What HW boxer was the hardest to knockout?

1armedScissor - The instant I saw the thread title I immediately thought Chuvalo.


Me too bro

easily Chuvalo.

Granted Chuvalo.

Tyson should have an honorable mention in these types of threads. Sure he got KO'd... but the guy had an amazing chin leading up to them. lol

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 Also, google "Joe Grim." He was a welter around Jack Johnson's time. KO or Ring mag had an article on him. He would fight all the top names, outweighed by a ton, and they could knock him down several times..but could not knock him out. He also did a gig at a carnival with people throwing baseballs at his head. They couldn't knock him out either.



Eventually Joe's chin went south but he fought Jack Johnson and lots of top fighters. He had zero boxing skill and little ability, was literally a human punching bag.



http://www.eastsideboxing.com/joegrim.html



Joe Grim: The Human Punching Bag Who Never Won a Fight

by B. R. Bearden


In boxing, as in any sport, the fans remember the winners and often forget the losers. To be sure, some who lose amid the roar of the crowd gain fame in their defeat. Witness Billy Conn's loss to Joe Louis. But Conn was a superb boxer; light heavyweight champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. We remember his loss in a way that, rather than detracting from how good he was, instead enhances his memory. He was the light heavyweight who "almost" beat the best heavyweight champion of them all. He was a winner who had a memorable loss.


But what of a loser who had nothing but memorable losses? In point of fact, what of boxer who lost every single fight he ever fought, at least 63 bouts? Other than the families of these record-padding stepping stones, nobody can name the men who played the part of the perpetual victim. Except for one; Joe Grim.


Grim was born in Avellino, Italy in 1881 and named Saverio Giannone. At some point in his early life his family moved to America and at some point young Saverio decided to become a boxer. Dropping his family name he entered the ring, and boxing legend, as Joe Grim. It was a name suited to his style of fighting, for his career was truly grim. Appended to that suitable choice of a moniker were such titles as "the human punching bag", "The Indestructible Man of Pugilism", "The Iron Man", and "The Indian rubber man". For in a sport of give and take, Joe was the ultimate taker.


As Nat Fleischer would say of him, "Grim could neither box nor punch but he possessed an abundance of courage, in fact, too much for his own good. He was slow on his feet and even slower in his thought process. Though he had none of the assets that go to make a good fighter, for many years he was a great drawing card only because of his staying powers and his raw courage. His ability to absorb punishment was incomparable."


Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian, and an avid boxing fan born in the era of Grim, said, "If he ever won a fight, it is not on record. He was neither a boxer nor a fighter in the true sense of the word. He was wide open; a blind man could hit him."


Joe Grim began his career in 1903 with a match against Philadelphia Jack O' Brien, future Hall of Famer. It was a six round contest between O'Brien's punching ability and Grim's toughness. O'Brien broke the knuckles of his right hand trying to stop the unknown kid who came in wide open, throwing windmill punches the ring posts could duck. The fight was a No Contest both by official score and by any method of judging a bout, but it ushered in the bizarre, side-show career of Joe Grim.


Grim's notoriety grew with each succeeding fight. He took terrible beatings from the greatest fighters of his era yet always ended his fights by walkingto the ropes and shouting to the crowd, "I am Joe Grim! Nobody can knock me out!"


 

jaseprobst -  He also did a gig at a carnival with people throwing baseballs at his head.  


lol @ 100 years ago

Sixteen Tons - 

Ali rarely got to show it because he had generally very good technique



wat?

 Chuvalo has ALS!? He seems fantastic in interviews?

Samoanpowr - Love to put Tua in that Hottub Time Machine back to 1986 and see him and Cobb have some fantastical rockem sockem robot fight.


VTFU!

I will say Chuvalo...but you have to give Holmes credit for taking a direct shot from Earnie Shavers and getting back up.

Just out of curiosity, why are you guys saying Tua?

What fights has he proven his chin in? The Ibeabuchi fight? He hasnt been in too many wars at all, he either crushed someone or lost a boring ass decision for the most part...

rocky marciano was able to take some pretty decent shots

domernd1 - Stanley Ketchel. Was a 160 lbs fighter who would go up In weight to fight champions of higher weight classes. Even fought Jack Johnson for the heavyweight title and knocked Johnson down once. Guy was a beast.
I don't consider that knockdown of Johnson legit though. Johnson carried Ketchel in that fight and Ketchel basically broke the rules by blasting Johnson, he was knocked out immediately after Johnson got up. Jack could have put Stanley away at any time in that fight but Johnson liked to make his fights long for whatever reason.

 

HELWIG -  Chuvalo has ALS!? He seems fantastic in interviews?

He sounds better and seems healthier at his age than almost any boxer I've ever seen. Dude seems to define the word toughness IMO.

 

newbloodmma - 
domernd1 - Stanley Ketchel. Was a 160 lbs fighter who would go up In weight to fight champions of higher weight classes. Even fought Jack Johnson for the heavyweight title and knocked Johnson down once. Guy was a beast.
I don't consider that knockdown of Johnson legit though. Johnson carried Ketchel in that fight and Ketchel basically broke the rules by blasting Johnson, he was knocked out immediately after Johnson got up. Jack could have put Stanley away at any time in that fight but Johnson liked to make his fights long for whatever reason.
 


Bingo. They agreed to extend the fight for the filming/movie angle. To get some mileage and rounds out of it. Ketchel double-crossed, and paid for it when Johnson uppercutted him and knocked several teeth out....and into his glove.

Marvin Hagler had a great chin

pole - Marvin Hagler had a great chin


That thread title asks for HW boxers, you fag!

No, I am just kidding Hagler's chin was probably the best P4P or at one least one of the best. He just walked through shots to get some of his off.

Other than the obvious mentioned, Vitali has never been dropped and never been seriously hurt, even after eating murderous uppercuts from Lennox.

Tua had and may still have a pretty good chin.

Wow, never thought about Vitali but ur right.

Watching Johnson swipe the teeth out of his glove with extreme prejudice was one of boxing's greatest moments ever.

 George Foreman or Larry Holmes