Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and the 10 Hardest Chins to Crack Right Now
Whose chin will be the first to crack? It may be the most intriguing thing about the upcoming superfight between Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley as they prepare to fight on May 7.
Both boxers have rock-solid chins and have not been knocked down in forever. The last time Mosley (46-6-1) was knocked down was against the late Vernon Forrest in their first fight in 2002.
It's been just as long since Pacquiao (52-3-2) has been knocked down, which came against Serikzhan Yeshmagambetov in 2003.
One little opening, and a punch could put either one of these iron-chinned boxers to sleep. This is what makes boxing so good and this fight so interesting.
This is a look at the best chins in boxing right now, and almost all of the boxers have upcoming bouts, with some being against each other.
Notable Mentions
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James Toney
Joshua Clottey
Alfredo Angulo
Arthur Abraham
David Tua
Mikkel Kessler
Juan Manuel Marquez
Marcos Maidana
No. 10 Bernard Hopkins
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Bernard Hopkins has always had one of the best chins in boxing, and he also has the technical skills and warrior spirit to back it up.
After getting dropped twice by Jean Pascal in their fight last December, including one by a punch to the back of the head, the 46-year-old came back to win the majority of the remaining rounds.
He only managed to leave with a majority decision and no title, but he did show why he is still one of the very best and hardest boxers to beat.
The rematch is scheduled for May 21 in Montreal, where Hopkins will get his second attempt to become the oldest champion in boxing history.
No. 9 Librado Andrade
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There is a trend with the boxers who have the toughest chins to crack. It is that they have all been dropped before, just as Librado Andrade was in his fights vs. Yusaf Mack and Lucian Bute.
It's not always a good thing to show off how good your chin is, but Andrade tends to do it in every one of his bouts.
It's the punches that he doesn't see that drop him, and it's lack of defense and head movement that make him not see them. He likes to keep his eyes closed, too.
All of that said, this guy can take bombs from anyone in the super-middleweight division. Well, at least to the chin. He was knocked out by Bute with a body shot in their rematch.
He is currently scheduled to face Aaron Pryor Jr. on May 6.
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No. 8 Antonio Margarito
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Mexican boxer Antonio Margarito has had his chin cracked before but only once against Shane Mosley in their 2009 where Margarito was found with plaster in his wraps before the major welterweight title bout.
He was knocked out in the ninth round and suspended from boxing for over a year. Upon returning, Margarito took on Roberto Garcia then went straight to pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
1069 punches later, Margarito had lost a unanimous decision. He didn't leave unmarked and had taken an amazing 411 power shots from Pacquiao, which set a Compubox record for most punches landed in one round and is one of the highest amount of total punches landed in a 12-round bout.
Still, Margarito never went down and was only hurt several times during the course of the fight.
His next opponent will be Miguel Cotto in a rematch of their 2008 bout. It will take place Sept. 17.
No. 7 Brandon Rios
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Up-and-comer and undefeated Mexican-American boxer Brandon Rios has the chin and determination that can carry him far into the sport's mainstream audience. He has already had several appearances on HBO and Showtime.
At 24, he is one of the youngest prospects making his way to the top champions in the lightweight division.
In his victories over Anthony Peterson and Miguel Acosta, Rios showed off his iron chin and came back to defeat both opponents before the final bell.
He was rocked several times in the Acosta bout before knocking out the boxer from Venezuela in the tenth round.
No. 6 Tomasz Adamek
6 of 11When former cruiserweight Tomasz Adamek challenges current WBO heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in September, his chin will be put to a test that only the best will be able to endure.
Adamek has been dropped several times in his career but has gotten up to beat all but one of his opponents, Chad Dawson.
He was dropped by Paul Briggs in the first round of their bloody brawl in 2006 and came back to win a majority decision.
Adamek has faced some of the bigger punchers like Chris Arreola, but his chin isn't tested till he takes a savage exchange from a Klitschko.
We will get answers to how long it takes before his chin cracks on Sept. 10.
No. 5 Carl Froch
7 of 11If you are wondering how good Showtime Super Six semi-finalist Carl Froch's chin is, look no further than his 2008 bout vs. Jean Pascal. Both super-middleweights traded bombs for 12 rounds before Froch was awarded the unanimous decision without being dropped once.
Froch has also fought Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler; two boxers with big power in their punches and great chins themselves.
He was dropped in his bout with Jermain Taylor but came back to knock him out in the 12th round.
His next bout will be against Glen Johnson on Showtime on June 4. With two sturdy chins and two indomitable wills, that should be a candidate for the best fight of the year.
No. 4 Glen Johnson
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Jamaican boxer Glengoffe Johnson (51-14-2), who is also known as "The Road Warrior," has fought almost all of the very best light-heavyweights of the last decade and hasn't been dropped once.
Some of the boxers on his resume include Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver (x2), Chad Dawson (x2), Clinton Woods (x3) and Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins was the only man ever to stop Johnson.
Johnson recently made a move back to the super-middleweight division where he jumped into the Showtime Super Six Tournament to face hard-puncher Allan Green. He defeated Green by KO in the eighth round.
No. 3 Manny Pacquiao
9 of 11Manny Pacquiao has been dropped several times in his career of 57 professional bouts.
It's more of his aggressive, come-forward style that gets him knocked down than it is his chin. It hasn't happened in a while though, and he's fought some of the very best boxers of our era.
He has been able to get through his last six bouts relatively easily while still taking some punches to the chin in the process.
None of them have as good a chin as Shane Mosley, and none of them punch as hard, so if you are wondering if there are going to be knockdowns in this fight, get ready.
No. 2 Shane Mosley
10 of 11Shane Mosley has six defeats to his record, but none of them are by knockout. They have all come by decision.
Mosley is the former WBA welterweight champion and has taken his fair amount of punishment in the ring against power punchers like Miguel Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga. He also fought Fernando Vargas twice, winning both by knockout.
Currently on a 0-1-1 streak, Mosley will be looking to put the lights out on Pacquiao come May 7. Don't blink in that one. It's going to be a fight to remember.
No. 1 Vitali Klitschko
11 of 11First, check out that uppercut in the video. Look at the way he takes that. Are you kidding me!
There aren't too many boxers as tough as Ukranian-born WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.
Even at 39, Klitschko remains one of the best boxers in the world and has one of the continually one-sided victories in a division where no boxers lack power. He has never been dropped, and it's rare you will see him hit or even hurt when he does get hit.
With a potential heavyweight bout with David Haye down the line, that's if Haye makes it past brother Wladimir, Klitschko will take the final test to proving he has one of the all-time best chins.
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