand speed and movement in the ring. Jones gave me big problems in the fight, he was just so good and fast.

[TBear]

Love reading these.

[Curtis Harper]

Never expected to see Jose Ribalta's name mentioned in these

[Chrismart]

Chris Byrd - Feb 2020

BEST JAB
Wladimir Klitschko: He knew how to keep the distance with the jab and he’s very powerful. It was a strong jab with snap on it. He throws it very well, he throws it accurate to land, not just to throw it out there.

BEST DEFENSE
Fres Oquendo: He’s a slick, awkward guy, has an unorthodox style. He’s just like me, he has a style that opponents aren’t used to.

BEST FOOTWORK
Maurice Harris: Maurice Harris has got to be up there along with Fres Oquendo. I was always the one moving, so it’s hard to say. Holyfield did have good footwork because he cut the ring off really good. I’ll pick Maurice Harris.

BEST HANDSPEED
Harris: He has quick hands to throw combinations and he tried to react, if I threw something. He tries to throw something right back to match the speed.

SMARTEST
Evander Holyfield: He tried to put you in traps. I’m not ****** in the ring, but he tried to trap me in the corner. It was a cat and mouse game. He would take steps both ways to try to trap me. I had to go in my bag of tricks. He used his head at certain times. It was smart stuff and it breaks a guy down in the course of the fight.

STRONGEST
Jameel McCline: That one is really open to debate because everybody was strong. Evander, early, was super strong. I couldn’t get off the ropes against Andrew Golota. Ross Puritty was a big strong guy. Wladimir was so physically strong. I couldn’t move Ike [Ibeabuchi] or David [Tua]. I couldn’t get Jameel McCline off me, he was very strong. I’ll go with Jameel. After I fought him I had nothing left, I could have retired, my performances from there were downhill. It took me three-to-four months to heal, my body was so ****** up. Jameel at 270, I weighed 214 in my clothes.

BEST CHIN
David Tua: That’s David Tua and Ike Ibeabuchi. Tua was coming right at you. One thing I did was revert to the body, I wasn’t known as a big puncher, but I got his attention going to the body. But his chin, man, I hit him with a headshot and it didn’t do anything, he barely flinched. I hit Ike Ibeabuchi with everything and he kept walking to me. I’m going to have to go with David. In my opinion both had great chins, but the level of opposition David took it from, he took it from everybody and was never fazed.

BEST PUNCHER
DaVarryl Williamson: He didn’t hit me, but I know who had the best power. People are gonna say, ‘Why DaVarryl??He had a ‘Touch of Sleep? he had Deontay Wilder-type power. If he had been 6-foot-7, he’d have been running things like Wilder. To the media, he’s very underrated, but to the boxers, everybody knows if you get in the ring with him and he touches you, you’re going to sleep. With me, if you hit me right, I’m a middleweight, you’re supposed to knock me out. I really, really tried to avoid everything from him.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Harris: Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson were paying him not to spar because they knew he was that good. He could match me in skills and he could punch pretty good. You can ask almost any heavyweight of that era and he’ll tell you, ‘That’s one guy we’re not gonna fight.?He had that much talent, but he couldn’t put it together in certain fights.

BEST OVERALL
Wladimir Klitschko: I go with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Ike Ibeabuchi and David Tua. I’ve got to go with Wladimir Klitschko with my style, he’s the best. He fought me in a way where he didn’t care about the style. He stayed tall, used the jab. He beat me up and outboxed me for 12 rounds or stopped me.