Best I've faced

[Chrismart]

Marco Antonio Barrera - April 2014

Wasn't sure if this one was in the thread or nor, so thought I'd post it just incase.

BEST OVERALL
Erik Morales: Morales is definitely the toughest opponent I have faced, because it almost seemed whenever I hit him it wouldn’t hurt him. And he’s a guy who would constantly give me pressure, and he hit really, really hard.

BEST BOXER
Naseem Hamed: It would definitely be Naseem Hamed, because he made it extremely difficult to hit [him]. He would come around from different angles, his boxing approach would be different from the rest, and he stood out from the rest. His punching ability from different positions and an overall tough guy to get a good, solid hit on.

BEST JAB
Morales: Morales had the best jab. When it would connect, it would be really painful. With the jab, you’re not used to feeling the power, but his I would feel.

BEST DEFENSE
Juan Manuel Marquez: Definitely. He’s a guy that just waits for a counterpunch. He provokes you to think you can hit him, and when you get close to hitting him, he moves so he can position himself to counterpunch you. It was extremely difficult to get hold of the guy.

BEST CHIN
Morales: I would hit him constantly with solid punches, and it just didn’t seem like it would affect him at all.

BEST PUNCHER
Manny Pacquiao: Because of the speed of the punch, he’d surprise you with power.

FASTEST HANDS
Pacquiao: The speed and angles he would hit you from. And it comes with a combination of speed, power and angles.

FASTEST FEET
Pacquiao: Definitely his movement, the way he moves around, he uses every corner of the ring. He knows where to take steps to confuse you. He never comes straight forward, he comes from different angles. He stands out from the rest, definitely.

SMARTEST
Hamed: He stands out because he would bring a different approach from the rest. He would play mind games with me, he would tease me, and when I thought I had him, he would back up and move in different ways. It was more him getting in my head than anything. He would play with me.

STRONGEST
Pacquiao: It’s not just the strength but the strength combined with the speed, that’s what makes him different from the rest. If you add speed to anything ?his movement, his punches ?that’s what stands out.

[GrandpaBernard]

Marco Antonio Barrera - April 2014

Wasn't sure if this one was in the thread or nor, so thought I'd post it just incase.

BEST OVERALL
Erik Morales: Morales is definitely the toughest opponent I have faced, because it almost seemed whenever I hit him it wouldn’t hurt him. And he’s a guy who would constantly give me pressure, and he hit really, really hard.

BEST BOXER
Naseem Hamed: It would definitely be Naseem Hamed, because he made it extremely difficult to hit [him]. He would come around from different angles, his boxing approach would be different from the rest, and he stood out from the rest. His punching ability from different positions and an overall tough guy to get a good, solid hit on.

BEST JAB
Morales: Morales had the best jab. When it would connect, it would be really painful. With the jab, you’re not used to feeling the power, but his I would feel.

BEST DEFENSE
Juan Manuel Marquez: Definitely. He’s a guy that just waits for a counterpunch. He provokes you to think you can hit him, and when you get close to hitting him, he moves so he can position himself to counterpunch you. It was extremely difficult to get hold of the guy.

BEST CHIN
Morales: I would hit him constantly with solid punches, and it just didn’t seem like it would affect him at all.

BEST PUNCHER
Manny Pacquiao: Because of the speed of the punch, he’d surprise you with power.

FASTEST HANDS
Pacquiao: The speed and angles he would hit you from. And it comes with a combination of speed, power and angles.

FASTEST FEET
Pacquiao: Definitely his movement, the way he moves around, he uses every corner of the ring. He knows where to take steps to confuse you. He never comes straight forward, he comes from different angles. He stands out from the rest, definitely.

SMARTEST
Hamed: He stands out because he would bring a different approach from the rest. He would play mind games with me, he would tease me, and when I thought I had him, he would back up and move in different ways. It was more him getting in my head than anything. He would play with me.

STRONGEST
Pacquiao: It’s not just the strength but the strength combined with the speed, that’s what makes him different from the rest. If you add speed to anything ?his movement, his punches ?that’s what stands out.

very honest answers

No ego whatsoever

[hugh grant]

And he thinks Pacquiao was the best overall yet he wasn't the best in any other category.

Who gave him his biggest beating? Why shouldn't it be pac? Pac is an all round fighter
Floyd and pernel are defence specialist. Pac rates highly in all categories.
Pac s a former f lyweight so if course he's best overall as he gave him a beating like no other

[Imaboxingfan]

I really enjoy these interviews but 1 thing i see often is the best overall opponent is usually somebody that they beat

[Chrismart]

Bobby Czyz - April 2020

BEST JAB
Prince Charles Williams: He had fast hands, and I always had problems with guys who had real quick hands, and quick jabs. So, I would have to give that to Prince Charles Williams.

BEST DEFENSE
Virgil Hill: Prince Charles Williams was very difficult to hit, but Virgil Hill was impossible to hit. I got one shot in there. I used to say for years that Roy Jones was so quick defensively that no one ever hit him to see if he’s tough. As he started getting older and slowed down, he got knocked out two times in a row. Virgil Hill had great balance and great range, plus his reflexes were terrific. He was very hard to time, because he changed directions so often.

FASTEST HANDS
Hill: He was lightning on his feet.

FASTEST FEET
Hill: That was the thing with Virgil, tracking him down and getting him. You try and corner him and he was difficult to find.

BEST CHIN
Mike Fisher: My hands were hurt for weeks after hitting him. Mike was just a really tough fighter. You could hit him with a baseball bat and nothing would happen. I hit Mike with a four-punch combination. I broke his nose, split his mouth open. He was spitting blood all over the place. After I was done, Mike says, “I missed that one.?I turned around and I thought he was talking to someone behind me. The guy was crazy, but he was a good fighter.

SMARTEST
Hill: Once again, I give the nod in this category to Virgil. At the pre-fight press conference, Eddie Futch, his trainer, says to Virgil, “If this kid fights as well as he speaks, we’re in for a really long night.?Virgil is a really intelligent guy, and he used it in the ring. It was smart of him to do so. It was the right thing to do.

STRONGEST
Fisher: He was like a bull. You could literally beat on him for the rest of his life and he would just keep on coming. He was tough as nails. He was really strong. The problem he had against me was that I was quicker than him, and people didn’t realize that I could box. When I fought Robert Daniels, he knew he was stronger than me and he thought he could run right through me. My original game plan was set to use more aggressiveness, and I had to change my game plan. I stepped around him and Daniels was asked after the fight, he said, “I had no idea he could box like that.?Now as far as the hardest I’ve ever been hit my life, that goes to Ray Mercer. That came in sparring. That was with 18-ounce gloves. Ray hit me so hard I thought pieces were falling from the ceiling.

BEST PUNCHER
Willie Edwards: Willie was a good puncher. If you watch the tape of our fight, he technically did drop me in the first round. If you watch the tape and see the first round, he hit me with a right so hard that it propelled me to the ground. My chin didn’t even move. He just drove me to the floor. Mike Fisher was also a big puncher. Willie Edwards knocked me down in the first round, and I knocked him out in the second for three minutes. Willie was built well and threw all of his weight behind his punches. Willie was a great puncher, but he had no chin. I told everyone our fight was going to be a donnybrook.

BOXING SKILLS
Hill: Virgil was one of the smoothest, sharpest boxers in the world. Virgil was a lot like Roy Jones. He was someone very hard to catch up to, because you can’t hit what you can’t catch. Virgil was also very good offensively.

BEST OVERALL
Evander Holyfield and Corrie Sanders: Evander was the greatest fighter I ever faced. Vince Lombardi has the great quote, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.?That applied to my fight with Evander. He didn’t train that hard for the fight, because he fought some of the biggest, toughest guys in the world. I was no threat to him. I knew he didn’t train very hard, so come around round four and round five, I’m still hanging around. I was still there, and now, he was getting tired. He couldn’t change the fact that he shot his load and the lactic acid build up was giving him trouble punching. I am not a better fighter than Evander Holyfield. Never was, never will be. I didn’t have his height, his weight, his reach, his assets, but he put something in my eyes. I couldn’t see a thing the next round. Bert Cooper told me the next day after my fight that the same thing happened to him. Technically, the best fighter I fought was Corrie Sanders. He was a big man, 6-foot-4, 240 pounds who had speed like a lightweight. It was unbelievable how fast he was. You couldn’t get away from, no matter where you walked, and he threw a lot of punches.

[Chrismart]

Rid**** Bowe - May 2020

BEST SKILLS
Evander Holyfield: He was better than anyone I ever fought. He could think, he could match wits with you. Our fights were so good because he could match me in the thinking aspect. He was always in such great shape.

BEST JAB
Pinklon Thomas: I guess he was from the old school. He came in with a great jab. He would throw a jab and snap your head back. ?After that I would have to say Tyrell Biggs.

BEST DEFENSE
Holyfield: He had the best defense, the best offense. I mean hands down he made you work. If you weren’t in shape, it wasn’t going to happen.

BEST CHIN
Holyfield: I could shake Evander and he’d come back with four, five shots. And if you weren’t in shape, that’s when he was going to get you. He was always going to come back at you.

BEST PUNCHER
Herbie Hide: You’re not going to believe this [but] I would have to say Herbie Hide. ?He hit me and I thought, ?Oh s? I can’t allow this guy to hit me again because I don’t know what I’ll see next.?Initially I was trying to box him and he was real fast. I said I can’t box him because he got me beat, so I fought him.

FASTEST HANDS
Holyfield: I’ve got to go with the “Real Deal?again. Evander had not only great hand speed but he put something on it. In the third fight he knocked me down. What he did was throw a [relatively light] left hook and I was thinking, ?C ’mon man.?He threw another [weak] left hook and I was like, ?Really??I didn’t realise that he was setting me up to relax. The third one he hit me with I seen the lights and the count. I’m like, ?Damn, he fooled me again !?I got up and shook it off. I think at that point he shot his load. He really couldn’t take me out like he wanted to. I [went] back to the corner, and I switched up on him and knocked him out.

FASTEST FEET
No one in particular: In that aspect there were a lot of guys I fought with real good feet. They didn’t want to be hit. I go back to Evander. When I had him in trouble, he had damn good feet. (Laughs.) I know one thing: When you hit him and hurt him like in the first fight, he was hard to catch up with. I truly believe it was because he was able to maneuver in such a manner.

SMARTEST
Holyfield: No question, unequivocally. Here’s a guy, you hit him with a left hook, he would keep his guard up, get close to you and turn his body. He was very smart in that aspect.

STRONGEST
Holyfield: Once again, as small as Evander was, he was probably the strongest.

BEST OVERALL
Holyfield: Unequivocally. Evander was smart, he was a thinker, he was in great shape, he had all the attributes to make him a great champion. That’s why he and I fought against each other so hard and so well.

[Chrismart]

Cornelius Boza Edwards - May 2020

BEST JAB
Alexis Arguello: He was taller than most of the guys I fought and, as you can see later on in his career, his reach was tremendous and he used it. He had very long arms and it was always difficult to hit him clean. It was a heavy jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Hector Camacho: I’d watched him many times and thought he had no defense, but he was very quick on his feet and difficult to hit cleanly.

BEST FOOTWORK
Camacho: He was on his toes, so quick in and out. He was very elusive. I remember in Round 6 my feet were blistered because I was so busy chasing him.

BEST HANDSPEED
Camacho: Hector had quick hands and so did Bobby Chacon. Hector had the quick feet to go with it. Bobby stood there and tried to exchange. “Bazooka?Limon realized he was losing the fight, so he picked up the pace with his handspeed in Round 8 all the way to the 14th. Of those three, Hector I would say [is fastest].

SMARTEST
Arguello: We took the fight at short notice but I was a lot younger. That was my first major fight in the United States. I thought I had the quickest hands and reflexes, but I was fighting an all-time great. He was able to hit me with uppercuts, left hooks, the same stuff I would use to hit other people with. He was too advanced.

STRONGEST
Rolando Navarrete: Rolando was short, looks small, but he’s physically strong. I found that out in the ring. I thought I’d beat the crap out of him, but you’re looking at a miniature [Manny] Pacquiao. Those Filipinos have legs like tree-trunks. He was the strongest in terms of strength and hitting power. You push him off and he’s not going anywhere. Jose Luis Ramirez was strong too.

BEST CHIN
Arguello: He didn’t budge [laughs]. Welcome to the big league.

BEST PUNCHER
Arguello: Bobby Chacon had dropped me, he had surprising attacks. Just when you think you’re going to have him out of there, he’s bleeding all over the place ?**** ?you’re on the canvas and the referee is counting. Lightning shots that you don’t expect. With Bobby and Alexis, you don’t see them. It’s like a trigger; you think you’re going to shoot and ?**** ?they shoot before you shoot. I would say Alexis because even though I didn’t go down, you could feel the impact ?he hit me with some good uppercuts.

BEST BOXING SKILLS
Arguello: He had the height, his hands up, he would catch your jab and he would come over the top with a right hand, back with the left hook or uppercut. Hector wasn’t bad, he was quick. Bobby Chacon was very deceiving. Bazooka Limon, they were wild punches, you could see them and you tried to block them. Ramirez was difficult, he was methodical, like a tank, you could read him; not fancy stuff.

BEST OVERALL
Bobby Chacon: I would say Bobby, we fought twice. I beat him the first time, it seemed so easy. The second time, I think I won the fight and I didn’t get the decision. There’s good names in there like Jose Luis Ramirez, Alexis Arguello and people will say they were better fighters than Bobby Chacon but the difference is I prepared. I didn’t prepare that good with Alexis Arguello and Jose Luis Ramirez. I knew months in advance the [Chacon] fight was on. You have two, or three months prior to prepare. Those guys are better fighters than Bobby Chacon but prior to fighting them I did not prepare.

[TBear]

Good to see one on Cornelius Boza-Edwards.

[Citizen Koba]

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr - March 2020

BEST SKILLS
Meldrick Taylor: He had every skill you need as a fighter, his speed, quickness, power, all you could ask for.

BEST JAB
Oscar De La Hoya: Because he was tall and used it to mark his range.

BEST DEFENSE
Pernell Whitaker: He was very elusive, and although I thought he was a dirty fighter, beyond that he was just hard to find and especially hard to hit.

BEST CHIN
Hector Camacho Sr. And Edwin Rosario: I threw everything at them and they kept coming.

BEST PUNCHER
Rosario: Anywhere he hit me it hurt. Frankie Randall was also a hard puncher. [Against Rosario] it was my youth, it was the fact I was in my prime, it all helped me get through that fight.

FASTEST HANDS
Taylor: It was definitely Meldrick Taylor. I would land one shot and I would take four in return. He was quick. More than anything it was the fact he had real quick hands. By the time I landed one real power shot I was taking five, six in return. They weren’t hard shots, they weren’t power shots, but I couldn’t get in my range, I couldn’t get established. In that fight I made a big mistake, which was trying to fight at his pace. That’s why down the stretch I was exhausted, I was completely exhausted. I found a way to do it but I was done.

FASTEST FEET
Camacho: It was Hector “Macho?Camacho who had the best footwork. He just dominated the way he walked around the ring. He knew where he was moving, he wouldn’t let you find him. And more than anything he was a marathon man the way I see it. He just was not there to be hit. But in the ninth round he stood and fought, so he was a macho man because he did stand there and took the shots.

SMARTEST
Whitaker: He was very intelligent. And then there was Oscar De La Hoya, who knew how to use his advantage in height and his distance. I think he was very intelligent in the ring.

STRONGEST
Jose Luis Ramirez: He was a southpaw who not only took a good shot but he gave a good shot. The fact he could land a punch and hurt you and take a punch and not be hurt, that was his greatest virtue.

BEST OVERALL
Taylor: I faced everybody. If you look at my record, all the fights I had, I had 37 world championship fights and I didn’t hand pick any opponents. But if I was to look at the best overall fighter, it would have to be Meldrick Taylor.

Ummmm.. I don't want to be picky but I'm thinking maybe you might want to remove the 'Jr' in the name at the top of the post?

Thanks for keeping up the great work though Chris.

[ShoulderRoll]

Most don’t include most frustrating/ tough , I’d say Vitali Klitschko . Maybe the most awkward power puncher at 6? we’ve seen . He punished guys .who couldn’t read or reach him . steward said that was the smartest guy next to Ali in the ring when he was working with Wlad .

This thread isn't about what YOU would say.

It's about real fighters and their opinions about guys they have actually been in the ring with.